It’s extremely important to identify all of the key hazards in your workplace. As a result, you can put things in place that mitigate these hazards and reduce the chances of accidents happening. It’s a key part of your overarching health and safety plan, and while important in every business setting, it’s perhaps more critical in a warehouse.
Why? Because warehouses are full of hazards that could cause accidents every day. So, here are some of the big ones you need to be aware of – and what you might do to counter them:
Slip & Falls
Slipping and falling over on a warehouse floor can lead to physical injuries for employees. Similarly, if an employee trips while handling goods, the goods could break, costing you even more money.
Lots of things can cause falls in this workplace, such as:
- Spills
- Loose packaging & other debris
- Slippery flooring after cleaning
The list goes on, so how do you counter this? Firstly, use a special tape around the warehouse to add extra grip to the floor in certain areas – like on any stairs. Secondly, put some footwear rules in place – people have to wear a certain type of footwear with a good enough grip on the sole. Things like this can reduce the chances of accidents from this hazard.
Fires
Yes, fires are a genuine hazard you’ll face in a warehouse if you’re not careful. Primarily, the culprit is the machinery you use. Forklifts are very important in your warehouse, but a forklift propane tank could explode and cause a fire. As such, switching to an electric forklift might be smarter to prevent this from happening.
Similarly, look at any other machinery/equipment that might cause a fire. Try to invest in quality items that are unlikely to break down or combust.
Falling Goods
That’s right, warehouses are in a unique position where there are lots of goods stacked up very high on shelving. The issue with this is that they can easily fall down and hurt the people below.
Naturally, you have to mitigate this hazard by ensuring you use the right shelving. Pick a system that’s sturdy and unlikely to let any items fall from the shelves at the top. Similarly, work on a system where heavy items are at the bottom and very light ones are at the top. This way, if something does fall, it won’t be that big of an issue. You should also have more equipment rules in place – such as all employees being required to wear hard hats while on the warehouse floor. Again, if something light does fall from a shelf, the employee’s head will be protected.
You will no doubt find many other hazards on your warehouse floor, but these are the main ones that can cause the most problems. Work on reducing the chances of these hazards causing accidents to make your workplace safer. It’s something every business owner needs to do, but it’s even more important in a setting like a warehouse, where the risks will be higher than in, say, an office!
