For a manufacturing or warehousing business, ensuring employee safety is paramount to its operational integrity, and prioritizing it will result in fewer accidents and a more profitable operation. Each year, thousands of accidents occur in these settings, ranging from slips and falls to more severe incidents involving machinery or hazardous materials. These incidents often total in tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in workers' compensation and settlements, lost productivity, and other shutdowns. However, with proactive measures and a conscious commitment to safety, significant improvements can be made to create a secure working environment for all. In this blog post, we explore various strategies to enhance safety in manufacturing facilities and warehouses.
- Comprehensive Risk Assessment: Conduct a thorough risk assessment of your facility and past accident reports, focusing on identifying potential hazards such as expensive or potentially dangerous machinery, moving parts, and high-traffic areas, especially when traffic is mixed between forklifts and employees on foot. Utilize safety experts or specialized consultants to ensure a comprehensive evaluation of risks. Additionally, consider implementing Internet of Things (or IoT) sensors or smart monitoring systems to complement physical safety measures like guarding and barriers, to provide real-time insights into potential hazards.
- Implement Robust Training Programs: Developing comprehensive training programs that emphasize the importance of physical safety measures such as clearly marked walkways and traffic protocols, machine guarding requirements, lockout/tagout procedures, and proper lifting techniques is a vital step in ensuring the safety of your employees and other valuable assets. Without good procedures that all employees are participating in, the investments made into safety and security will be hard to realize and sustain. Utilize hands-on training modules and practical demonstrations to reinforce safety protocols. Additionally, provide training on the safe operation of any technology-related safety equipment or systems.
- Security is Safety: One of the most basic methods of adding safety to any facility is the implementation of controlled access. This could start with containment cages (also called driver cages) around entrances and exits to control the flow of people into a building. Other forms of controlled access include limiting who has access to certain raw materials, tools, or locations in the facility. Customizable and easy-to-install cages and wire partitions can secure tool cribs, prevent theft, quarantine areas that could be unsafe or damaged, and are a quick way to ensure that only those with the proper training and permission access sensitive assets in your facility.
- Physical Safety Barriers: Install machine guarding around hazardous equipment to prevent accidental contact with moving parts. Utilize guard rails and barriers to delineate safe walkways and protect employees from falling objects or hazards. Implement floor markings and signage to designate hazardous areas, emergency exits, and pedestrian walkways. Install corner mirrors and consider utilizing technology such as proximity sensors or automated gates/doors to enhance the effectiveness of physical safety barriers and alarm people of potential traffic accidents or incoming forklifts.
- Look out Below!: Sometimes, pallets are loaded incorrectly, or placed precariously on a rack. Falling inventory can injure anyone passing by at the wrong moment, simply being in the wrong place and at the wrong time. Rack-mounted guarding, inventory nets, and enclosure kits can all help to prevent these random and senseless injuries and accidents, saving you money and lost inventory.
- Promote a Culture of Safety: Make sure your employees know that safety is for everyone. Foster a culture where safety is prioritized by encouraging open communication and active participation from all employees. Conduct regular safety meetings to discuss concerns, share best practices, and reinforce the importance of adhering to safety protocols. Consider having different employees run and participate in these meetings who are not management level to increase the feelings of personal ownership when it comes to safety. Recognize and reward employees who demonstrate a commitment to maintaining a safe work environment.
- Emergency Preparedness and Response: Develop comprehensive emergency response plans that include procedures for evacuating the facility and responding to medical emergencies or hazardous spills. Ensure that all employees are trained in emergency protocols and have access to emergency response equipment such as first aid kits and fire extinguishers. Consider hosting free training in First Aid, AED use, and CPR for any interested employees. Utilize technology such as emergency notification systems to quickly alert employees in the event of an emergency.
- Continuous Improvement: Establish a system for regularly reviewing and updating safety protocols based on feedback from employees, incident reports, and changes in regulations. Many companies have begun creating safety councils made of employees from many levels of the company to tackle safety problems and give a voice to employees who may see and experience safety issues daily. Conduct regular inspections of physical safety barriers to ensure they remain effective and compliant with safety standards. Implement corrective actions promptly to address any identified deficiencies and prevent future incidents.
In the end, improving safety in manufacturing facilities and warehouses requires a combination of solutions, including physical safety barriers, comprehensive and routine training programs, a strong culture of safety, emergency preparedness, and continually improving your safety efforts. By prioritizing physical safety solutions like barriers and complementing them with the appropriate training and technology solutions, both large and small organizations, can create safer work environments for their employees and reduce the risk of accidents and injuries for higher employee satisfaction, retention, and a more profitable and efficient operation.
If you're looking for a partner to help you with achieving your safety goals. Wire Cage USA is ready to help- Drop us a line here and we will reach out to you to provide more information on making your facility as safe as possible.