A Comprehensive Warehouse Safety Guide!

Warehouse safety

When it comes to the state of working in America, warehouses have seen a huge increase of workers with over 1,000,000 total since the start of 2018. With this trend looking to continue into the next couple of years, it’s time to examine the state of the industry, especially when it comes to safety with all of these new employees entering the field.

Warehouses, often full of moving machinery carrying heavy loads, are inherently one of the most dangerous places to work. If you’re a warehouse manager, failing to control these risks can lead to high employee turnover, decreased productivity, legal issues, and, at worst, injury or fatality.

In most case scenarios, the law requires companies to train their workers for a CPR certificate to improve workplace safety practices.

With it being estimated that 5% of warehouse workers will experience some type of injury this year alone, it’s more important than ever to consider safety. So how can you help make sure that your warehousing work environment is safe for you?

When it comes to the safety of a warehouse working environment; employees, supervisors, and managers can all help by making sure they’re educating themselves on the identification of potential hazards and implementing and maintaining the correct safety procedures. 

Warehouse working environments have plenty of potential hazards, such as moving forklifts lifting loaded pallets, slips and falls and more. Supervisors and workers must be keenly aware of their surroundings and follow appropriate warehouse safety procedures. Ensuring a warehouse is a safe and healthy workplace is everyone’s business — from top management right down to the most junior employee.

The best warehouse safety practices focus on identifying hazards and reducing workers’ exposure to them. Accident prevention is the number one component in every safety program. That includes all workplaces, and it’s especially applicable in American warehouses where so many mishaps occur.

As a warehouse manager or supervisor, you want to be on top of your safety game. Safe warehouse processes aren’t just the responsible bar to set. They’re morally, legally and financially best as well. Having a safe work environment requires establishing clear and effective warehouse safety guidelines. To help you with your program, here is Cherry’s Industrial Equipment’s guide to warehouse safety.

The Importance of Warehouse Safety

The United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), reports American warehouses have a disproportionately high accident rate compared to other employment sectors. According to OSHA, the fatal injury rate is also higher than America’s national average in all workplaces. That’s because warehouses are active environments containing volatile equipment and heavy products.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that the warehouse and storage industry employs over one million workers in more than 17,000 locations across the nation. Their information supports OSHA’s findings of warehouses having one of the largest accident and injury rates of any industry. Again, the BLS information shows warehouse workers have a higher injury risk than the average American employee.

Drilling into the Bureau of Labor Statistics online information is an eye-opener for managers. It gives you a good indication of national averages for your industry. This lets you measure your performance and encourages you to run an even tighter safety ship. Four outstanding information bits from the BLS state that:

  1. The U.S. annual warehouse injury rate is five cases per 100 full-time workers. This means 5% of warehouse workers will suffer some form of injury this year.
  2. Serious injuries happened at a rate of 3.7 cases per 100 workers. They define serious cases as ones where workers lost time or needed to be reassigned to other duties.
  3. Less serious cases happened to 1.7% of warehouse workers. These injuries were required by law to be reported, but they didn’t result in significant treatment or downtime.
  4. Almost all injuries were preventable. Most accidents occurred from a lack of safety regulation. Workplaces with effective safety programs suffered almost no injuries needing treatment or causing productivity loss.

These stats prove the importance of warehouse safety. From a financial standpoint alone, your business can’t afford an unsafe workplace. More figures from the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety estimate American companies lose $62 billion per year due to workplace injuries. Most of them are due to safety violations causing expenses from lost time, medical treatment and disability payments.

There is also the potential for legal costs stemming from workplace accidents. In addition to medical bills and lost production, you may also face heavy fines from regulatory bodies for safety violations. Litigation and lawsuit payouts are a possibility as well.

These are important reasons to work safely, but perhaps the most important one is that maintaining a safe workplace is the morally right thing to do. Every manager wants to see their employees go home safely. So do their co-workers and their families. Setting the best practices for warehouse safety is ethically and morally correct.

