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Top Warehouse Safety Hazards and How to Help Your Team Avoid Them

As an employer, ensuring your warehouse is a productive environment is usually a priority. However, it also needs to be exceptionally safe. Along with supporting the well-being of your team, a safe workplace avoids challenges that can detail productivity, such as being shorthanded after an employee injury or morale dips relating to ongoing risks.

Often, improving safety in your warehouse isn’t as challenging as it initially seems. If you aren’t sure where to begin, here is a look at the top warehouse safety hazards and how to help your team avoid them.

Disorganized Work Areas

While messiness might not seem like much of a safety hazard initially, it can be quite harmful. Disorganized workplaces can increase certain risks. For example, if floor areas are messy, slips, trips, and falls are more likely.

Similarly, if your employees are frantically searching for a needed tool, they may act recklessly. They may not pay the same level of attention to their surroundings because they’re distracted or might use a less-than-ideal tool for a job it isn’t intended to handle, both of which could lead to an accident.

Make sure your employees understand the importance of organization. Additionally, praise those who keep work areas tidy. That positively reinforces the desired behavior, increasing the odds that everyone will be more diligent.

Disengagement During Training

Workplace training ensures employees know how to handle various tasks correctly and safely. However, if your workers are disengaged during training, the odds that they’ll retain the information that’s been shared can go down dramatically. As a result, they may forget the best practices associated with certain activities or make act unsafely because they don’t remember the risks.

If you want to make sure that your employees aren’t just exposed to the right information but also retain what they learn, focus on engagement during training. Make parts of the process interactive, and vary the delivery mechanism to keep things interesting. Use quizzes to gauge retention and follow up if employees struggle with any particular topic.

Improper Lifting Techniques

Heavy lifting is common in warehouse environments, so knowing how to lift safely is essential. Otherwise, your employees are at significant risk of strains, sprains, and similar injuries.

Make sure employees are taught the correct lifting procedure and have an expert check their body positioning to ensure they get it right. Have all workers remain vigilant while on the floor, allowing them to step in if someone isn’t lifting correctly or offer assistance for cumbersome items.

Also, provide tools that can assist with lifting and moving heavy boxes. Mechanical lifting equipment can prevent the need for employees to potentially strain themselves and can reduce overall fatigue levels that commonly come with physical jobs. Plus, if they’re highly accessible, they can even increase productivity.

Contact GoSource Today!

Ultimately, the warehouse safety hazards above are avoidable, especially if you take advantage of the tips above. If you’d like to find out more about how to create a safe work environment, the staff at GoSource wants to hear from you. Contact us today.

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