Scene: a typical, busy warehouse
A fulfillment center with row upon row of pallet racks. Eight dock doors occupy one wall of the building, some for receiving, some for shipping. Pick workers work in the rack aisles pushing carts and pallet jacks loaded with picked orders. Other pick workers have empty totes on carts for pulling orders. Fork trucks stock pallet rack and pull bulk stock for large orders. Dock doors are left open much of the time, even when there’s no trailer at the dock.
How many potential safety risks can you envision in this scenario? How do you prevent those from happening?
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Tags: motion detection, infrared, technology, safety sensors
Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|
Things get a little messy sometimes in most industrial facilities. Or a lot messy.
Areas where sprays and aerosols are used aren’t friendly to the rest of the operation, but they also need to exist in the same facility. Perhaps thermal zones are needed where there was once plenty of space. Welding stations may be in areas more highly populated with other workers. Amongst all these considerations is also the fluidity of your operations as the company grows and changes. Are permanent solutions (walls) the right answer?
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Tags: curtain walls, welding screens, acoustic panels, thermal walls, privacy screen, vinyl walls
Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|
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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Tags: industrial safety, ergonomics, lifting, manual material handling, musculoskeletal
Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|
Steel guard rail is one of the best–and most economical–accident prevention tools in a facility’s safety arsenal. It helps keep workers safe from forklift traffic, protects valuable equipment from potential damage, and even guards ends of pallet rack rows. But there may be times when you need forklift or cart access to protected areas (or simply don’t want to step over or around railing). How do you handle those situations? How often are you having to remove your guard rail and then reassemble? There’s a better way available — lift-out rail systems.
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Tags: lift-out, guard rail systems, Lift-out guard rail, lift-out/drop-in, drop-in, access point
Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|
Fork lifts are the mules of the industry, and we expect them to just power up and run when we need them to, but there are some very important safety aspects that should be taken care of before every shift. Safety steps that lengthen the service life of the vehicle, assure the vehicle operates as it should, and helps make it more visible to others working in the same space with the forklift. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Safety & Ergonomics, forklift, inspection, check levels, fork truck
Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|
Forklifts are ubiquitous in warehousing and other industrial operations, but aren’t necessary in many other applications, such as small assembly shops, retailers, auto dealerships, and others that require materials movement but do not need a forklift, with its maintenance costs, safety issues, driver requirements and its footprint in a smaller facility. What methods can you use instead?
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Tags: powered lift hand truck, portable stacker, counterweight, non-forklift, Material Handling, stackers, lift transporters
Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|
Choosing guard rail can be confusing unless you understand clearly what kinds of conditions you are protecting against and what assets you are protecting. Whether it be fall protection for workers or asset protection from industrial vehicle usage, there is a guard rail that fits that need.
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Tags: warehouse safety, Safety & Ergonomics, guard rail, hand rail, guarding systems
Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|
Facility layout is a complex and sometimes frustrating process. You’re often limited by budget, space, time, or scheduling beyond your control. What factors should you consider when you allocate space, either in a new facility or a redesigned one? Facilities are sometimes designed without consideration for the space EHS compliance may consume. When that happens, your usable footprint shrinks, leading to a production facility that isn’t truly space-optimized.
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Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|
When I was a kid, on rainy days my friends and I used  kitchen chairs, old blankets and lots of clothespins and built our own special space for imaginary adventures. Our rag-tag shelter was temporary, but gave us the sensation of being in our own little world. Frequently, in manufacturing and warehousing facilities, work zones and independent departments need separation from the larger whole for either safety or autonomy purposes, and there are products out there that answer those needs. Products like curtain walls, acoustic walls, thermal barriers and welding screens. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: screen, warehouse space savings, curtain walls, acoustic, barrier, thermal, strip door, plastic, vinyl, welding
Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|
It’s always dangerous when forklifts and people inhabit the same work areas.
You’ve probably heard the statistics when it comes to the forklift and its safety, but one of the most disturbing is the injury rate compared to incident rate. Forklifts cause just 1% of industrial accidents, but are responsible for a staggering 10% of all injuries in the space. So what can you do to help keep people and industrial traffic separated?
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Tags: warehouse safety, traffic management, plant layout
Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|
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