Safety Programs in the Warehouse

Clearly, an excellent warehouse safety program is highly important. A proper program protects your workers, complies with legal regulations, manages your warehouse efficiently and creates a healthy environment with superb morale. Safety lives within your corporate culture. You should be proud to say, “Working safe is how we do business.”

Setting and maintaining your workplace safety program is an ongoing process. It’s a living dynamic that has contagious results among workers. Safe work practices breed greater safety. Conversely, poor safety practices lead to further safety violations and on to injuries.

Forming a corporate culture based on best practices for warehouse safety starts with human behavior. From there, an efficient program focuses on identifying barriers to safe work and removing them from your operation.

Accident causation analysis, or what’s also called root cause analysis, takes complex human psychological factors into account. The causes of almost all warehouse and other workplace accidents trace back to human behavior or error. The most common accident-causing behaviors include:

  • Reduced alertness from long hours, fatigue or boredom
  • Day-to-day work habits learned through training and observing others
  • Attitude toward the job, co-workers and supervisors
  • Motivation to perform work safely
  • Personal job skills and equipment

Many industries use a behavioral-based safety program. This means they observe employee behavior and correct them for safe work practices. This is a peer-driven process where workers have each other’s back. They constantly observe human behavior in the workplace and let others know when a hazard occurs and what prevention measures are necessary.

Behavioral-based safety programs change a worker’s mindset. This happens over time as workers realize that managers encourage working safely. Workers buy into the safety program because they believe managers like you are genuine in your commitment to a safe and healthy environment.

All employees spot superiors who aren’t genuine. This is basic human nature. If workers don’t believe managers honestly support and promote their safety program, the corporate culture fails to become committed to it. As you create and implement your safety programs and procedures, it’s important to know these three types of worker attitudes:

  • Non-Compliant Employees: These are resistant workers. They don’t comply with safety in the warehouse for different reasons. Some are defiant by nature to any authority form. Some disregard warehouse safety rules because they feel it slows production. Then, some workers simply don’t know the guidelines for warehouse safety and go about their day in ignorance.
  • Compliant Employees: Most warehouse employees regularly comply with your safety program. Compliant workers follow safety procedures and adhere to regulations. They treat warehouse safety equipment with respect and wear personal protective equipment as required. But, there can be problems with workers who only comply with your safety program. Human nature being what it is, if they’re not closely supervised, they tend to complacently slip toward unsafe practices.
  • Committed Employees: Here are your safety champions. These workers know about safety risks in the warehouse. Workers committed to safety realize how important this issue is for their protection and for others. They know why warehouse safety training is important and fully participate in your program. They’re always committed to safety whether they are being supervised or not. Committed employees may be the smallest number on your payroll, but they have the biggest return on investment by influencing others to work safely.

Your challenge in implementing a behavior-based safety program is changing workers’ attitudes. It means moving non-compliant employees into compliant workers and then on to committed zealots for your program. Changing beliefs and behaviors start by honestly displaying your genuine commitment to protecting your workers. Once they recognize your dedication, they’ll follow your lead and make your safety program successful.

Safety Program Elements

Warehouse safety programs have two main elements. One part focuses on preventing accidents by encouraging safe work habits and providing workers with the right equipment to do their job safely. This element concentrates on setting policies and procedures and training workers in warehouse employee safety.

The second part responds to issues such as removing identified safety barriers. The response element deals with addressing accidents after the fact to prevent future incidents.

Warehouse safety is a two-way street. Both sides of the house — managers and employees — cooperatively set the safety program and maintain it. OSHA is a government agency and regulator whose role is assuring the health and safety of American workers by setting workplace standards and enforcing them, but OSHA is more than just an enforcement body. OSHA helps train and educate both management and labor by establishing partnerships that encourage workplace safety and health improvement.

