Warehouse Safety Guidelines and Governance

Warehouse Safety Guidelines and Governance

Industrial warehouses are huge buildings designed to store materials for manufacturers and wholesale goods for retailers. A warehouse might be a general warehouse, refrigerated warehouse, or farm product warehouse. People who work in warehouses are those who fill orders, people who move materials, and people who package items. They all use their hands, which means they need gloves. Depending on what is stored in the warehouse, workers might need other personal protective equipment, including hi-vis clothing, waterproof clothing, hard hats and other PPE to reduce the risk of injury.

OSHA Warehouse Violations

Some of the OSHA violations found in warehouses include:

• Forklift drivers without proper training.
• Missing or incomplete written instructions when working with chemicals.
• Incorrect or poor electrical wiring, including improper grounding and circuiting.
• Unguarded wall and stair openings, pits, vats, tanks, and ditches.
• Not enough exits or exits are blocked or too close together.
• Broken or missing guards on mechanical components, such as conveyors.
• Missing PPE for respiratory protection.
• Missing, malfunctioning, or already-used fire extinguishers.

OSHA provides rules and guidelines to keep warehouse workers safe. However, some warehouses have additional rules and regulations to keep workers safe. Even with the additional regulations, warehouse owners must keep current on OSHA’s latest safety regulations to avoid unnecessary employee injury, legal penalties and steep fines.

Warehouse Safety Guidelines and Rules

Safety rules for warehouses depend on the type of warehouse it is, but many of the rules and guidelines are the same. Knowing and following these general rules for any warehouse helps reduce the risk of injury.

• Keep items off the floor.
• Ensure pallets are not sticking out in aisles but are instead lined up against the shelving.
• Keep floors free of slipping hazards, such as water from a leak, spilled food and drink, or broken warehouse items.
• Chain or rope off any loading dock that is higher than four feet.
• Train workers in proper lifting techniques and other ergonomic training.
• Always keep heavier items on lower shelves.
• Ensure you have overhead guards in place to prevent items from falling onto forklift operators.
• Train workers to maintain three points of contact when using ladders.
• Do not allow horseplay and stunt driving.
• Make sure all ventilation systems are working properly.
• Make sure all machinery has safeguards in place.
• Make sure the warehouse has its safety procedures, including fire safety procedures and evacuation procedures, listed so that everyone can see them.
• Make use of signs warning employees of dangerous areas and situations, including forklift warnings, exit signs, first aid signs, wet floor signs, and shipping and receiving area signs.
• Ensure employees have appropriate cutting tools and that any knives, box cutters and other cutting tools are kept sharp.
• Provide training to properly use knives, box cutters, and other sharp cutting tools, including the proper grip, sharpening procedures, blade replacement, and cutting motion.
• Provide safety clothing for all workers. Workers should have hi-vis clothing, impact gloves, cut-resistant gloves, and / or chemical-resistant gloves.
• Workers working around chemicals and batteries should wear eye protection and face shields. Waterproof gloves can also protect workers’ hands from spilled chemicals.
• Cooling gear helps workers keep from overheating in warehouses that are not climate controlled.
• All warehouse workers should always wear hard hats to prevent injuries from items falling from high shelves or from someone dropping something on the employee. Hard hats can also lessen the risk of injury if a worker trips and falls.
• FR clothing protects workers working on electrical components, machines and equipment. It will also protect welders and others working around cutting torches and welders.

Other Ways to Improve Warehouse Safety

You can also improve warehouse safety by adding more signs – you can never have enough signs, improving floor traction, especially in known slippery areas, and outlining safe walking paths throughout the warehouse.

Adding safety lights around docks, ensuring parking lots are well-lit, and installing a camera system to alert workers of someone backing up to a loading dock will also provide an extra layer of safety.

Order Personal Protective Equipment from Abolox

Whether you are an individual working in a warehouse or a manager who purchases personal protective equipment for your employees, you can find what you need at Abolox, including goggles, hard hats, hi-vis clothing, and more. If you don’t see what you need or want on our site, call us, and we’ll source it for you.