If material handling is a core component of your business then you are probably concerned about safety standards at the workplace. When run poorly, warehouses can become a dangerous place for your workers. Taking necessary safety measures to ensure the safety of their employees is integral for businesses. A warehouse business where proper order and safety of employees are kept is bound to thrive in the market. Many workers sustain minor or sometimes major injuries in the workplace, and this could be avoided by following adequate warehouse safety tips.

In this blog, we will go over some warehouse tips to handle material safely. Read on to know more:   

• Conducting warehouse safety awareness training: Training the staff to efficiently handle various systems of the warehouse is as important as implementing the necessary procedures to ensure safety. Safety training should be a recurring practice rather than a one-time event. It should be mandatory for every employee, whether new or experienced, to renew their training to keep themselves well informed. Employers must check if the steps told during the training are being followed or not.

• Maintaining the equipment: Frequent inspections of the complex equipment will greatly reduce equipment-related injuries. A malfunctioning machine releasing hazardous energy might be fatal for the worker operating it. To avoid such misfortunes, all the equipment should be well-maintained.

• Maintaining order and cleanliness in the warehouse: Inventory needs to be moved in and out all day long in enormous and busy warehouses. If not looked after properly, the warehouse could transform into a messy, unorganized environment where workers have to walk on eggshells to keep themselves safe. To fulfil large orders quickly, they sometimes fall, slip or trip over something while rushing over from place to place. You can easily eliminate the risk of workplace injuries due to these negligence-originated mistakes. Ordering items in sturdy packaging can help minimise trips and falls due to spilt liquids and punctured packaging. 

• Investing in high-quality order pickers: Order pickers have been rising in popularity, and rightly so. It is necessary to have safe equipment To pick stock from high elevations. Order pickers significantly decrease the time spent moving through the warehouse fulfilling orders. They are also an ideal replacement to do the monotonous, repetitive actions in the warehouse-like navigation or cleaning.   
• Choosing the right and essential forklift attachments: Various forklift accessories such as self-dumping hoppers, crane baskets and drum handlers can give your forklift a boost and increase productivity. Also, choosing the right kind of forklift or material handling equipment for your warehouse can improve efficiency in the work. You should use your forklift to its full potential and transform your work area.

Final word: Integrating effective material handling practices into your day-to-day warehouse activities can keep your most significant assets– your employees safe from health hazards. Equipping them with proper training and maintaining order in your warehouse will avoid onsite injuries. You could also identify and mark the accident-prone areas. Use various signs and stickers to label racks, equipment and materials to prevent any serious injuries from happening.