{"id":29142,"date":"2023-11-16T08:00:46","date_gmt":"2023-11-16T14:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/?p=29142"},"modified":"2025-08-13T09:23:44","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T14:23:44","slug":"warehouse-parking-lot-safety-what-are-your-best-protection-options","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/16\/warehouse-parking-lot-safety-what-are-your-best-protection-options\/","title":{"rendered":"Warehouse Parking Lot Safety &#8211; What Are Your Best Protection Options?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 100%; max-width: 600px; height: auto; margin-bottom: 8px;\" src=\"https:\/\/images.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/AdobeStock_636468986ParkingLot.jpg\" alt=\"Factory parking lot\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Creating a culture of safety is a high priority (and always ongoing) in any facility that values its operations. Whether it is safer forklift\/pedestrian interactions, ergonomic improvements, or machine protection, every warehouse is constantly working to improve the conditions within its walls.<\/p>\n<p>But what about the area outside, say, in the parking lot? Sure, it&#8217;s not a glamorous area, but you want to keep your workers safe and secure there too!<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<aside style=\"padding: 10px 20px 15px 25px; margin-bottom: 50px; border-radius: 15px; border: 2px solid #E4DDDD; margin: 4px 10px 4px 10px; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 6px 20px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19);\" data-type=\"summary\">\n<h4>TL;DR \u2013 Facility parking lot safety is just as critical as inside the warehouse<\/h4>\n<p>Employee safety doesn\u2019t stop at the facility door, as parking lots can be high-risk zones for vehicle-pedestrian interactions. Protection strategies include bollards, guardrails, and column protectors to prevent vehicle strikes; clear, well-placed signage to guide traffic; speed bumps or humps to slow vehicles; and durable, low-maintenance parking blocks. A thoughtful combination of these measures keeps workers safe as they arrive, depart, and move around your property.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<h3>Parking lots face constant movement<\/h3>\n<p>The level of activity in the parking lot of any operation can vary depending on the number of shifts it runs. This area sees a constant influx of employees arriving in their personal vehicles and disembarking to enter the facility. Additionally, a range of vehicles, such as trucks, delivery vans, and others, may also traverse through the same space.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, your first step is to take the time to observe and evaluate the potential risk areas in your company parking lot. From this, you can look for ways to improve safety.<\/p>\n<h3>Safety options<\/h3>\n<h4>Bollards and\/or guardrails<\/h4>\n<p>Just as they help protect a facility, bollards and guardrails are a great option for the parking lot. Their purpose remains: provide barriers that slow or stop a moving vehicle, protecting either people or structures behind it.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/category\/213\/bollards-posts\">Bollards<\/a> are individual posts firmly anchored into the ground, while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/category\/216\/guard-rail-systems\">guardrails<\/a> consist of a series of anchored posts connected by horizontal rails. These barriers, depending on their design and engineering, have the capacity to either absorb or divert impact forces. They are commonly positioned around the edges of pedestrian walkways or in front of entrances and exits used by personnel. Additionally, they serve to safeguard various structures, such as building fixtures, dock doors, fire hydrants, and other important elements.<\/p>\n<p>An important factor to consider is the impact when choosing either bollards or guardrails. Make sure your solution offers the right impact protection to help keep workers safe.<\/p>\n<p>Along these same lines, there is utilizing protection for those lots that are either partially or completely underground. Bollards and guardrail apply in this area, but the columns holding the structure up need to be addressed as well. Adding a solution like a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/category\/5394\/parking-column-protectors\">column protector<\/a> ensures reduced damage when vehicle and column meet. These easy-to-install modules can be used to create color patterns, fit columns larger than 24&#8243;, or replace damaged sections.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Safer parking lot options checklist<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Bollards and Guardrails for barriers to protect workers or structures<\/li>\n<li>Clear signage for guidance and a sturdy base to display it<\/li>\n<li>Deterrents like speed bumps or speed humps slow your vehicles down<\/li>\n<li>Smaller items, like replacing parking blocks, have an impact<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<hr \/>\n<h4>Signage for clear communication<\/h4>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 100%; max-width: 300px; height: auto; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-top: 10px;\" src=\"https:\/\/images.