Estimated reading time: 4 mins
If there is one thing that every warehouse is supposed to have in their arsenal, it’s a safety plan. Beyond the regular health and safety laws, warehouses need to take a step up from that and ensure that they are covering their employees and themselves at every turn. Warehouses and their owners are required to adhere to strict compliance guidelines. Without those guidelines, they cannot be effective in how they operate. Not only that, but they can’t even open up because they will be in breach of health and safety.
If you own a warehouse, you need to put the safety of your staff and your clients above everything else. You need to have the right security systems and rubber strip on the doors to keep them safely closed. You need to follow the rules if you want your business to thrive, and a big part of that will be in knowing the best possible tips to help you to stay safe in your warehouse. Let’s dive in and see how you can ensure that your employees and visitors will always remain safe.
- Check the equipment is always used. You need to make sure that your team isn’t putting their bodies through pain to get the job done. That means ordering equipment that will make their life easier. If you find that your employees are crying out for equipment and help that they can use to get their job done better, then you should oblige them and make sure that they have the right equipment to work effectively. Their job is going to be made much easier when you provide them with the right tools for it.
- Safety surveys. One of the best ways to avoid safety issues in your warehouse is to ensure that you undertake safety surveys to keep up with the gaps in your warehouse. You need to know that you are on top of eliminating safety hazards in your workplace, and that means checking on equipment, workstations, flooring, vehicles and more. You need to know that you are keeping everything that could cause injury away from people in the area. Anything that could cause severe injuries should be tackled and you can use safety surveys for these.
- Mark hazard zones. If you know that there are hazards everywhere, the best thing that you can do is mark hazard zones with badges, stickers, labels and fluorescent strips if possible. If it’s a hazard or there’s a danger, you need to mark it up so that everyone can see it. It’s important that exits and safety equipment are all properly highlighted, too. When you do this, you can prevent any serious issues from occurring and you can keep everyone safe and aware of their surroundings.
- Don’t forget to train your staff. It’s not always easy to keep up with safety in your business, but you can provide proper training and courses for the people on the floor so that they can keep up with it, too. You want people to follow procedures, and the only way they can know that is if you train them on what those procedures actually are. The more you train people in your business, the better because they will be more productive and effective members of staff.
- Encourage proper clothing. Hard hats, steel capped boots, hi-vis vests and tshirts – it’s all relative to your business and with these items of clothing, you will ensure that your people are seen. This can help to protect them while they are on the job, and this will keep your warehouse compliant, too. Following health and safety rules is important and it includes following the rules for clothing in the workplace. While we’re talking about proper clothing, make sure that your staff aren’t wearing loose fitting options. Anything that is loose that can be caught in machinery needs to be left at home. You need to make hard hats, gloves, vests, masks and eyewear completely mandatory, too.
- Make sure that you invest in promotion. It’s important that people in your business and at your business know that any potential safety hazards are around. You can do this with flyers, banners, constant communication with your employees and more.
- Promote good vehicle safety. It doesn’t matter what type of vehicles that you work with in your business. The point is that you need to choose vehicle safety measures that make everyone involved aware of how to use them. Practical training should be paid so that your employees are able to work well.
