Safe Warehousing All Year Round

Many jobs have inherent risks. However there is a lot that can be done to reduce these risks, promote safety and, ultimately, cut down on time and money lost.

Warehousing has its own specific types of risk, due to the machinery used, the amount of people and the constant traffic. These tips will help any large scale storage operation do business safely.

Install snow melting mats
No doubt you will want your business to operate safely in all weathers. There are several ways you can minimise the risk caused by ice and snow.

You could spread salt or grit to try and control the snow. However, this also involves an element of risk. After all, you would have to spread heavy grit or salt onto potentially slippery surfaces.

You could also attempt shovelling the snow, but this may not be practical during very heavy snowfall. Even if it is, it would require a lot of manpower and, again, involves an additional element of risk.

Alternatively, you could install snow melting mats under driveways and paths.

These mats can detect when ice is forming and warm the path or driveways, keeping them free of ice and snow.

This means deliveries can be made and traffic around the warehouse can travel safely, on roads and paths free of snow.

Mark internal pathways
The amount of traffic is one of the most dangerous elements of warehousing. There may need to be lots of people travelling around, as well as large vehicles such as forklifts.

That is why you should make sure internal pathways are marked clearly. Colour coding can be used to mark which paths are for people and which are for vehicles.

Keeping people and vehicles separate, as much as possible, will minimise the risk of any accidents.

Manage machinery
Machinery can also increase risk. You should ensure that all machinery is well maintained and working efficiently.

You should also ensure that any moving parts are covered and install emergency stop buttons, in case anything does go wrong.

Educate staff
All staff should go through rigorous health and safety training. This will ensure they know all the relevant rules and will know how to reduce risk during their job.

Any changes in operations and processes should be checked to ensure they are safe, and this should influence changes in training.

Warehousing can be risky, but there is a lot that can be done that can reduce this risk, whatever the weather.