2014 has been a ‘very positive year’ for the warehousing industry in the UK.

With sales in all sectors going up, all the way back up to pre-recession levels.

Development of new forklifts, innovations in pallet manufacture and distribution, automation of logistics, increased customer demand have all contributed to the the boom. Britain is once again becoming a great place to do business. With more companies entering the sector, even warehouse real state is enjoying an upsurge.

Faced with the growth, the industry has also had it’s fair share of accidents and fatalities.

This has increased the push towards a zero-accident policy. Originally launched in Denmark in 2001, the Zero Accident campaign has spread globally as more practitioners see that many accidents are actually preventable. Management has a key role to play, but workers must also be involved to achieve it. The following is a list of the nine best practices for achieving a zero-accident policy:

1. Management Commitment – Management must set the direction of the campaign with their actions, not just words. If staff see that top managers are buying into the idea, it will catch on faster.

2. Employ Safety Staff – Ensure you have dedicated staff, either in-house or contractors, who regularly monitor and report on all safety issues including the use of PPE.

3. Safety Planning – A company-specific safety plan must be in place. The risks and hazards faced by warehouses and distribution centres are largely similar but may differ slightly in the minutiae. Safety professionals must draft a program for each specific environment.

4. Safety training and education – All staff must receive formal safety orientation. When workers know how to perform tasks safely, there is a marked decrease in the rise of accidents and fatalities. The more hours of monthly training and re-training that staff get, the lower the accident rate.

5. Worker involvement and participation – Training workers to work safely isn’t enough; they should also be trained to observe their colleagues. This is to correct any unsafe procedures they may be carrying out as another person’s actions can still cause injury.

6. Use recognition and rewards – Recognising safety champions and rewarding them goes a long way to promote safety as a culture. From incentives to cash to company sponsored family dinners, formally rewarding deserving staff goes a long way to ingrain the culture of safety.

7. Train temporary Staff – Any temp workers on site must undergo the same training as permanent staff. Failure to attend and participate in formal safety meetings must be met with sanctions.

8. Incident reporting and investigation – Management must show it’s commitment by investigating any reported incidents or even near-misses. Rather than using the investigation as a way to apportion blame, they should use it as a way to see the causes of the incident and devise ways to prevent them in future.

9. Drug and alcohol testing – A random drug and alcohol testing policy is mandatory to preserve an excellent safety record. Impaired workers must not be allowed on the premises, much less allowed to operate machinery.

10. Personal Safety – Regardless of how much profit the company stands to make or which benefits will accrue to staff, everyone must remember that safety is personal. Staff should come to work and remember their obligation to themselves and their family; to return home safely.

Moving into the new year, many innovations to increase the warehousing industry’s bottom line are planned.

We’ll keep you up to date as they  are rolled out and how they ‘ll affect your business. On that note, Monarch Shelving Limited wishes you a merry Christmas and a happy holiday.