Why Your Warehouse Provider Should Have a Good Safety Record
A place filled with a wide variety of heavy machinery, forklifts, and other equipment, some obvious threats of danger loom in a warehouse. This is why your warehouse provider should have a good safety record.
Warehouse providers need to pay particular attention to safety, which regulatory guidelines and industry best practices can inform. Such practices ensure a safe working environment for warehouse personnel.
In all warehouses, a good safety record should involve implementing various safety measures such as:
- Developing hazard communication.
- Having an emergency action plan in place.
- Offer medical and first-aid training programs.
- Have fire prevention training and evacuation drills.
Using these safety measures will reduce the incidents that result in severe injuries.
Why a Good Safety Record is Important
Although many things need to be prioritized in a high-functioning warehouse, safety must be the cornerstone.
The cost of not having a good safety record in a warehouse environment is high. So, it needs to be a constant focal point for warehouse managers and employees. The following are some of the main reasons why safety must be an important part of every warehouse’s operation:
-
The prevention of accidents and injuries
Due to the various hazards around a warehouse, such as moving machinery, falling objects, and exposure to dangerous materials, employees can potentially suffer many injuries.
Sometimes, these injuries can be minor, but some of them can be so serious that they are even life-threatening. In fact, the fatal injury rate for the warehousing industry is much higher than the average for most other industries.
Warehouses can prevent injuries by focusing on strong safety measures.
-
Improved productivity and efficiency
Focusing on maintaining safety around a warehouse can prevent workplace accidents that result in injuries or worse. It can also boost general productivity and efficiency, making day-to-day operations more profitable.
How does safety relate to productivity and efficiency? Well, when employees work in a safe environment without the threat of various hazards, they focus on their tasks.
-
Compliance with regulations leads to a good safety record
Maintaining a good safety record has many benefits for workers and the warehouse as a whole.
Although safety standards and requirements vary from place to place, in many areas, specific regulations are routinely updated to dictate the minimum safety standards that warehouses must adhere to.
These rules and regulations are typically comprehensive and can relate to things like how to properly use personal protective equipment, maintain machinery and equipment for optimal safe operation, and correctly handle hazardous materials.
Suppose these regulations are not strictly followed and this is reported or is discovered during an inspection. In that case, a warehousing company may face costly fines and other penalties related to non-compliance.
Safety Measures That Every Warehouse Provider Should Implement
Several different safety measures are necessary for every warehouse.
Although some safety practices may be general, others are specific to certain working areas or types of equipment. The following are some of the main measures that every warehouse provider should maintain to have a good safety record:
-
Forklift safety
One of the most common and essential types of equipment used in warehouses is forklifts. However, they also have the potential to be one of the most dangerous if used incorrectly. Forklifts can cause serious damage to operators and nearby workers.
Forklift operators must be thoroughly trained and certified before operating this equipment and receive regular refresher training. Forklifts also need to be regularly inspected for damage and be maintained to avoid potentially hazardous equipment malfunctions.
-
Conveyor safety
Another common type of equipment utilized by warehouses is conveyors. Conveyers have pinch and pull points that cause serious injury to workers if not guarded and used properly.
One way to minimize accidents related to conveyors is to use proper safeguarding equipment between workers and the equipment. Also proper lockout tag-out procedures must be followed when conveyors are maintained or repaired.
-
Proper material storage
Improperly stacked or stored materials result in increased slip-and-trip hazards for workers.
Thus, it is necessary to keep the aisles and passageways clear at all times and loads stacked properly on lower or middle shelves.
Wills Transfer, our Good Safety Record
Wills Transfer Limited can meet your needs if you would like to work with a company that values warehouse safety. We fully grasp the pivotal role that health and safety standards must play in our warehouses.
Day in and day out, we commit ourselves to following the rules and regulations of health and safety policies, and we rigidly follow all government-regulated safety obligations, certifications, and training programs at our facilities.
We are also constantly updating and upgrading our approach to workplace safety as the 3PL industry changes so that we can steadily minimize the risk of hazards that our workers may encounter.
Wills Transfer understands and accepts that occupational health and safety (OH&S) plays a fundamental role in the productivity and quality of our work. Because of this, we adhere to all government-regulated obligations, certifications and training programs.
We do this to ensure that every worker, manager, employer, and workplace at Wills Transfer is safe. With safety measures properly handled at all times, we can offer high-quality services and improved efficiency for better customer satisfaction.
For more information about our good safety record, or to learn more about the specific safety practices we implement at each of our warehouses, call Wills Transfer Limited at 613-704-7549 or contact us here.
