Warehouse Safety Assessments

If you are plagued by accidents in your warehouse, then it may be time to conduct a risk assessment within your organization. This risk assessment has more to do with the risk of accident and safety of the machinery and work practices, rather than it does with the whether or not to invest in a new product or business venture.

Depending on what your warehouse specializes in, you will need to modify your assessment accordingly, but the following is a basic sample of what you should review.

• Review your accident logs to review activity and determine the greatest area of urgency
• Assess the equipment and meet with company representatives to confirm that the equipment is being used properly
• Interview supervisors and laborers that work with the equipment and identify compliance issuesReview job knowledge and use of the equipment
• Determine what controls are in placeEvaluate existing safeguards
• Once a thorough evaluation has been completed, create controls and compare them to OSHA requirements
• Provide safety gear and training to all employees and choose a supervisor or manager to monitor the changes and controls that were put in place

Initially, institute a monthly review until you are sure that all precautions, processes, and training are in place. Once you know that all procedures are being followed, then it is fairly safe to conduct a review annually or semi-annually.