Handling stock in and around a warehouse, regardless of the industry you’re in, comes with many health and safety risks. Lifting and handling courses are absolutely imperative to ensure your employees are moving loads safely and effectively, but there are many other ways to keep your workers protected from harm at all times.
As well as keeping your employees safe, you’ll also benefit financially from putting the following measures in place, so it’s in everyone’s best interests to ensure the health and safety of all who work in and around your premises. Here are some of the preventative measures you can take to protect your workers.
Try to eliminate ergonomic risk factors
These risk factors will cause unnecessary stress and fatigue to your employees over a certain period of time, and they’re most commonly found in the material handling industry. Some of the injuries and ailments that most warehouse workers suffer from, eventually, include:
- Stressful postures – bending or twisting
- Repetitive motions – lifting and reaching
- Forceful exertions – picking up and carrying heavy loads
Identify where you make ergonomic changes in and around your site and make sure you then put preventative, controlled measures in place to ensure your employees are as comfortable as possible when performing operations throughout your premises.
Provide all employees with personal protective equipment
By providing your workers with PPE, you’ll be helping to minimise the likelihood that they’ll suffer any kind of injury. They’ll be most effective when looking to move and handle loads, but they should really be worn at all times when travelling around your warehouse, even if they’re operating machinery.
Some of the most basic PPE you should be offering your employees include:
- Goggles
- Steel-toed boots
- Dust masks
- High-visibility clothing
- Helmets
- Thick, heavy-duty gloves
- Metal fiber or plastic metatarsal guards
There are many benefits to ensuring your workers are utilising PPE effectively. From protecting them from injury to saving you money down in the long run, you’ll be able to take advantage of this specialist equipment just as much as your skilled warehouse employees.
Replace or repair old, worn warehouse machinery
Minimise the manual handling accidents that occur by simply upgrading your equipment. If you have old or worn out warehouse machinery, then you should look to Refurbished Forklifts to repair and restore your equipment for you.
We have a highly-trained, professional team of engineers at the helm of our operations, so you’ll always be able to count on us to give your old machine a brand new lease of life, giving you hours of uninterrupted service when you need it most.
If your equipment has broken beyond repair and you’re struggling to find an affordable replacement, then you can also rely on our extensive range of material handling machinery that has been reconditioned with absolute skill and precision.
All of the warehouse equipment we have available is reasonably priced and of excellent quality, so you can trust us to provide you with the machinery you need to ensure your business operations run as smoothly as possible.
Some of the used warehouse equipment we have on offer include:
- Electric forklifts
- Diesel forklifts
- LP gas forklifts
- Pallet trucks
- Reach trucks
- Order pickers
- Scissor lifts
- Warehouse stackers
Respond promptly & appropriately to reports of employee injury or fatigue
No matter what the complaint might be, it should be taken extremely seriously. You should take immediate action to stop their report from occurring again. This would also include improving aspects of the workplace that ensure the absolute safety of others, no matter where they might be around your premises.
In order to make your warehouse as secure as possible for all involved, you should encourage your employees to report any hazards they might stumble across whilst carrying out their work, this way, problems can be rectified before anyone gets hurt.
Ensure you have the right equipment implemented from the offset
It’s important that you implement the most appropriate machinery throughout your warehouse from the offset. For example, if your aisles are particularly narrow, then you should purchase a used VNA forklift.
You should also consider implementing a forklift that’s perfect for both indoor and outdoor applications if your premises are spread across two sites. Should this be the case, then an electric forklift with the most appropriate tyres would be an affordable, eco-friendly option.
Our experts here at Refurbished Forklifts recently posted the ultimate guide to forklift tyres, so if you aren’t sure about which ones will be best for your warehouse operations, then take a look through it if you’re looking to upgrade and enhance your existing machines.
Reach trucks and order pickers will also be able to perform certain tasks that a standard forklift can’t. Not only will it make your operations more efficient and productive, but it’ll also help in terms of profit and overall turnover, so it’ll be a worthwhile investment in the long run.
Here at Refurbished Forklifts, we’re proud to be able to offer our customers an impressive range of used material handling equipment, all professionally reconditioned to an exceptional standard every single time. If you would like more information about the machines we have available, including refurbished forklifts, second-hand reach trucks, used order pickers and more, get in touch with a member of our expert team today – we’re always happy to help.
