Keeping Warehouse Workers Safe And Productive

Keeping Warehouse Workers Safe And Productive

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Employers and managers who are responsible for large warehouses know that there are unique challenges to keeping their workers safe. Although each employee is responsible for his or her own behavior, it is management that must set the guidelines that should 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 expensive equipment if they are forced to meet quotas that are simply not physically possible. 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, earplugs or other appropriate noise reduction gear, and safety vests. For those who work on loading docks, make sure that their safety vests are more reflective than conventional ones so that they can be easily seen by trucks and other motor vehicles.

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

-- Set up a regular break schedule and insist that workers keep themselves appropriately 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 workshops 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.

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

About the Author:
If you are a warehouse owner or manager seeking the very best in industrial evaporative coolers or portable space coolers for your business, contact the experts at Polar Cool (http://www.polarcool.com). Art Gib is a freelance writer.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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