All employers want their employees to stay healthy and most employers are worried about illness spreading through their company. There are many ways to help prevent illness, like wearing masks and gloves or enforcing frequent handwashing. But for warehouse workers, there is greater risk of exposure to illness. Here are ways you can make your warehouses safer for your employees:
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There are a lot of moving parts in a warehouse and it can be difficult to address all the risks without inside help. Ask a wide variety of employees about the risks in their area of the warehouse. You may also want to ask drivers and delivery people that frequent your warehouse about the risks posed to them. Doing this will help you to identify the most problems in your warehouse.
Control Equipment
When everyone is sharing equipment, illness is more likely to spread. For small pieces of equipment (ex. box cutters, safety glasses), make sure you have enough for each worker to have their own. For larger pieces of equipment (ex. forklifts, hydraulic stackers), you may want to limit the number of operators that use the equipment and disinfect the equipment between uses.
Restrict Entrance
Drivers or delivery people may come to your warehouse often and know their way around. To prevent illness from spreading, consider restricting or monitoring entrances. You can also encourage drivers to stay in their cars or have a designated rest area outside of your warehouse so drivers can leave their cars without putting your workers at risk.
Provide Training
Training is used to educate workers about all sorts of safety risks. Why not illness? Educate your workers on behaviors to avoid and any new procedures you’re putting in place. This will keep your employees happily informed and reduce risk of illness.
Consider these ideas as you look for ways to keep your warehouse employees safe from illness.