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3 Tips to Keep Your Employees Safe in the Warehouse

When proper protocols are followed, your warehouse is a safe place to work. However, people don’t always understand the importance of abiding by the rules.

In 2017, warehousing and storage employees spent 17,390 days away from work due to nonfatal injuries and illnesses that happened on the job, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Hopefully, no one on your team was included in this statistic, but if they were, you certainly don’t want a repeat occurrence.

Use these tips to keep your warehouse team safe and healthy on your watch.

Demand a Clean Warehouse

Keeping your warehouse neat and tidy might be easier said than done, but it’s imperative. Injuries happen in the midst of chaos, so ensuring walkways, shipping doors, loading bays and work areas are debris-free is the best way to help your team avoid accidents. Really drive your cleanliness initiative home by requiring each worker to pick up after themselves. Of course, this might not always happen, so take it a step further by insisting employees pitch in and tidy up any messes they encounter — even if they didn’t make them.

Make Sure Everything is Properly Labeled

Effective communication can keep workers out of harm’s way. From clearly denoting areas being cleaned with anti-slip marking tape to correctly labeling machine parts and items around the warehouse, keeping everyone on the same page is a hugely effective safety measure. Ask employees to assist with this initiative by labeling items they use frequently, and updating them as needed.

Require the Use of Safety Equipment at All Times

Despite the risks, many people don’t like wearing safety equipment for a variety of reasons — i.e., it’s uncomfortable, takes too long to put on or doesn’t look great — but suiting up cannot be optional. Wearing the proper gear can mean the difference between life and death, so you can’t look the other way when people don’t follow the rules. If you must, institute disciplinary measures against those who don’t suit up, because this issue is non-negotiable.

Need to find dedicated warehouse workers who share your commitment to safety? PrideStaff North Dallas is here to connect you with skilled temporary, temp-to-hire and direct hire talent, so contact us to get started!

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