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Sign-Bases-Cold-Weather.jpg\" alt=\"parking lot signage in a cold weather environment\" \/><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/category\/8598\/safety-lights-signs\">Directional signs<\/a>, as the name suggests, provide guidance on the direction a vehicle should take. Similar to street signs, they may display arrows, written instructions, or a combination of both. In essence, they instruct drivers on their route. Instructional signage encompasses messages and traffic alerts, encompassing elements like stop signs, speed limits, designated handicapped parking spaces, restricted parking zones, and indicators for entrances and exits to lots or facilities.<\/p>\n<p>Combining your clear signage with the right <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/category\/10273\/pyramid-sign-base\">base<\/a> is also important. A portable base provides standalone signage that can be placed wherever needed, eliminating the cost of permanent construction. It is effective for marking employee and guest parking areas, establishing flexible zones for organization within your warehouse, and ensuring safe management of vehicle traffic on your property.<\/p>\n<h4>Use speed deterrents to create slower movement<\/h4>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 100%; max-width: 200px; height: auto; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-top: 10px;\" src=\"https:\/\/images.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/SpeedBump.jpg\" alt=\"speed bump slowing down a vehicle\" \/><br \/>\nWhile bollard protection and clear signage sure help, adding features to the pavement itself is another key. Placing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/category\/9158\/speed-bumps-humps\">speed bumps<\/a> and humps along traffic paths acts to slow vehicles down for safer overall movement. Just be sure to remember the differences:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A speed bump decelerates traffic, bringing it to a near stop. This decreases the flow of vehicles and lowers speeds at intersections, pedestrian crosswalks, gates, checkpoints, and other locations.<\/li>\n<li>The speed hump doesn&#8217;t halt traffic but rather moderates its speed in parking lots where individuals may cross traffic lanes unexpectedly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Either choice is an excellent way to slow down traffic and keep workers safe in and around your parking lot.<\/p>\n<h4>Don&#8217;t forget the small things too<\/h4>\n<p>Protective items, clear signage, and speed deterrents are certainly key safety enhancements, full stop. But when laying out parking lot protection, make sure to include smaller items that can make a difference. For example, standard parking blocks sure seem like an afterthought, but look closer.<\/p>\n<p>To improve upon the clunky concrete blocks that front each parking spot (not to mention cause a stubbed toe or two), think lighter and better, like a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/category\/8817\/parking-blocks\">polypropylene option<\/a>. These considerably lighter (by around 80%) blocks are proven to be a stronger and longer-lasting version. Save your paint, as these won&#8217;t need it, and be confident in their ability to withstand all that Mother Nature throws their way.<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding: 20px; border-radius: 15px; border: 2px solid #E4DDDD; margin: 4px 10px 4px 10px; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 6px 20px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19);\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-sm-4\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/uploads\/fullcatalog3\/ciscoeaglecatalogweb.pdf\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float: right; width: 100%; max-width: 200px; height: auto; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 18px;\" src=\"https:\/\/images.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/CE-Catalog-2022.jpg\" alt=\"Use the Cisco-Eagle catalog\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-sm-8\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<h3>Download our catalog<\/h3>\n<p>At Cisco-Eagle, we pride ourselves on being a single source for your material handling needs with a long history of performance you can rely on. Because we also believe in empowering our customers with detailed information and options, we\u2019re proud to offer the latest version of our company catalog.<\/p>\n<h4><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/uploads\/fullcatalog3\/ciscoeaglecatalogweb.pdf\"><strong><em>Download the catalog today<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Keeping your workers safe in your facility parking lot is a no-brainer, but what are the best ways to do so? We review some effective methods.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21585,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-29142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-safety"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2027-04-08 22:12:32","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21585"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29142"}],"version-history":[{"count":46,"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29142\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32687,"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29142\/revisions\/32687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29142"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=29142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}