Organizing For Safety

 

Safety is a top concern for any factory, warehouse, or storage facility, and so is keeping your products organized and together where they need to be. While everyone has their own strategies for keeping their workers and facilities safe, there’s actually a few ways to combine these two and help your facility get organized for both cleanliness and safety. Here’s a few of the most common safety hazards, and how you can both prevent accidents and keep your facility clean in the process:


 

Working at Height

One of the most frequently encountered safety issues in the workplace is stored items at an improper height. Using wire shelving or pallet racks and making sure items are kept at the appropriate height (shoulder height when possible, but above-the-waist at least) will both help free up valuable space for larger items elsewhere, and prevent strain & injury on your workers by keeping items at a safe height and posture.

 

Cluttered Aisles

Another big, common safety hazard is poor housekeeping. Even if the mess doesn’t seem big, or if you don’t think there’s many other places for them to go, keeping any frequently-traveled area free of clutter and obstruction is crucial. Make sure you have enough industrial shelving to keep everything up and out of the way to prevent accidents and keep needed walkways clear, particularly to entrances, exits, and fire escapes.

 

High-Stacked Items

Of course, if you’re using a lot of vertical storage, you run the risk of stacking too high. This could create a lot of issues such as unbalanced storage and preventing the sprinklers from working effectively in a fire. Make sure any of your vertically-stacked storage is still kept at a height that’s easily accessed by your staff, and don’t stack too high to reduce risk of toppling.

 

Unmanaged Cords

Whether it’s on the shop floor or in an office, cords and wires can create a massive potential for fire hazard and tripping. Try to limit the use of extension cords (and make sure any cords that are used are only used temporarily and kept off the floor), and many desktop organizers can be used in offices or management areas to gather up things like electronic devices and USB chargers to keep the area safe.

 

With these tips, your facility should be both a little cleaner and a little safer for you and your workers.