Between ensuring the efficient flow of goods through the supply chain, to monitoring arrival and delivery of trucks; you are probably hard pressed to also guarantee that your warehouse floor is safe.

From the loading docks to the carousels and on to pedestrian walkways, there is a continuous stream of traffic in most storehouses.

This traffic includes humans, forklifts, pump trucks, HGVs and pallet trucks.

In many industries, ranging from manufacturers to transporters to delivery companies, the warehouse is an integral part of the supply chain. However, with speeding 3,000 kilo forklifts, automatic rolling tugs and pump trucks; the large floor space can be a minefield to navigate safely. Add the ever present possibility of a fire outbreak and accidents with the racking, being a warehouse supervisor can be a really stressful role.

Warehouse safety has always been a big issue, but with industry regulations, ranging from the Equipment Regulations 1998, Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, The Workplace (Health, Safety & Welfare) Regulations 1992, Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 1992 etc. These legislations and many more specify safe working conditions for the staff and make it may seem easy to keep everything running smoothly, but human error can creep in and accidents follow.

From people refusing to wear their PPE to fork lift drivers not being certified to a picker stumbling and falling over a pallet; a busy warehouse floor can be a hotbed of injuries. The most common accidents in warehousing are slips, trips, movement related accidents and forklift accidents. While common sense and following the rules can prevent most of these accidents, there are still more than ten fatalities every year from on the job related accidents.

Work on the following five accident-generators, getting rid of these and you can significantly lower the amount of injuries and possible fatalities in your organisation.

Incorrect use of Personal Protective Equipment – The most important is also the least used. People tend to think its not important as they have never been hurt before. They forget that all it takes is one crushed and mangled foot by a dropped object, to totally change the quality of your life. Using the recommended PPE, i.e. steel toed boots to protect feet, a hi-visibility jacket and sturdy work gloves to protect hands while lifting. These three are the minimum required for everyone on the floor.

Tripping Pallets – The humble, wooden lattice, that is used to carry the goods, can be overlooked as a cause of accidents. Some pallets are metal or durable plastic. Careless placement of pallets in high traffic zones is responsible for most trips and falls in the warehouse. Wrong storage, improper/over-stacking also lead to accidents and injuries.

Fork Lift Collisions – With steel forklifts whizzing around delivering roll cages, stacks of pallets and other heavy packages, it is extremely vital that the floor space is clearly marked. Designated pedestrian walkways, marshals at high traffic points, segregation between pedestrian and vehicle routes should be well demarcated.

Protect your Rack – No matter, the type of racking system you use, it is important that you have stops and braces in place to protect them. These steel pieces are used to shield the exposed columns. They come in different sizes and shapes, to fit all types of columns. The cause of most racking system accidents is from fork lifts ramming into and breaking the columns. This is where column guards and rack protectors come in. They are used to shield the exposed lower support beams of the pallet rack from the brunt of collisions.

Fire – The ultimate hazard, which is responsible for costing businesses in England billions of pounds over the last decade, is easily preventable. From specifying designated smoking areas to running a mandatory, weekly fire drill to having well marked fire exits; knowledge of these and more can help minimise loss from a fire outbreak. Ensuring the building has functioning fire fighting equipment is also extremely important.

As a warehouse supervisor, knowing these points is an integral part of your job. The task at hand is to constantly reminding the rest of your staff about what must be done to ensure a safe working environment.

At Monarch Shelving Ltd, we stock a broad range of racks such as Dexion, Redirack, drive-in racking, pallet racking etc.

We also have many racking protection braces and safety guards. These can be created in custom sizes to fit your existing floor plan and racking system.

Call us for your new and used warehouse racking system.