OSHA has an excellent framework for warehouse safety programs. They also have a great publication titled the OSHA Pocket Guide Worker Safety Series – Warehousing. OSHA’s regulations set forth what responsibilities employers must take in the workplace and what rights employees have for their protection. Frameworks for an effective safety program have these main structures:

  • General Statement: This sets out management’s commitment to protecting employee health and safety. It doesn’t need to be a long or wordy affair, but it has to be genuine. The general statement is something to bind management and hold them accountable for making a successful safety program.
  • Rules and Regulations: For most warehouse applications, following OSHA’s rules and regulations is sufficient. Other federal, state and local statutes and regulatory requirements may also apply. Again, there’s no need to rewrite the rulebook as long as it holds managers accountable, and workers know what standards they operate under.
  • Standard Operating Procedures: SOPs, or Standard Operating Procedures, specifically apply to certain tasks and machinery pieces in your warehouse. SOPs stand alone in providing individual scopes, purposes and instructions for exact safe operating procedures. It’s mandatory to have workers trained in their tasks and sign-off that they’re certified.
  • Hazardous Materials: This part of your safety program falls under federal and state laws. It pertains to identifying every piece of hazardous material in your warehouse, making sure their containers are properly labeled and that Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) are easily located for every employee. Hazardous material training is mandatory for all employees and forms a solid part of your safety program.
  • Safety Committee: This is a must for your warehouse safety program. Your safety committee members are your front-line ambassadors on the floor, and it is legally required to have them. It’s important to have a good balance of members from different departments to spread influence throughout your workforce and identify issues particular to their work area. The general workforce selects safety committee members, and they’re never management-appointed.
  • Training and Development: Central to every effective safety program are mechanisms for skills training and personal development, including CPR and first aid training. This is a case-by-case issue, but having a formal program is a must. It further supports your management commitment to your employees by making sure safety training is constantly pursued. Implementing new equipment is a perfect time to increase your training levels where learning safe operation is the highest importance.
  • Investigative Procedures: All accidents and near misses must be thoroughly investigated in an open and frank way. Determining the root cause of an incident identifies flaws in your system and ways of preventing future occurrences. Investigations must find out why an incident happened and the contributing factors. This is a fact-finding mission, not a fault-finding hunt. Investigations must conclude with a clear report that’s available to all workers throughout your facility.
  • Record Keeping: Every part of your safety program must be documented and records held on file for a certain period. Record retention length depends on your jurisdiction. This includes minutes of your safety meetings, response to safety concerns, SOPs, hazardous materials papers, training initiatives and investigation reports. It also includes records of your first-aid incidents.
  • First-Aid Incidents: Most people assume that first aid is naturally part of a workplace safety program. That’s not necessarily so. In fact, first aid is what you administer when your safety program fails. That means an injury occurred, and it likely could have been prevented. Your first-aid attendant(s) must be currently certified to a required level. Records of serious injury details and treatment need to be filed with your workers’ compensation authority and retained for site inspections.
  • Emergency Response Plan: Every proper safety program includes an emergency response plan. This outlines every conceivable emergency that could happen inside or outside your warehouse. Human-caused events like fire, gas explosions and even terrorist events are examples of emergencies. Natural events like earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and tornadoes might also be threats. Good emergency response plans identify responsibilities to certain individuals as well as listing outside responders.
Warehouse Safety

Warehouse Safety Risks

Every workplace has inherent risks particular to its industry. It’s no different for the warehouse business. As a manager or supervisor, you’ll know the highest risks in your facility and take steps to mitigate them. After all, accident prevention is all about managing or mitigating risks. Doing a periodic risk or threat assessment is part of due diligence toward worker safety.

OSHA can be your best friend in warehouse risk assessment. The OSHA Warehousing Worker Safety Series publication is an indispensable resource for warehouse employee safety. This great guide identifies the common potential warehouse hazards and includes warehouse safety checklists for each risk and hazard.

