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When it comes to operations in and around the warehouse, depending on the industry you work in, they’ll take place, primarily, indoors. However, when it comes to construction, manufacturing or even shipping industries, many warehouse operations take place outside.
Naturally, there are more hazards outdoors, such as uneven, loose or rough terrain, stray foliage, animals, frost, snow, wind and even ice, to name a few. So it’s important that your staff are navigating their way around your premises as safely as possible. Here are a few tips that you can follow to ensure safe outdoor warehouse operations.
Check tyres & fluid levels
When it comes to conducting checks on your warehouse equipment, there are several things you should be looking out for and checking. Tyre tread and fluid levels across the entirety of the vehicle is the minimum you need to be doing before allowing anyone to operate the machine. In addition to checking all fluid levels, including anti-freeze and tyre tread, you should also be looking at the following:
- Signs of leaks
- Cracks in the chassis, cabin or other aspects of the machine
- Visible defects in the vehicle
- Mast chains, avoiding the use of hands
- Mast chain tension
- Tyre pressure
- Tyre damage
- Cuts or gouges in the tyres
- Fork condition
- Top clip retaining pin and heel
- Backrest extension functionality
- Finger guard functionality
- Safety decals
- Nameplates are legible and match the forklift model
- The presence of the corresponding log book and forklift manual
- The cleanliness of the operators’ manual compartment
- Safety device functionality, such as seat belts, horns and alarms
- Brakes and steering controls
- Exposed, damaged or fraying wires within or outside an electric forklift
- Functional battery restraints on an electric forklift
- Adequate electrolyte levels on an electric forklift
- An operations hood latch on an electric forklift
- Clean and present air filters in diesel forklifts
- Radiators that are free of cracks and defects in diesel forklifts
- An operation hood latch in diesel forklifts
Provide your employees with appropriate clothing & equipment for the weather
When it comes to outdoor operations, and safety equipment for use inside the warehouse, it should all be provided by the warehouse owner/business owner. Workers who operate forklifts, reach trucks, pallet trucks and more outside the warehouse will need to be given several pieces of PPE in order to ensure their safety. The PPE a warehouse owner/business owner will need to provide all of their workers, especially if they’re working primarily outside, includes:
- Gloves
- Hard hats
- High-visibility coats/vests
- Hard hats
- Woolly hats
- Jumpers or sweatshirts, perhaps with company branding
- Steel-toed boots and/or shoes
- Over/outer-clothing that’s also waterproof
- Winter coats/waterproofs
- Snow chains for placing on boots and shoes to avoid slipping
Where a warehouse owner/business owner will need to provide their employees with the right equipment for weathering cold conditions, they will also need to offer equipment for safe operations during hot weather, also, as these conditions can pose different risks. Sun stroke, heat stroke, hyperthermia and even dehydration are all serious health problems that can come about during particularly hot temperatures. As a result, a warehouse owner/the business owner should be providing their employees with the following:
- Free bottled water
- Caps and/or sun glasses
- Sun cream, preferably unfragranced so as to cater for all
- Creating shaded areas to allow workers to take a break from heat and sunlight
- Snacks to keep blood sugar levels up, opt for healthy options, such as dried fruit
Monitor changes & transitions
Thresholds throughout the warehouse that allow entry and exit both into and out of the premises pose a significant risk to your staff. In a bid to prevent injury and accidents at these points, you should keep an eye out for any sudden changes in any one (or more) of the following:
- Lighting
- Visibility
- Floor conditions
- Surface integrity
Employees should also be trained in the safe and responsible navigation of the premises when such changes occur. It’s imperative that this training is rolled out to everyone and is taken extremely seriously.
Watch out for gaps and slopes around the premises
The thresholds that allow entry and exits both in and out of the warehouse could also involve steep gradients, steps up or down and even gaps between one floor and another or a gap between loading docks and the warehouse itself. Your employees should be fully-trained in how to navigate these issues safely so as to ensure both themselves and their colleagues are protected from harm. They should be trained in the following, at least:
- Speed control when behind the wheel of material handling equipment
- Safe braking whilst forklifts and other pieces of machinery are in operation
- Carrying heavy or large loads across loose, uneven or rough terrain or up and/or down steep gradients
- What to do in the event of an emergency, such as equipment tipping over or sliding
Understand & manage maintenance on machinery & around the warehouse
It’s paramount that you understand the exact capabilities of the equipment you have on hand and exactly how they should be maintained. This will not only help to prolong the life of your machinery, especially your forklifts, but it’ll also ensure the safety of all of your employees; both those on the ground and your equipment operators.
You should look to store your machinery properly, also. This, in itself, will help to elongate the life of your equipment as well as prevent it from becoming rusty or have parts and components clogged as a result of salt exposure and oxidation.
The battery life, in the case of an electric forklift, could also degrade over time, so make sure it’s stored somewhere that’s sheltered and not too hot or too cold. It’s important to note, however, that if you store your equipment indoors, you must take the necessary fire prevention steps.
We’ve already touched upon the things you should be checking on your machinery before allowing anyone to operate it (see tip one), but the key things you should check prior to operation includes, but is not limited to, the following:
Stay alert & be aware of your surroundings
Whether you’re operating the forklift inside or outdoors, operators should remain vigilant and alert at all times. Surroundings should constantly be checked before driving away and whilst in motion. Where indoors, an operator will need to be checking for pedestrians, other vehicles and objects on the ground, together with some unexpected hazards, it’s a different story when operating the vehicle outside.
The outdoors will pose more unexpected hazards than what would normally be presented inside the warehouse. Whilst operating a forklift, or another piece of material handling equipment, outside, you could come across one or more of the following hazards:
- Rocks
- Stray branches
- Animals
- Flying insects
- Crawling insects
- Uneven, loose or rough terrain
- Unexpected changes in gradient
- Sudden weather changes, such as snow, heavy rain, hail or cloudy conditions
Multy Lift are material handling experts with over three decades of experience in the industry. Regardless of the industry you work in and no matter what it is you need, Multy Lift will be able to meet your requirements every single time. As well as having a variety of new forklifts and used forklift trucks available, we’re proud to provide quality warehouse equipment, both new and second-hand, including reach trucks, order pickers, pallet trucks and more. If you’d like further information about how we can help you today, get in touch with a member of our team – we’re always happy to hear from you.
