There are always risks when working in a warehouse and it’s important for both staff and employers to do their best to keep safe when in the workplace.
Every day there is an accident in a warehouse that can be prevented. Either by being hit by heavy machinery, falling off vehicles or tripping, falling and slipping over.
Machinery such as forklifts makes up for about 10% of injuries in the workplace. These vehicles are powerful and can cause many serious injuries either from being crushed, run over by, falling off of or crashing the vehicle.
It’s important for anyone using this machinery to have the proper training and skills when using and for anyone not using the vehicle to be self-aware at all times.
Some ways to keep safe:
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
There is a variety of PPE that can be used to help protect those in warehouses. High visibility vests help to identify people and make them more visible to the eye of forklift drivers or other vehicles in the warehouse. Wearing a hard hat will protect the wearer's head from falling objects or hard edges of structures such as shelving units.
Signs Around The Warehouse
Putting up relevant signs around the warehouse alerts people of what hazards may lie inside the warehouse and helps them to keep alert at all times. These signs could either be markings on the flooring such as where the walkways are around the area or metal signs with signals such as stop or cautions such as forklifts operating in the area.
Barriers
Having barriers around the warehouse helps to signify there is a vehicle in use in this area and to be careful. It also helps to block and create a barrier between offices, people, expensive machines and other hazards around the warehouse. It can also prevent vehicles such as forklifts from accessing certain areas such as offices, storage facilities, pedestrians and hazardous areas or products within the warehouse and can offer guidance and protection from moving vehicles such as vans and lorries.
Gates
Similar to barriers gates help to prevent those who do not have permission from entering a warehouse area or other areas they are not permitted. Gates can be used to stop those unwanted from entering hazardous areas such as with box crushers or forklifts. Self-closing gates are a great tool to use if workers will be working at height as they can prevent them from tripping, slipping or falling off platforms or downstairs and access ladders.
Training
It is a good idea to make sure all those that will be in the warehouse have relevant training on how to behave in that part of the workspace and all office staff should be made aware as well. Anyone who is going to be operating heavy machinery or lifting heavy objects could be given the key techniques and skills required to complete the task.
At Lockinex we know how important it is to keep everyone safe while working in these environments. We offer a variety of products to help keep these spaces safe.
We stock Armco Barriers, Self Closing Gates and other products which will help keep your workers safe.
Check out our brochures below:
Visit our online shop where you can buy these products and more such as Hi-Vis workwear
Contact us for more details and customisations at our email address sales@lockinex.com or by speaking to one of our sales representatives on 01323 737 626.
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