Did you know that the cost of logistics in the USA reached over $1.6 billion in one recent year? The outbreak of the Coronavirus has encouraged even greater growth in warehousing recently. With e-commerce businesses booming and supply chains being disrupted worldwide, warehouses and warehouse equipment are more important than ever.
If you are a warehouse manager or owner, you want to get the best use out of every square meter and item of warehouse equipment. You also want to ensure that your warehouse is compliant with health and safety regulations.
What should be on your warehousing checklist? Why not read on to find out what supplies your warehouses need.
Safety Signs
Safety signs will not only indicate potential hazards in your warehouse, but they will also show that you are caring for your worker's health. Ensure that you have warning signs anywhere where heavy machinery is working, including forklifts.
If you are considering buying used warehouse equipment, you should ensure that they have the correct safety warning signs. Machinery that is a few years old may not have signage that is OSHA compliant.
Safety Mirrors
It is difficult to provide visibility in a warehouse environment. After all the goal is to fill it up as much as possible. Ensure that you place mirrors in locations where people or machinery will turn corners.
In some warehouses, mirrors are being replaced with sensors and lights that will provide warnings to pedestrians. Some of these have the advantage of providing audible warnings for extra effectiveness.
Rack, Column, and Corner Protection
A large amount of racking is potentially holding hundreds of tons of goods. Should they fall these goods are extremely dangerous not to mention expensive.
For this reason, it is crucial to protect supporting legs and lower areas of racking with corner protection from the impact of forklifts and other vehicles. And while we're on the subject of forklifts, it is important for warehouse owners and managers to invest in forklift starters to keep things moving.
First Aid Kits
While you want to prevent accidents as much as possible, they will still happen from time to time. Ensure that your staff is equipped to treat minor injuries.
There are some mandatory items that you must include in your first aid kit. However, you may also want to provide some that are unique to your warehouse environment.
Hand Rails
If you have any type of elevated walking areas or mezzanines in your warehouse you will need to have handrails. You cannot expect common sense to protect people from falls. According to the law in some states, any area with an elevation of as much as four feet or more should have a handrail.
Handrails do not just prevent falls, they also provide a degree of protection should a forklift or other vehicle stray too close to the platform.
Everything You Need on Your Warehouse Equipment and Much More
If you are a manufacturer or supplier, you know how important efficient warehouse organizations and management is to your supply chain. By following the checklist items we have discussed you will be able to ensure that your warehouse equipment is used as efficiently as possible.
If you are interested in learning more about manufacturing and business topics, then we are here to help. Follow our blog page to learn more about warehouse equipment and warehousing design.