Perhaps the most important element of a warehouse operation is worker safety. After all, it is the employees that actually pick, transport, and pack goods for shipping that are the backbone of the business. Without them there is no business.
Moreover, injuries to warehouse employees can affect a company’s bottom line in so many ways. The downtime of workers due to injury affects the productivity of the entire warehouse. In addition, injuries in the workplace can lead to all sorts of workmen’s compensation issues.
It is therefore essential that warehouse managers take steps to ensure the safety of their employees and execute a warehouse safety program.
One way to protect worker safety in a warehouse safety program is with protective guarding throughout the warehouse. And since today’s warehouse is designed to pull workers from the floor to higher structures, it is essential to place protective guarding wherever personnel work, traverse, or gather.
On The Floor
Obviously, the floor of the warehouse is where most work is performed. There are forklifts and other materials handling equipment that are buzzing along. Operators of these machines confront pedestrians who are involved in other warehouse activity.
Operators who maneuver material handling equipment must take care that they don’t initiate accidents with pedestrians. Operators must also take care not to cause accidents due to the dropping of a load or ensure that the products that they carry are not damaged in any way.
Protective guards and technology can provide what is needed.
Warehouse safety devices designed to alert drivers of the presence of one or more pedestrians in the work area is essential for preventing accidents involving pedestrians from occurring.
(Photo by chuttersnap on Unsplash)
Telematics monitoring of materials handling equipment can discover drivers who are behaving dangerously in the way they operate their vehicles. This alerts fleet managers or other warehouse executive so that they can take steps to re-train drivers when necessary. This helps to encourage safe driving that prevents pedestrian accidents or issues leading to damaged products.
Protective Guarding Equipment can also be used in strategic areas for warehouse safety.. For example, storage lockers placed at the entrance of the warehouse permits employees to safely store personal items reducing clutter and helps to prevent trip and fall hazards.
Wire or mesh cages and cells or light curtains can be placed in high traffic areas. No doubt there are situations when pedestrian personnel need to contain a work area to prevent AGV, forklifts and other materials handling equipment from getting in the way.
Rack protectors and guardrails are ideal protective guards that prevent rack systems from damage.
Machine guards protect machinery, conveyors and the people who work them. So install guarding around an entire machine or around parts of equipment to ensure that personnel working in the area are protected.
Moving Up
From the floor of a warehouse workers are moving up onto elevated areas including walkways, mezzanines, elevated pallet drop areas, elevated conveyors and multi-level pick modules. ANSI MH 28.3 standards require elevated areas 36-inches or higher must be protected. According to OSHA, objects falling onto lower levels can cause accidents that cost $5 billion a year in the United States and 16 lost workdays per injury. OSHA adds that more than 50,000 serious injuries occur per year in the U.S. due to falling objects striking employees.
Netting and mesh infill panels surrounding elevated conveyors and rack systems are ideal for preventing products from falling down onto lower levels.
Installing protective guards on mezzanines, walkways and platforms prevent workers from falling or getting too close to machinery.
ANSI standards urge that counterbalanced dual safety gates be installed around pallet drop areas.
Safety gates can also be used to isolate pallet flow lanes to prevent vehicles and pedestrians from entering.
Executing a warehouse safety program can prevent injuries to personnel, damage to equipment and products and save a warehouse operation some significant coin.
(Source: mhi.org)