Here is a synopsis about what you’ll find in the OSHA warehouse safety guide:

  • Docks: OSHA states injuries happen on warehouse docks from equipment striking workers, forklifts driving off docks and products falling on employees. Solutions for these hazards include forklift operators slowing down, workers wearing hi-visibility personal protective equipment (PPE) and visual warnings around dock edges.
  • Forklifts: OSHA identifies forklifts as the most dangerous equipment piece in the warehouse. They report approximately 100 warehouse fatalities and 95,000 injuries happen from forklift accidents every year in America. OSHA solutions for preventing forklift incidents are training operators annually, maintaining a forklift in prime condition and not allowing inexperienced or younger employees to operate a forklift.
  • Conveyors: OSHA lists conveyer systems as significant warehouse safety risks. Workers can potentially get caught or pinched in mobile conveyor parts. Accident prevention solutions for conveyors are protecting vulnerable points with guards, improving lighting around conveyor areas, regularly inspecting conveyor systems and training employees about conveyor safety.
  • Materials Storage: OSHA’s guide claims a common warehouse hazard is improperly stored material accidentally falling and injuring workers. Their solution to this risk is stacking loads evenly, ensuring heavier objects get stacked low and removing objects one at a time rather than mass-loading. They also recommend warehouse aisles and passageways be kept clear at all times.
  • Manual Lifting and Handling: OSHA’s guide rightfully points out the constant worker safety hazard from manually lifting and handling heavy products. Their back and limb-saving solution is using mechanical lifting equipment to handle products whenever possible. They wisely recommend all employees receive ergonomic training and have help manually lifting if it has to be done.
  • Hazard Communication: OSHA makes special reference to chemical burns when information about these hazardous materials isn’t properly communicated about the workforce. They list a number of solutions including proper marks, labels and worker training. OSHA also recommends maintaining current MSDS information and making it readily available to workers at risk of hazardous materials exposure.
  • Charging Stations: OSHA notes that electric forklift and pallet truck charging stations are hazardous for fires and explosions if not protected. This warehouse hazard’s solution is prohibiting smoking in charging areas, providing adequate ventilation and having fire extinguishers nearby. OSHA also advises that workers attending to stations should have the right PPE, be properly trained and have lock-out/tag-out (LOTO) options for de-energizing hazardous charging stations.
  • Poor Ergonomics: OSHA points out that poor ergonomics from repetitive motions, improper lifting techniques or poor equipment design take their toll on workers’ muscles and skeletons. Muscular-skeletal disorders (MDSs) are a big problem for warehouse employees. OSHA’s main solution is using powered material handling equipment — such as what you can get from Cherry’s Industrial Equipment — instead of lifting, twisting and exerting your back.
  • Other Hazards: OSHA lists fire as a main warehouse hazard. They also cite failure to lock out high-energy sources as a prime cause of serious accidents as well as the continual problem of workers not utilizing proper PPE. The solution from OSHA is providing your workers with the right equipment for their job.

Safety Regulations

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is America’s leading workplace regulatory body. OSHA is your first source of safety information and guidelines for the warehouse business as well as all other American industries. You’ll also have other regulatory bodies at the state and local level that prescribe safety measures for specifics like fire, gas and structural building codes.

OSHA primarily protects people. They’re the prominent regulator for worker health and safety protection. At one time, OSHA’s structure was more rigid. They focused on specific rules with harsh penalties for non-compliance. That changed over the years as OSHA’s directors bought into the behavioral-based safety program. Now, OSHA is more like a business safety partner — although they do have vicious teeth for grossly negligent offenders.

