In Australia, summer often also means peak time in warehousing due to the holiday season. Due to our warmer climate, working in a warehouse in the summer can pose a number of potential health and safety risks if your warehouse and workers are not properly prepared.
As an employer, it is your responsibility to ensure the health and safety of your workers all year round, including planning for the unique risks of working during the Australian summer. Failing to properly prepare for summer can result in a decrease in productivity, as well as an increase in errors, accidents, and collisions, and can even cause serious injury to your workers.
To ensure that your warehouse and workers are adequately prepared for the busy summer season, follow our top 5 warehouse safety tips for summer.
5 Warehouse Safety Tips For Summer
1) Stay Hydrated
The number one thing to remember when it comes to safe work practises in summer is to stay hydrated. When our bodies overheat, sweat is produced to help cool us down. As a result, we lose fluids more rapidly than we would in cooler weather. These fluids need to be regularly replaced throughout the day to prevent dehydration and other heat related illnesses.
To promote a safe working environment, ensure that your workers have easy access to water throughout the day and encourage them to keep their fluids up while working. It may also help to prominently display signs as a reminder to drink even before they may feel thirsty to ensure that they remain alert and focused throughout the day.
2) Take Frequent Breaks
Taking regular breaks throughout the day is important for workers to remain alert and productive, particularly in warmer weather. As our bodies overheat, more energy is used to regulate body temperature which can reduce focus and can cause workers to become fatigued more easily.
Ensuring that your workers take regular breaks throughout the day may seem counterproductive as less time is spent working. However, allowing your staff the time to rest, rehydrate, and even eat a light snack will improve their morale and focus, and will ultimately produce an increase in productivity while reducing the risk of errors or equipment damage as a result of fatigue.
3) Heat Safety Training
It is important that your workers are trained to recognise signs of dehydration or heat related illness in themselves and others in order to reduce the risk of accident or injury. Take the time to provide your team with heat safety training, ensuring that they are aware of the many warning signs that could indicate heat related illness such as:
- Heavy Sweating
- Tiredness or Dizziness
- Nausea
- Muscle Cramps
- Headaches
- Loss of Focus, etc.
Additionally, make sure that your team knows what to do when the above symptoms present, including moving to a shaded area and rehydrating as soon as possible. For more serious signs of heat related illness such as fainting or seizures, emergency services should be called immediately.
4) Always Wear Appropriate PPE
It can be tempting to forgo PPE in the summer as it can be heavy, uncomfortable, and can even increase the risk of heat stress. However, failing to wear adequate PPE can expose you to a myriad of other safety risks that could result in preventable accidents or injury.
When performing tasks where additional PPE is required, workers must take the necessary steps to reduce the risk of heat stress without removing the PPE. From staying hydrated and taking regular breaks to using fans to improve air flow throughout the warehouse, allowing for proper ventilation, and in extreme cases, even wearing cooling vests under your PPE.
5) Equipment Maintenance
It’s also important to stay on top of your equipment maintenance when the warmer weather hits as just like your workers, your equipment is also at risk of overheating. Ensure that your manual handling equipment, such as forklifts, is frequently maintained to prevent overheating and train equipment operators to recognise the signs that a machine may be starting to overheat. This will reduce the risk of lost time and lost productivity as a result of an equipment breakdown.
Similarly, conveyor systems commonly used to transport products within a warehouse require extra attention when operating in warmer weather. This is because the friction created by the conveyor belt can generate heat which can become an issue when ambient temperatures in the warehouse rise. Ensure that your conveyor system is properly maintained with more frequent checks of bearing seals and by keeping watch for signs of overheating to reduce the risk of damage or a breakdown.
Finally, take the opportunity to book in a professional pallet racking inspection before summer hits and orders increase. All pallet racking should be professionally inspected at least once every 12 months in accordance with Australian Standards for steel storage racking. Taking the time to carry out a rack safety audit before peak season hits will ensure that your equipment remains undamaged and structurally sound for one less thing to worry about.
Macrack offers reliable pallet racking safety audits for our racking at an affordable price, including a detailed report of damage, hazards, brands, design, and other issues for your records. We can also provide accurate weight-load signs for all currently listed Macrack products to ensure that your racking is used correctly and safely. Call us today on 1800 048 821 for a free quote.