All industrial settings require extra care and vigilance on the part of management and workers alike to guard against serious accident and injury. Here are a few ideas to help keep your warehouse workplace safer.

Warehouses are some of the busiest work settings imaginable: goods are constantly going onto and coming off the loading docks. Trucks are coming in and out of the parking lots all day. Forklifts, barrel lifters and employees are scurrying up and down aisles storing, removing pallets, and rearranging: always moving, moving, and moving some more. If proper precautions and rules are not followed carefully, serious accident and worker injuries become more likely.

A good place to start emphasizing safety is with employees themselves. If a uniform or coveralls are not required on the job, consider adopting such a policy or at least enforce a dress code.

Workers should not wear loose fitting clothing that can easily get caught on protruding nails or worse: in machinery. Loose shirt tails are particularly dangerous, and low riding pants are a tripping hazard. Wearing appropriate footwear should be a given. Many warehouses forbid employees from wearing jewelry of any kind, for fear of its getting stuck in machinery and causing serious injury.

Strict rules about leaving hazards and clutter in aisles should be enforced, and consequences for such negligence put in place. Aisles should be absolutely clear at all times in order to prevent accidents. Any spills should be cleaned up immediately, and idle machinery should be stowed.

Another issue for warehouse safety is load balance. With forklifts and barrel lifters in near constant use, it is not unusual for hundreds of loads to be moved on any given day. An improper load balance can result in disaster by ruining inventory, causing employee injury, or both. Make sure your workers are adequately trained in how to use machinery properly and have them practice for a reasonable length of time under constant supervision.

Employee error is not the only way injury or accident can occur: sometimes faulty machinery is to blame. Responsible warehouse managers will have a regular maintenance and servicing schedule for all motorized equipment and other tools that are in use.

Managers themselves can have the most influence on maintaining a culture of safety by setting the proper example for those who work under their supervision. Holding regular staff meetings to reinforce company procedures and following through on their implementation are keys as well. Make accident and injury a priority in your warehouse workplace.