Common Warehouse Hazards and How to Avoid Them
Warehouses can be some of the most dangerous working environments. Injuries in areas related to transport, postal and warehousing amount to more than 1,800 incidents per year in Australia. Most of the time these accidents are avoidable by maintaining safety procedures, wearing personal protective equipment and developing an awareness of what hazards exist in your workplace and how best to avoid them. We outline four of the most common warehouse hazards in details and describe how to improve your safety while performing industrial cleaning in warehouse situations.
Moving Machinery
Machinery with moving parts can take many forms: manufacturing equipment, heavy machinery, forklifts and other construction equipment amongst the most common. Make sure you invest in proper and regular training for your cleaning staff: teach them the right means of avoidance and safety procedures to prevent hair, clothing and loose limbs from becoming caught in moving machinery, forestalling injury and death. Best practice is to ensure there are high-visibility impact labels around all machinery before performing cleaning nearby, and ensure that you stay a safe distance from any machinery while it’s operating. Finally, closely monitor your use of high-visibility clothing and personal protective safety equipment at all times to ensure you’re noticeable and protected on the warehouse floor while performing industrial cleaning.
Loading and Unloading Zones
Loading and unloading using a forklift or manual lifting can have disastrous consequences. Workers can become pinned between forklifts, the loading dock and vehicle, or hit by unsecured items or dock plates. Ensure you are familiar with the area you are required to work in. Training is essential because there may be differences in loading zone layouts or industrial cleaning procedures depending on the situation. If anything is being lifted above head level, wear personal protective equipment at all times.
Falling Objects
Items can easily fall off of shelves or stacks and cause mayhem and injury. Make sure your team are aware of the best procedure when working near stacked loads, particularly heavy loads. Teach them to avoid stacks in disarray so that whenever they’re in motion something doesn’t unbalance and tip over. If items are irregularly shaped, ensure they’re stacked in a safe way. Wear helmets if anything is above head level and secure any loads heavy enough to seriously injure someone.
Exposure to Harmful Substances
Hazardous chemicals can be present in any warehouse work space, industry notwithstanding. Dangerous chemicals must be stored correctly during storage and transport, at the proper temperature, to avoid a hazardous reaction, ingestion or other catastrophe. Use personal protective equipment and always invest in training for the people responsible for handling dangerous or sensitive chemicals.
ONIX Group is one of Australia’s largest commercial and industrial cleaning companies. We have over a decade of experience servicing some of Australia’s biggest organisations – see our home page for more. For all other industrial cleaning advice, tips and tricks, head to our blog to catch up with our latest insights. Feel free to call us for any and all commercial and industrial cleaning needs. We will be happy to detail our process and training in relation to how it applies to your situation and will provide an affordable quote with no obligation. Call us today – 1300 558 896.
