Warehouse safety is a critical component of running a warehouse. Every day, workers are in danger of injury if safety precautions are not taken.
In order to ensure the safety of your workers, it is important to ask the right questions about warehouse safety.
Here are the top 5 warehouse safety questions:
TOP 5 WAREHOUSE SAFETY QUESTIONS
1. DO I NEED A PSR (PRE-START HEALTH & SAFETY REVIEW)?
Most likely, you do.
The Ministry of Labour requires a PSR for workplaces with racking and storage facilities, as they can contain serious hazards. Any racking system with used racking, or a combination of used and new racking, requires a PSR.
If you have a new racking system installed, then you do not need a PSR, given that the new racking system is installed exactly as per the engineered stamped drawing.
Learn more about PSRs here.
2. HOW DO I DETERMINE PALLET RACKING CAPACITY?
It is a requirement under the OHSA (Ontario Health & Safety Association) to have proper signage indicating the capacity of your rack. If you do not know the capacity of your existing rack, then please contact us to do an onsite review. We will then provide a PSR document or stamped engineered drawing, along with the proper signage indicating the capacity.
If you purchase new racking from us, then the racking capacities and signage can be provided without the need of a PSR document or stamped engineered drawing, and we will also provide a pre-start health & safety review exemption letter.
3. HOW DO I PREVENT PRODUCTS FROM FALLING OFF THE BACK OF MY RACKING ONTO PATRONS BELOW?
The best way to prevent products from falling from your pallet racking and putting your employees at serious risk of injury, is to have Rack Guards or Safety Netting installed.
Rack Guards require a simple nut-and-bolt assembly and are more rigid and resilient than netting since they are made from steel. Safety Netting, on the other hand, does not require any drilling, welding or modification to the racking, and therefore does not affect the integrity of your system.
4. HOW DO I CHECK MY PALLET RACKING FOR DAMAGES?
Call the experts: Concept! We will perform an onsite, professional rack inspection and determine what type of rack repairs need to be done.
It is also advisable to train your staff to do a monthly warehouse safety check for obvious rack damages.
5. DO I NEED SAFETY BARS OR WIRE DECKS ON MY PALLET RACKING?
If you are only storing pallets on your pallet racking, then it is strongly recommended to have safety bars installed for additional warehouse safety precautions. Safety bars provide an extra barrier to keep pallets from falling through the horizontal cross beams in case a forklift accidentally moves a pallet or if a pallet is incorrectly placed onto the beams.
If you are storing loose items like boxes, then you will need wire decking. Wire decking essentially turns pallet racking into usable shelving for any sized items.
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