OSHA’s structure clearly spells out what they expect to see in workplace safety. This applies to all industries, not just warehouses. OSHA sets responsibilities for employers and rights for employees that create a respectful work environment as well as a safe and healthy one. OSHA state employers must:

  • Adhere to all relevant OSHA health and safety standards
  • Identify and rectify all safety hazards
  • Inform employees about hazards in their workplace
  • Report serious or fatal workplace accidents
  • Provide necessary PPE to employees at no cost
  • Keep accurate workplace incident records
  • Post OSHA notifications where workers can see them
  • Not retaliate against workers for identifying hazardous conditions

As with all civilized countries, along with responsibilities come rights. OSHA takes a strong stance on workers’ rights in America and believes that a safe workplace is a healthy workplace. OSHA recognizes all American workers have specific rights in their work environment. They include the right to:

  • Work in conditions not presenting a serious harm risk
  • Receive information and training on hazardous conditions and materials
  • Review records for work-related illnesses and injuries
  • Get copies of test results to find and measure workplace hazards
  • File complaints to OSHA regarding hazardous employer actions
  • Use their lawful rights without employer retaliation

Beyond setting workplace standards, employer responsibilities and employee rights, OSHA takes on additional roles. They provide you with site inspections, both appointed and impromptu. OSHA offers employers help with free on-site consultation, compliance assistance and cooperative programs. You can take advantage of OSHA’s Alliance Program that works with groups committed to workplace safety and OSHA’s Strategic Partnerships Program that’s designed to eliminate serious hazards and achieve model health and safety practices.

OSHA strongly believes in helping workplaces through information sharing and education assistance. The OSHA Training Institute (OTI) Education Centers are nationally networked with non-profit organizations. They deliver occupational health and safety training to America’s private sector at the worker, supervisor and employer level.

Tips for Maximizing Safety in Your Warehouse

Now’s the time for practical information about tips for maximizing safety in your warehouse. The best tip we at Cherry’s Industrial Equipment can give you is to seriously consider implementing a behavioral-based safety program in your facility. Turning your workforce mindset from merely compliant about safety to being strongly committed to safety will pay huge rewards. This move is financially responsible, legally protective and the morally right thing to do.

The second best tip we can give you is protecting your workers and your business with safe and reliable material handling equipment from Cherry’s. Browse through our online catalog and inspect our line of:

  • Pallet inverters
  • Industrial pallet dispensers
  • Lift tables
  • Spacer & pallet retrievers
  • Tippers & upenders
  • Pallet changers
  • Stretch wrappers

Having safe and dependable material handling equipment is mandatory for your modern warehouse, and having your workers trained to safely use it is equally important. These are two basic ingredients in your warehouse safety program, and they form the core of your program’s practical application.

Here are some other excellent tips for maximizing safety in your warehouse:

Image Source: SpaceVac International

  • Have a Clean and Well-Organized Facility. Messy, dirty and cluttered warehouses are accidents waiting to happen. Slips, trips and falls present a large part of recordable warehouse injury statistics. Keeping floors clean, immediately dealing with spills and constantly removing trash goes a long way in improving your safety record.
  • Use Good Signage to Identify HazardsClearly marking dangerous situations and materials is great insurance against accidents. That can be everything from high-energy sources to potential falls from a height. Both can result in serious injuries or possible death. Using bright and clear signs is low-cost insurance against expensive results.
  • Use Dress Codes for Employees. Having the right PPE for your employees goes without saying, but you might want to implement dress codes as part of your business and safety plan. Dress codes present a high degree of professionalism and can help to build camaraderie between your workers. This tactic works to support your behavioral-based safety program by having workers recognize other workers as partners. Professional attire also makes a strong statement to customers, inspectors and investors that you’re well-organized and run a safe facility.
  • Effectively Communicate With Your Warehouse WorkersEffective communication comes from having good verbal and written skills. Both are learned talents that you and your staff can develop over time. However, many great writers and orators fall short in the third form of communication. That’s being a good listener. Be sure to spend time listening to what your workers say. Instead of listening to form a response, really listen to their concerns. You can be sure that when it comes to safety, they’ll tell you what’s on their mind.
  • Enforce a Strict Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) Policy. High-energy sources like electricity, steam, pressurized gas and chemicals have deadly potential. Your LOTO policy needs to make sure all energy sources are deactivated or disabled before any worker attempts access for repair or servicing. The employee in charge of the operation needs to padlock the device-triggering mechanism, retain the only key and tag the device with their name, date and reason for disabling. They also have to test the device to ensure it’s de-energized.
  • Use the Right Warehouse Racking. Inferior or worn warehouse racks are another serious hazard. Your racks can contain thousands of pounds in products stacked high.  Another tip is to always order more capacity than you think you need. That way you have no chance of an accidental collapse from an overload.
  • Properly Train and Certify Your Workers in Safe Procedures. Trained workers are safer workers. There’s no doubt about that. The time and expense you spend on training your employees on safe equipment operation and procedures will have the best return on investment you’ll ever get. Successful worker training has three distinct steps:
    1. Demonstrate procedures to an employee.
    2. Observe them doing the job, such as operating the equipment.
    3. Test them to make sure they’re competent at the necessary task.
    After these steps are complete, you can certify them to prove they’re safe operators.

