Storage shelving is a versatile, efficient storage solution, that can be adapted to any warehouse facility and re-adapted to changing work space. Considered a cost effective solution, storage shelving can maximize the space available within your warehouse ensuring your employees are productive.
However, to be able to enjoy all the benefits that storage shelving offers, it is important for your to ensure proper selection, right use, professional installation and regular maintenance. By neglecting these factors you are basically putting your workers at risk of injury. Furthermore, unorganized working environment results in increased downtime, waste time, and inefficient running of the warehouse operations. To help you create a safer and more productive work environment, follow our storage shelving safety tips.
- Installation and selection: Choosing the right storage shelving system is crucial. So is proper installation. Also, it is important for you to determine whether you need to conduct a safety review. If you have documentation showing that your storage shelving has been designed and tested in accordance with the industry applicable standards, then safety review is not required.
- Maintenance and repairs: As an employer, you must ensure that the equipment, tools and accessories you provide are properly maintained and always kept in good condition. By replacing and/or repairing damage parts of your storage shelving, you will ensure not only its good condition, but longer service life as well as safer working environment.
Proper use: It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that lift trucks are being driven and products being loaded and unloaded on storage shelving in a safe manner. Also, you must provide the workers with necessary information, instructions and supervision in order to protect their health and ensure superior safety.
You should consider providing worker training on:
– regular daily inspection of storage shelving;
– manufacturer’s loading recommendations;
– reporting storage shelving damages;
– safe operation of mobile equipment in and around storage shelving;
– any additional important information related to your storage shelving system.
- Other related issues: In addition to all the above, you should ensure there is adequate lighting and that there are no obstructions in aisles to ensure free movement and easy access to materials, tools, equipment and other stored items.
Before doing any changes (repair, replacements, upgrades) to the storage shelving system, you should consider the load capacity and always consult with the manufacture, supplier or a qualified engineer. Also, any modification must be done only by competent professionals to avoid any further problems.
