How to Keep Your Warehouse Workers Safe and Productive

Employers and managers who are responsible for both large and small warehouses alike, know that there are many unique challenges to keeping their workers safe. Although each employee is responsible for his or her own behavior, it is up to management to set the guidelines to be followed. Here are some important tips for formulating your warehouse policies.

Set appropriate and realistic deadlines.
You will force your workers into taking unnecessary chances with their own bodies and with your expensive equipment if they are forced to meet quotas that are physically impossible. Hurried employees may overload forklifts or rush unsafely through the facility. It is simply not worth the risk.

Insist on workers wearing appropriate safety gear.
Depending on your business, this might include hard hats, steel toe boots, safety glasses, ear plugs or other appropriate noise reduction gear, safety vests, etc. Those employees working on loading docks should be provided with safety vests that are more reflective than conventional vests so that they can easily be seen by trucks and other motor vehicles.

Create the coolest working environment possible.
Temperature-wise that is. Heat stress is a very real danger to warehouse workers during the summer. It is not enough to ask them to wear thin clothing or to bring extra shirts with them to work. Heat stress leads to undue fatigue, lack of concentration, and other more dire symptoms, and is also one of the leading causes of workplace accidents. Make sure the warehouse has proper airflow and invest in industrial fans to help keep workers as comfortable and safe as possible.

Set up a regular break schedule and insist that workers keep themselves hydrated.
During hot summer months, employees should consume 8 ounces of water every 20 minutes or so. Rotating positions may also help alleviate fatigue and reduce accidents.

Hold regular training sessions on how to lift properly.
Although this may seem unnecessary, especially if most of the workforce has been on the job for many years, reminders never hurt. Complacency over time can lead to serious back and other injuries such as shoulder strain or even crushed hands. Insist on a "buddy system" whereby workers are encouraged to help each other lift loads that are much too heavy for one person to handle.

Ensure every new employee receives proper training.
No new employee should be allowed anywhere forklifts and other heavy equipment before he or she has been properly trained. Implement a series of training steps. Only after their successful completion can an employee assume control of the equipment. Refresher courses for veterans, particularly if you acquire new equipment, should be mandatory as well.


Shoppa's Mid America is your resource for all of your warehouse needs including design, installation, tear-down, liquidation, cooling systems, as well as safety training and products. Visit our website for more information today.