The Importance of Warehouse Employee Safety Training

Safety training is an ongoing process. Skills always need upgrading and reassessing. That’s true no matter what business you’re in, but the warehouse industry has specific skillsets not found in other industries.

In a warehouse setting all material handling equipment that run on sources such as propane, electricity, or air requires training. The more unique the product the more specialized training is required. Whether it be fork lift trucks, hydraulic lift tables, pallet inverters, stretch wrappers, or pallet dispensers training is a must to ensure the safety of your operators and for those around them.

Safety training includes proper equipment operations. For instance, warehouse workers should drive forklifts no more than 5 miles per hour (mph). A forklift operator should slow down when people are around and during less perfect warehouse conditions, like wet or slippery floors. It’s also crucial to haul loads within the forklift capacity to avoid tipping. Depending on time availability and operations schedule, warehouse managers can schedule all workers to undergo training per batch or group.

Selecting the right trainer is also important. You need someone who has the existing skills to operate the equipment as well as the communication skills to explain it. Plus, your trainer also has to have the personality and patience to teach someone else. That can be a hard combination to find.

Fortunately, there are many outside training sources to tap into. One, of course, is OSHA, but OSHA won’t have the ability to instruct your employees on safely operating pallet changers or upenders, for example. That has to come from an existing operator or from resource people supplied by the equipment manufacturer or distributor.

Safety Checklist

Another effective tip we’d like to offer is using a checklist for warehouse safety. You’ll see checklists used in every industry, including the airlines. A pilot checks off necessary items to ensure the safe operation of the aircraft during takeoff, the flight itself and landing. Why don’t you apply the same system to your warehouse?

Checklists are more than an inventory control or systems management document. Using checklists is a front-line auditing tool ensuring nothing is missed from your process. You can easily apply a checklist to every part of your warehouse. Consider breaking your checklist items into these warehouse areas:

  • Docks: You can itemize points regarding vehicle restraint systems, evaluate current dock design and assess dock equipment and the overall dock area condition. Include boxes on your dock checklist for signage and restraint barrier placement.
  • Equipment: Your equipment checklists are applicable to everything from your vehicles to your pallet handling systems. You can also apply checklists to your lift equipment, hand and power tools, charging areas, conveyors and stretch wrapping machines.
  • Building: The inside and exterior of your warehouse building present safety hazards if not maintained and controlled. List check-offs for issues like lighting, stairs, doors, aisles and floors. You’ll also want to list your mechanical and electrical systems as well.
  • Product Storage: Pallets and racks are your warehouse backbone. You want them in a safe condition at all times. You can list general conditions or get specific about examining and checking off minute details of product storage equipment.
  • PPE: Your workers require different personal protective equipment in various warehouse locations. A checklist helps you monitor PPE condition, suitability and inventory, and it lets you know when PPE needs replacing, maintaining or upgrading.
  • Consumable Cabinet: Regarding PPE gear, they use a consumable cabinet to monitor stock levels, so there is always enough safety gear in the warehouse. Consumables in this context mean stock and inventory that is thrown out once it is no longer needed. Ensuring enough safety gear avoids risking the lives of workers and the temporary halt of warehouse operations.

