Safety is the prime consideration when both allocating your warehouse space and choosing the storage within it. When running a warehouse, your worst fears of having an unsafe working environment or adding to the statistics of work-based injuries are always lingering around your head on every decision you make – or they should be if you want warehouse health and safety.
Warehouses indeed have a higher injury rate for work-related accidents, which means they have stricter guidelines when it comes to safety, which is why the choice of ideal warehouse storage equipment is a high area of focus to prevent accidents and injuries.
The Ideal Provider
When you engage with a provider for your warehouse design and storage requirements, you are going to need someone with the right levels of experience and reputation to trust your employee’s wellbeing in their hands.
This means you need to thoroughly research each provider and rate the feedback they have gotten through reviews and customer comments. The cheapest option often results in the cheapest product, so don’t dice with your company’s well being and safety just to save some upfront pennies.
Consider the Inventory
When choosing your pallet racking and industrial storage racks, you have to base them on the size, shape and weight of the items you will be storing. Ensuring that the racking you install is fit for the product reduces the chances of objects falling from overloading.
Consider how these items will be retrieved and plan accordingly. Heavier and bulkier products should be stored lower to ground level to minimize lifting and forklift incidents, and any hazardous chemicals should be clearly labelled and stored.
Assembly
Your provider will know the full layout and advise on the design for your storage solutions before any assembly of the system. Naturally, there will always be things you may not have considered that will be brought up by the person handling your design.
You need to consider spacing in the aisles to accommodate forklift, workers and picking trucks if you use them. You would also need to confirm that dampness would not affect the structural integrity of the system and the most important factor being that the floor can support the system without the risk of a shift in a seismic event.
You will also need to train your employees, from pickers to forklift drivers, on how to utilise the racking system and to follow guidelines for use of aisles and safety in stacking and shelving.
By taking all necessary precautions and advice when planning warehouse storage equipment, you are helping your business and employees avoid common mistakes and improving your warehouse efficiency.
Contact the team at Monarch Shelving today for the right system for your requirements for better warehouse health and safety.
