Working in a warehouse means you’re exposed to certain dangers on a daily basis. Whether it’s dealing with pallet racks, driving a forklift or loading/unloading materials, you need to be aware of your surroundings and remain diligent about safety. While your employer likely makes significant efforts, there are several ways you can take safety into your own hands.
1. Make Sure You’re Wearing Proper Safety Clothing
Items like goggles, work gloves and hard hats can go a long way in keeping you safe. With slips, trips and falls accounting for 12 to 15 percent of all workers’ compensation expenses, you’ll also want to wear slip-resistant footwear.
2. Alert Your Manager of Safety Hazards
Although your manager probably does their best to keep your workplace free of hazards, they can’t catch everything. Therefore, it’s up to the employees to be on the lookout for anything that could pose a threat. Anytime you notice something that could potentially be an issue, be sure to alert your manager right away so they can take the appropriate action.
3. Always Use Equipment Correctly
All pieces of equipment have their intended use. If something is used incorrectly, it can create serious hazards. One of the more common mistakes is when employees try to save time by taking shortcuts, which means that a piece of equipment isn’t used as intended. This is just setting the stage for injury. Always be sure you’re using equipment correctly.
4. Get Help When Lifting Heavy Items
The Ministry of Labour explains, “Workers are at risk of back injury and muscular strains from lifting and moving heavy or bulky items of stock.” For this reason, get help from your co-workers whenever you need to lift a heavy item.
5. Take Regular Breaks
One of the main reasons people make mistakes is because they’re fatigued and exhausted. You can often avoid this by always taking your scheduled breaks. Even if it’s just a few minutes, it should greatly reduce the likelihood of an injury occurring.
6. Know where the First Aid KIT is
In the event you or someone else does get injured, you’ll want to have quick access to first aid. While this won’t be sufficient for major injuries, it will allow you to promptly treat things like cuts, scrapes, minor burns, etc.
Although you can’t always prevent injuries in a warehouse, there’s a lot you can do to minimize those odds. Taking these specific safety precautions should increase safety significantly and give you more peace of mind throughout the day.
Looking to kick-start your career? Contact Axiom Staffing Group today to see how we can help.