Equipment for a Safer Warehouse

Another checklist to make is one listing the Cherry’s Industrial Equipment you can get for a safer warehouse. Using mechanical and automated material handling equipment relieves strain on your workers and allows them to be more productive. That makes them safer and ultimately presents a better bottom line for your business. It’s a win-win situation when you partner with Cherry’s for this safe line of material handling equipment:

  • Pallet Inverters: Pallet inverters let you efficiently transfer loads, find and replace damaged product, as well as invert loads for your specific application. They remove any need for your employees to manually hand stack product onto new pallets and risk serious strains. Cherry’s carries single clamp, dual clamp, ground loading, ramp loaded and low-duty pallet inverters. We can even custom fabricate a safe pallet inverter for your special needs.
  • Pallet Dispensers: Industrial pallet dispensers make order picking and palletization safe and easy. Manually handling pallets is exhaustive work. It can also be dangerous. Cherry’s will increase your pick rate and reduce employee accidents with our line of automatic pallet dispensers, sheet dispensers, pallet straighteners and container dispensers.
  • Lift Tables: Lift tables take the strain off your workers by mechanically raising and lowering loads. This makes your warehouse safer, more efficient and more profitable. You can select level loader lift tables, stainless steel lift tables, high-level lift tables and floor-level lift tables from Cherry’s Industrial Equipment.
  • Spacer and Pallet Retrievers: This material handling equipment from Cherry’s is built to handle increased demands and heavy volume in meat processing plants and cold storage facilities. As with all Cherry’s Industrial Equipment products, our spacer and pallet retrievers offer uncompromised safety features. Feel free to explore our PSR Model, the VBED Model, an SR2 Model or one from the Inline Systems.
  • 90° Tippers & Upenders: If your warehouse handles rotating coils or rolls with forklifts, we can make your place far safer with our 90° Tippers & Upenders. They change the load access between vertical and horizontal positions without danger to workers. Check out our online catalog for economy hydraulic, low-duty, high-cycle and heavy-duty tippers and upenders.
  • Pallet Changers: Don’t overlook the safe value you’ll get with Cherry’s pallet changers. If you are looking for a load transfer machine that requires “no touch” of a pallet and no fork lift truck, then this option is worth exploring. We carry LT Model, PC Model and DV Changer pallet solutions.
  • Stretch Wrappers: Perhaps our most safety-conscious piece of material handling equipment is our line of warehouse stretch wrappers. Your workers will no longer be exposed to ergonomic threats by hand wrapping loaded pallets. Cherry’s Industrial Equipment is pleased to offer you turntable stretch wrappers, overhead semi-automatic stretch wrappers and robotic automatic stretch wrappers.
  • Bandsaws: The bandsaw is another saw that is used for curved cutting. It is a powered tool that can give many types of intricate cutting. It is very easy to use. For beginners, it is important to ensure that the blade of this saw is sharp so that it can artistically cut the wood. bandsaw blades at Asset Plant & Machinery can be purchased.

Takeaway

Warehouse safety must be a priority while sustaining operations. All workers should wear appropriate PPE and  be alert to hazards. Creating a detailed warehouse safety policy is also crucial to keep everyone updated on the different warning signs and safety hazards and proper reporting. 

A safe, productive warehouse environment ensures all workers consider the consequences of an incident, reinforcing safe working behavior.

Warehouse safety article and permission to publish here provided by Adam Robinson. Originally published on Supply Chain Game Changer on November 1, 2018.

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