5 Top Warehouse Injuries: How to avoid them
The recent increase in volume and speed of materials passing through warehouse facilities causes thousands of industrial accidents to happen every day. The pandemic has caused online shopping to significantly increase while seeing a profound decrease in workers.
This has caused longer working hours which are certainly one benefit however, the drawback is workers are at a greater risk of injuries from exhaustion. According to OSHA (Occupasional Safety & Health Administration), fatal injury rates are higher than the national average for all industries.
The 5 most common injuries in a warehouse:
- Forklift Accidents
- Caught Between Objects
- Trips & Falls
- Hazardous Materials
- Overexertion Injuries
It has become critical to find ways to keep workers and facilities safe. There are numerous ways to go about this. The first one, which is the most important is how your workers view safety.
Ask any worker about safety and they will agree that safety is very important while working in warehousing, distribution and construction. Most workers will automatically don a safety vest without even thinking. It's a great start and most employees do view themselves as safe workers. Why then are there so many injuries while on the job?
We would like to share how one industrial facility was able to help their workers view safety differently. They were asked to watch a film entitled "The Hidden Cost". After the film they were asked what they thought of the film and how it will affect how they go about their job after seeing it.
One production technician expressed, "...it definitely opened my eyes as to what could happen...watching the film will make me more aware of my surroundings and what is going on...". The film shows the impact of why its important to protect pedestrians from machinery.
Let's talk about forklift accidents and workers being caught between objects. For the health and safety of pedestrian workers and facility vehicles that share a route in the workplace, there is no question there should be segregation between them to avoid accidents. Unfortunately, the legislation is not clear about what effective segregation should look like – or how it can be implemented in busy work environments where traffic movements are complex.
Fortunately, there is a solution to this complex problem. The most effective way to seperating pedestrians from moving machinery is through the use of guardrails. Guardrails offer safe walkways for people while creating vehicle routes that provide safety to critical infrastructure and assets.
How do you know that the guardrails you choose have to right level of protection for your workers, facility and assets? Choosing the most effective protection is critical and much thought needs to go into it. To learn more about protecting workers and warehouse assets.
The latest techonology in protecting walking workers, vehicles and assets allows guardrails a soft impact. The guardrail to flex, absorb and recover. Learn more about this new technology and how it is engineered.
