According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are an estimated 3.3 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses each year in the private and public sectors. That’s about five million people. It is estimated that less than 50% of these injuries are actually reported. In manufacturing, many injuries and incidents are caused by unsafe traffic practices and behaviours. The costs of these incidents are staggering: employers pay the price in terms of lost productivity, poor morale and rising insurance premiums. Workers pay the price for lost time and wages, increased medical expenses and physical pain.
Your warehouse is the nerve centre of your entire business, and you must keep it in order. You can do several things regarding traffic flow to make your warehouse more efficient and safe.
Create a simulation of the traffic flow
A simulation can be used to model the traffic flow in the warehouse, the walk paths of the employees, and the traffic flow between the materials and the workstations. This mockup can be used to show the impact of different policies and provide the management with a good justification for how to deal with the traffic flow. Simulations can be built in both 2D and 3D.
Enforce driving rules and speed restrictions
When it comes to picking the right industrial truck for your warehouse, it’s not just about the size of the vehicle or how much it can carry. It would be best if you also thought about how much traffic the truck will be driving through on a daily basis. Driving safety and speed should be enforced in every warehouse, and there are several steps you can take to make sure your warehouse drivers are driving at a safe speed.
You can easily get your forklift drivers to follow speed limits and driving rules by applying the basic principles of management. The first step is to make those rules visible. This can be done by posting them on walls, boards, or bulletin boards and putting them in their lockers, lunch boxes, or any other place where they can be easily seen. Posting them in a noticeable place is important because otherwise, they are easily forgotten.
Offer forklift licences to drivers
The forklift operator’s licence is the most common training option for warehouse operators across Australia. A forklift driver’s licence is essential for anyone handling a forklift or cargo and is the most effective way to ensure the safety of workers working around forklifts. A forklift licence can also help to reduce your insurance premiums.
Offer forklift licences to drivers. Drivers will have to prove they have the skills, knowledge and competency to drive a forklift. Offering a fork lift licence in Melbourne to a driver is a simple and effective way to prevent accidents. By training drivers to drive forklifts, they can operate forklifts more safely.
Keep pedestrian areas apart from traffic
The first rule of managing warehouse traffic flow is to keep pedestrian areas away from pedestrian traffic. This is a common mistake made by many organizations. They have a warehouse that is essentially a big room with no demarcation between the traffic of forklifts and people.
The best way to manage warehouse traffic flow and safety is to keep pedestrian areas apart from traffic. Most warehouses have plenty of room for employees to walk around the dock area. To keep this space free of traffic, use signs and barricades to direct pedestrian traffic. This will maximize the safety of the warehouse, as well as the safety of the products being loaded and unloaded.
It is important to ensure that the two do not mix in a warehouse where pedestrian and vehicular traffic exist. It also helps in the smooth flow of traffic in the warehouse. The two areas are kept apart using partitions, barriers or other physical barriers. The layout of the warehouse is designed keeping these two areas in mind.
