Warehouses occupy a strategic position in the manufacturing and distribution chain, as well as online or offline shopping. Whether you shop online or offline, the items you buy spend some time at warehouses.
About 145,000 people work in the about 7,000 warehouses spread across the country. Warehouse workers are particularly known prone to workplace injury than other categories of workers.
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), forklift accidents cause about 100 deaths and 95,000 injuries every year in the US.
Because of the notoriety of forklifts, ensuring forklift safety is an important aspect of ensuring the safety of warehouse workers.
We have put together some proven, simple, and straightforward ways of ensuring forklift safety in warehouses.
- Proper training, evaluation, and certification of all workers before they operate forklifts.
- No one under 18 years should be allowed to operate a forklift
- All defective trucks and equipment should be serviced before use
- Optimum safety clearances for loading docks, aisles, and passages that are used with forklifts
- Educate employees on the hazards associated with the forklift combustion products such as carbon monoxide
- Strict prohibition of horseplay and stunt driving
- Forklift operators should always wear seatbelts, as designed and installed by the manufacturers of the forklift
- Avoid the buildup of noxious gaseous with proper ventilation systems
- Achieve proper ventilation by opening doors and windows
- Install ventilation systems that keep the concentration of noxious gases below the acceptable levels
- Implement a speed limit of 5mph to ensure safe driving
- Reduce traffic in congested areas
- Create safe procedures for stacking loads, as well as picking up and stacking them
- Ensure proper maintenance of all haulage equipment, even the tires
- Install guardrails, covers, and other protective structures to keep employees from the dangers of open pits, ditches, vats, and tanks
- Forklifts should be used only for loads within their weight capacity
- Always examine forklifts for hazardous conditions before use
- Limit traffic in areas with slippery surfaces, as well as dock plates and docks
- Prohibit driving up to someone that is standing against fixed objects, whether stacked materials or a wall
Here you have it: simple tips that cover forklift safety at warehouses to ensure worker safety and productivity.
Incorporating these tips will help make your warehouse a hazard-free zone and keep workers, and even visitors, safe.
