Providing a clean and safe warehouse environment is essential to maintaining an effective and highly productive warehouse. Conversely, an unorganised warehouse with poorly implemented cleaning processes can result in higher rates of product damage, as well as an increase in accidents and injury.
Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been operating for years, there is always room for improvement when it comes to warehouse cleanliness and safety.
5 Tips To Improve Warehouse Cleanliness & Safety
1) Empty Bins Regularly
One of the most obvious and simple ways to keep your warehouse clean and safe is regularly emptying your bins. Neglected or overflowing bins can negatively impact productivity, create tripping hazards, and endanger the health of your workers.
One common cause of bins becoming full and overflowing is when your waste disposal processes are not scaled up for busier periods. Similarly, your waste disposal processes should change and grow with your business to avoid overflowing bins and walkway hazards.
Another consideration to help reduce the risk of overflowing bins is to implement recycling processes to minimise the amount of rubbish that is put in your bins each day.
2) Avoid Overstocking
Keeping the floor and aisles clear of obstacles and product overflow is essential in maintaining a clean and safe warehouse environment. Unfortunately, overstocking is a common problem in warehouses that can’t always be avoided. However, there are a number of practises that can be implemented that will reduce the risk of overstocking causing health and safety hazards.
For example, having a designated storage space for product overflow will keep inventory organised, while preventing product overflow from being stored on the floor or in walkways where it becomes a safety hazard. This reduces the risk of accidents and injury as well as the added risk of product damage for pallets not stored in a racking system.
Installing a quality pallet racking system that is designed for your inventory and processes, including a place for product overflow, will ensure that pallets are organised and easy to find, while eliminating the need for extra pallets to be stacked on the floor.
3) Stock Up On Cleaning Products
To cultivate a clean and safe working environment it’s important to provide ample cleaning products and hygiene equipment around the warehouse. From mops and spill kits to hand sanitiser and tissues at work stations.
Setting up cleaning stations around the warehouse is another way to promote cleanliness and encourage workers to follow health and safety procedures as this ensures that cleaning products are easy to access without having to move too far from any given workspace.
4) Promote Good Hygiene Practises
There are many tools and equipment used on a regular basis in a warehouse environment that are handled by multiple people in a day, from something as simple as a pen or a safety knife, to the controls of manual handling equipment. That’s why it’s important to promote good hygiene practises in the warehouse to prevent the spread of germs.
This can be as simple as providing hand sanitiser at work stations with commonly used equipment, and hanging signs in bathrooms and break areas to remind staff to thoroughly wash and dry their hands before returning to the warehouse floor. Additionally, ensure that staff are aware of cleaning processes throughout the warehouse, and provide regular training on workplace cleanliness, waste management, and cleaning procedures.
5) Encourage Unwell Employees To Stay Home
Sick days are often seen as an inconvenience and an interruption to work, which can promote a culture of discouraging workers from calling in sick. This can actually reduce productivity and result in more lost time as working while sick can negatively impact productivity and can even cause other workers to become ill, increasing the problem.
Encouraging workers to stay home when sick will ensure the safety of your workforce and promote a healthier work environment.
Macrack are your local warehouse storage specialists, manufacturing quality made pallet racking in Australia for over 30 years. If you want to improve the organisation and storage capacity of your warehouse, you need a Macrack pallet racking system. Call us today on 1800 048 821 for a free quote and warehouse design.