When you have a business in a technical or industrial field, not only do you have to worry about getting the jobs done that you’re hired to do, but you also have to worry about how the work or the environment you’re working in could potentially cause harm or injury to your employees. Because of this, it’s vital that the safety of your staff be your top priority, especially in places like your warehouse, which likely isn’t client- or customer-facing at all.
To help you see how this can be done, here are three tips for keeping your warehouse employees safe and protected against unjury.
Prioritize Dry Floors And Surfaces
While you might love the water when you’re off the clock, having water in your warehouse can be extremely dangerous. Especially since the flooring and other walking surfaces of many warehouses can get very slippery when they get wet, you’ll need to prioritize dry floors as a big part of the safety measures you take to keep your staff safe.
In addition to seeking to always have your floors dry, OHSOnline.com also shares that you should keep your docks and doors sealed as well as possible so that any moisture or humidity from outside can’t make its way into your warehouse. With poorly sealed docks and doors, you could be letting in a lot of rain or snow that can put your staff at risk.
Keep All Items Properly Stored
For most businesses, a warehouse is meant to store items until they’re used or sold. But even though storage is the name of the game here, many warehouses don’t always have all of their product or equipment properly stored. And when this happens, David Davies, a contributor to Industrial Safety and Hygiene News, shares that employee injuries are much more likely to take place.
Knowing this, it’s vital that all of your warehouse staff knows where items are to be properly stored on the heavy duty racking system, and are committed to keeping those items where they belong. This can help to keep items off the floor and out of the way where they could be causing injury.
Use Machines To Do The Heavy Lifting
One of the biggest reasons why warehouse workers get hurt on the job is because they overestimate what their bodies are capable of doing. While your staff likely can handle lifting some of your more heavy items, OSHA shares that it’s best to use machines to do the heavy lifting when possible utilizing heavy duty racking. This can help to save people from getting all kinds of injuries as a result of improper lifting technique.
If you’re worried that your warehouse employees might need additional protection against injury while on the job, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you figure out how to make this happen.