industrial safety | Warehousing Insights | Material Handling Systems
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How to Prevent Forklifts from Striking Doors & Overhead Obstructions

September 14, 2021

This door frame was struck by a forklift and suffered significant damage.

In warehouses where forklifts drive beneath doors, ducts, conveyors, electrical equipment or other overhead obstructions, costly and dangerous accidents can happen. What are some ways to make these pass-throughs safer?

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Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|

Dukes of Hazardous

February 26, 2019

safe warehouse workers

For all the work that goes into preventing them, the majority of warehouses share many of the same safety hazards.

Due to the way warehouses handle items and process shipments, many of their workers are subject to similar risks for injury and product damage. While this can seem like an unending cycle of danger, there’s plenty of ways to mitigate these more prominent ones and keep everyone and everything in your warehouse safe from harm.

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Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|

Safety When Installing A Foundationless Jib Crane

January 17, 2019

jib crane

You want to move heavy loads safely and effectively while also keeping your solution economical and efficient. Consider the Jib Crane, and effective tool in your warehouse arsenal that will hold its own and can interface with a wide variety of workstations and functions.

Foundationless Jib cranes offer versatility and economic savings, as they are bolted directly to an existing concrete floor and don’t require a concrete foundation. Using the existing floor means that you don’t need to install a costly special foundation, plus you can install and use the system sooner because you don’t need to wait for concrete to cure. Existing floor use also makes sense for smaller capacity and shorter span jib cranes. With that said, there are multiple concrete considerations before you install a foundationless jib crane. The key, is your installation.

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Posted in Lifting & Lift Systems|

OSHA Safety Standards for Mezzanines & Platforms

November 9, 2017

mezzanine handrailing in a warehouse

We help clients with structural mezzanines and rack supported systems in a range of facilities.

Mezzanine options range from professionally manufactured to home-made to local fabrication shop to professional contractors. If you have a mezzanine or storage platform custom fabricated, you need to be sure your contractor is complying with OSHA & local safety regulations, particularly on guard railing, stairs and gates. If your fabricator doesn’t routinely work with mezzanines, this is something you’ll have to do on your own. The best policy is to look at established vendors if you don’t want to micro-manage the details of building permits, code compliance, and OSHA’s blessings. Here’s a breakdown of the handrail issues you might run into:

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Posted in Mezzanines & Industrial Platforms|

How to Keep Workers Safe at any Height

November 7, 2017

maintenance worker at a factory, working at height

Working at height continues to rank high on the list every year when it comes to OSHA statistics, potential causes of major injuries and even fatalities.

Research shows that far too many people end up injured or worse because of their work on ladders, rooftops or other spots above the ground. As a result, it is extremely important for EHS leaders to be aware of the potential hazards their personnel face when working at heights, as well as the best ways to keep employees safe on the job.

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Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|

White Paper: Pedestrian Safety in Forklift Operations

July 27, 2015

white paper cover - forklift safety

36% of forklift injury accidents involve pedestrians. That’s tens of thousands of accidents a year in the U.S. alone, a great many of them with direct bearing on pedestrians, who are at great risk. Due to the sheer mass of forklifts, they are particularly dangerous for pedestrians. Almost all these accidents result in serious injuries due to the mass and size of forklifts. Forklifts account for 1% of industrial accidents, but 10% of injuries. That statistic alone should put dealing with lift traffic and the ways it threatens walking employees, order pickers, and others a top priority.

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Posted in Forklift - Pedestrian Safety|

16 Expert Tips on Safety in the Workplace

July 7, 2015

warehouse workers in a rack row

Industrial workplace safety bears repetition and consistent reinforcement

For manufacturing and distribution operations, workplace safety doesn’t just protect workers—it optimizes productivity and helps drive revenue growth. It also helps protect company assets, reduces downtime, and increases morale. What can you do to protect your employees in picking, packing, material handling, assembly, maintenance and similar work? To answer this question, we spoke with leading manufacturers and distributors. Here’s what they had to say: Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|

Ergonomic Safety Tips for the Warehouse

April 2, 2015

Warehouse workers

Everyday functions of most warehouses and industrial operations fall within the realm of manual material handling–constant lifting, bending, stretching, reaching, pushing and otherwise manipulating materials by physical force. People are moving cartons, picking orders, reaching for packing materials and performing other tasks. Manual material handling contributes to musculoskeletal disorders, to the tune of more than 500,000 reported annual reported cases of strains and stress in shoulders, backs, arms and legs.

While you can never eliminate it, you can reduce the worst aspects of it. Let’s dive into some ways.

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Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|

Warehouse Safety Sensor Systems: Which Fits Your Needs?

August 8, 2014

Potential Collision

Safety is a major issue in most industrial environments – especially those where industrial traffic like forklifts, AGV’s and other vehicles mingle with workers on foot. There are just too many ways people can get hurt; too many chances for things to suddenly go wrong. That’s why including some automated safety sensor systems in a facility can make a life and death difference on a day-to-day basis.

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Posted in Forklift - Pedestrian Safety|

The Wonder of Robotic Palletizing

June 6, 2014

Robotic Palletizing

I recently attended an ESOP event at a specialty paints and stains company. During the tour of their plant, I got to see a robotic palletizing system in operation. I was impressed. Standing about 6 to 8 feet away from the action, I watched as it placed 5-gallon cans of paint in rows of 3 stacked 3 high. Each row was offset from the previous one, so that optimum pallet space was used. As the robot picked up cans off the conveyor belt using a vacuum end effector, it placed them precisely on the pallet. Then, it slightly dropped down and “bumped” them to make sure they seated onto the row below. That action made me chuckle as I considered what a profoundly human act that was – a little hip action to make sure the cans seated correctly.

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Posted in Automation, Labor & Efficiency|

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