SHA, or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, was established under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 in order to prevent work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths. OSHA accomplishes this in large part by inspecting work facilities and issuing citations or fines for violations of the law.
In order to improve warehouse efficiency, it is essential to utilize operational techniques that can optimize your inventory and shipping operations while maintaining a high rate of productivity.
The most common areas for which OSHA issues warehouse citations are forklifts, hazard communication, electrical wiring methods, electrical system design, wall openings and holes, exits, mechanical power transmission, respiratory protection, lockout tags, and portable fire extinguishers. Forklifts can be dangerous machines if proper care is not taken in their use.
OSHA reports approximately 100 deaths and 95,000 injuries resulting from forklift accidents every year. To prevent forklift-related injury and death in your warehouse, be sure that all of your operators are trained, evaluated, and certified in forklift operation. Be sure that their speed never exceeds 5 mph and that they do not operate in heavily congested areas.
Next, who is in charge of moving your material to the temporary warehouse? Does this staff provide door-to-door service, or must you provide your own transportation? If they pick up your materials from your location, do they also provide order fulfillment services? Do they make deliveries to your customers? If this transportation in both directions, into and out of the warehouse, is provided by the warehouse personnel, this saves your company the headaches of having to set up your own logistics department.
Electrical safety can be improved by eliminating ground fault electrical shock. OSHA mandates that all warehouse receptacle outlets be provided with ground fault circuit interrupters. Wall openings and holes must be guarded with a fall-protection system, which can come either in the form of a fall restraint with a full-body harness, or a fall arrest system consisting of safety nets.
If you are in Houston, your goods may have to travel by ship. Look for a warehouse that focuses on receiving ocean containers, one that will unload and store contents and then reload for further shipping. If you find a fulfillment warehouse with these characteristics, you should be able to safely entrust them with your valuable goods.
Lockout issues often arise when a defective machine is not tagged with an “Out of Service” sign. According to OSHA, these can be made with card, pasteboard, or plastic. It is important that defective devices be tagged so that employees do not attempt to use them, which could result in serious injury or death. Improper tagging is a common reason OSHA will cite or fine a company.
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