Warehouse injuries can be serious because the objects or materials may cause wounds due to the movements or falling down. To prevent this, it is important to be a bit more cautious while working in these units. To help workers, department of labor dol announces program focused on improving worker safety in warehouses and distribution centers, which aims for the welfare of employees. It is important to learn why these accidents occur in the first place. When we are aware of the root cause, we can find out the suitable solutions.
Sources of workplace injuries
Several sources at the workplace can be accountable for workplace injuries. Some of them have been discussed below:
Heavy machines
Almost all production units and warehouses have heavy machines on which workers work all day and night long. These machines include forklifts, metal bag lifts, pallets, and others and working on them is always risky for these workers. If something goes wrong, a worker may receive severe injuries.
Lack of proper dress and protective gear
In many cases, a worker gets injured because he is not well-equipped to work on these machines. It is strongly recommended not to allow any of them to work on the machinery without proper clothes, gloves and eyewear. All the workers should enter the warehouse after wearing proper dress, shoes and goggles. The company must lay out the policy and supervisors to look after this matter.
Failure to provide proper training
Every machine and tool needs proper training before a worker is assigned a duty to operate them. If the company fails to do so, the worker will receive injuries for sure. Since these tools are not generic, a trainer should be assigned to the batch of workers, who can ensure that a worker is eligible to operate these machines in a better manner. To avoid worker’s compensation, the company must spend money on training its people.
Negligence of fellow workers
We cannot deny the fact that some injuries occur due to the negligence of other workers. They may not be focused on their tasks and hence, may injure others in the warehouse. These instances may be seen if a person has not taken the proper rest or is under the influence of drugs or alcohol. It is important to keep an eye on workers when they are working on any task together.
Every worker must follow all the rules and guidelines of the company in the warehouse.