12 Warehouse Safety Tips

At Miami Industrial Trucks, we aim to provide you with the best service, products, training and support, so that you may have a safe working environment.

Here are 12 Warehouse Safety Tips to minimize mishaps so that your warehouse operates safe and efficiently.

1. Trips, Slips & Falls
According to the Health and Safety Executive, approximately 40 workers dies from falls, while almost 118,000 people suffer from injuries resulting from slips and falls. Outside of common sense, proactive approaches such as routine cleaning, providing even floors and displaying appropriate warning signs can help reduce the risk of these injuries.

2. Fire & Emergency
Fire tragedy is one of the biggest warehouse risks that not only can destroy goods but also your warehouse structure. To ensure fire safety, test your fire alarms regularly, install emergency lighting and conduct drills at least once a year.

3. Vehicle Safety
According to OSHA about 38% of the annual 100,000 forklift accidents result in serious injury or fatalities. It is essential to maintain vehicle safety measures such as properly certifying all operators, observing speed limits and keeping paths free of obstructions. Perform lock out, tag out if any vehicles do not pass their daily inspections.

4. Handling Hazardous Equipment
When it comes to handling dangerous chemicals in your warehouse, a hazardous training and communication plan should be established. To ensure battery safety, the following steps should be pursued. Wear approved PPE and safety googles, use gloves when lifting, avoid touching battery fluid, do not allow the battery to come in contact with metal and avoid over or underwatering.

5. Racking
To prevent equipment from causing harm or damage, racking systems and pallets should be inspected routinely. Installing heavy netting around the back of your racks is a great preventative from blocking goods from falling.  Employees must also observe all weight limits to avoid tip overs or injuries.

6. Training
Having the appropriate training is not only required by law but it also equips your operators with the essentials that they need to be confident in their daily tasks. To uphold these safety measures, having managers trained first, it will provide a higher education to help employees with guidance. Maintaining continuous training and operator recertification with all types of warehouse equipment is also a key aspect to operating safely.

7. Personal Protective Equipment
PPE helps prepare your workforce for potential accidents involving bumps, cuts and scrapes. Providing and requiring gloves, goggles, recommended footwear, hard hats and respiratory masks will keep your employees stay safe.

8. Manual Lifting and Handling
Employees are at a higher risk of accidents if proper safety measures are not implemented when conducting manual or machine-aided lifting activities. Workers should be trained on manual lifting safety to understand the maximum safe working load and the importance of inspecting chains regularly to prevent rust, fatigue and bending.

9. Conveyors
To prevent harm such as being struck by falling goods or getting caught in the machine, safety measures like safeguarding the conveyor, including when proper maintenance and repair procedures are being done, will help create a protection barrier.

10. Charging Stations
As charging stations are critical to recharge powered batteries, safety protocols must be in place to prevent hazards such as fires and explosions. Wearing PPE, providing fire extinguishers and having proper ventilation and washing systems will help disburse harmful gases.

11. Storage of Materials
To avoid improper or careless storage of loads, keep aisles clear to prevent slipping, keep loads well positioned to prevent falling, follow OSHA guidelines and report any injuries immediately.

12. Hazardous Chemicals
Implementing an effective training program will educate your employees to handle, store and deposit hazardous chemicals appropriately. Wearing PPE, keeping a clean warehouse and providing first aid kits allows for a safe workplace.