Warehouses are dangerous places. Slips, trips, and falls in warehouses are common due to the abundance of machines, products, and employees. These accidents can also result in catastrophic injuries (and even death) at times. Warehouses can be dangerous just like anywhere else, though, and workers need to be vigilant to keep themselves and others safe. OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) sets guidelines for warehouse safety, and companies need to follow these rules in order to ensure their employees are safe at all times.

The guidelines were put in place to provide companies with important information regarding safe warehouse practices. Many warehouse safety guidelines require employers to implement certain safety protocols and procedures, as well as train their employees for emergency first aid at work so that they know how to act in a situation of emergency.

OSHA health and safety regulations for warehouses can be extremely challenging to keep up with, as the list of requirements is lengthy and constantly changing. Keep in mind that these guidelines are constantly changing, but the below eight basic warehouse safety protocols should always be followed no matter what.

  1. Maintain fire safety standards
  2. Provide forklift training
  3. Train forklift operators
  4. Provide safe work surfaces
  5. Provide proper clothing
  6. Provide proper footwear
  7. Provide eye protection
  8. Provide hearing protection
  9. Provide protection from hazardous atmospheres

Maintain fire safety standards

To ensure the utmost safety of employees, goods, and the facility itself, adherence to OSHA’s guidelines for fire prevention and response is essential. This involves regular inspection and maintenance of fire suppression systems, strategically placing fire extinguishers throughout the warehouse, maintaining clear and accessible emergency exit routes, and conducting comprehensive fire drills. In addition, considering the expertise of Katy fire protection services (if that’s where you are located) can be a proactive measure to ensure that your warehouse is equipped with the latest fire prevention technologies and practices, offering a robust layer of defense against potential fire hazards.

Provide forklift training

Lift truck training is a key component of warehouse safety. Forklift training is about more than ensuring you can operate a forklift safely; it is also about ensuring that you understand warehouse safety guidelines. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) identifies five major hazards in warehouses that operators of forklifts must recognize and protect against pedestrians, vehicles, loads, load transfers, and proximity to edges and openings. Collisions and falls are the leading causes of workplace injuries, and forklifts are the primary cause of these injuries.

Train forklift operators

If you are responsible for your workplace’s warehouse safety, it’s important to keep your warehouse forklift operators up to date on current workplace safety guidelines. Employers must provide training for all forklift operators every six months to comply with OSHA regulations. By providing them with ongoing training, employers can reduce the risk of forklift accidents in the workplace, avoid costly citations, and prevent work-related injuries.

Provide safe work surfaces

A clean place to work is something every worker deserves, regardless of whether they are working in the office or in the warehouse. The requirement only escalates in the latter case however, because the workers here are more prone to being exposed to hazardous materials; which is why the need for OSHA-compliant commercial cleaning is essential.

Apart from this, there are certain things that can be done to reinforce the same:

  • Provide a workplace that is free from known hazards
  • Provide training,
  • Use safe work practices, and
  • Regularly inspect the workplace to identify and eliminate any hazards.

Provide proper clothing

OSHA guidelines state that employers must provide their workers with proper protective equipment and proper workplace safety clothing. By doing so, they can protect their workers from on-site accidents or mishaps that can occur while they are working.

Provide proper footwear

According to OSHA, appropriate footwear should be chosen based on the work environment. It should either be safety footwear or boots with steel-toed soles, nonskid soles, and side and toe protection.

Provide eye protection

Providing eye protection in the workplace is a basic safety requirement, and it’s something that shouldn’t be overlooked. There are plenty of inexpensive types of eye protection currently available, so don’t let cost be a barrier to protecting your employees’ eyes.

Provide hearing protection

It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that workers are protected from noise by providing them with necessary hearing protection aids. In the event of noise levels exceeding 85 decibels, employers must take notice and provide hearing protection to their employees.

Provide protection from hazardous atmospheres

Employers must comply with OSHA guidelines in order to operate a workplace legally. They can also reduce workplace hazards by following best practices, such as an implementation of OSHA compliance auditing, for instance.

The OSHA warehouse safety guide is readily accessible for employees so that they can take steps to ensure the safety of their workplaces. These guidelines were created to ensure workers in warehouses, distribution centers, and other facilities are protected from the hazards associated with certain work environments.

When you’re running a warehouse, you’re likely dealing with complicated products, rapid volume changes, and pressure to make the most of every pound of space. But one of the challenges with operating a warehouse is making sure you’re doing everything you can to keep your employees safe. And by following the simple steps mentioned above, most of the risks can be mitigated.