How to Identify High-Risk Zones in Your Warehouse

 

Knowing exactly where your high-risk warehouse zones are and addressing them ahead of time can help prevent avoidable accidents. But what are the best ways to identify high-risk zones? In this article, we'll discuss common red flags, practical steps for evaluating your warehouse, and how to use facility safety solutions to keep your team safe.

Start With a Walkthrough

To identify high-risk zones, start with a walkthrough of your warehouse. Look for things like cluttered or blocked aisles, slippery floors, areas with poor lighting, excessive noise, forklifts or pallet jacks with little space to maneuver, and workers who must regularly step into shared equipment paths. Take notes as you go. Anything that gives you pause or looks like it might lead to an accident is worth noting.

Check Your Accident and Near-Miss Reports

Most warehouses keep a log of accidents and near-misses. If yours doesn't, now is a great time to start. These reports can help identify high-risk zones, especially if you're able to notice trends. For example, are certain areas involved in multiple reports? Is the same type of accident happening again and again? Are specific shifts or teams seeing more issues?

If you're using equipment operator login reporting, this can help you track who was operating which machinery, when, and where. That kind of insight can tie incidents to specific pieces of equipment, processes, or areas of the facility.

Observe Foot and Equipment Traffic

One of the biggest contributors to warehouse accidents is traffic. If you have workers and forklifts sharing tight spaces, this could contribute to a high-risk area. As you're making your notes, pay attention to bottlenecks where people and machines converge, blind corners, high-speed equipment zones, and ramps. Also, pay attention to visual management tools like floor markings, signage, and facility safety products like guardrails and barriers. These should be in place to help with safety and to make the flow of work more efficient. If proper visual management tools are missing, that's something worth noting.

Identify Areas With Poor Visibility

Areas with low visibility are high-risk. Check for dim lighting, obstructed sightlines, stacked inventory that blocks views, and shelving units that are close to corners. Mirrors, better lighting, and placement of safety signage can help, but sometimes the solution needs to be more structural, like rearranging shelving or adding pathways. Additionally, advanced safety solutions can be used wherever optical protective devices like laser scanners and physical protective barrier systems like fencing are not effective.

Look at Ergonomic Risk Zones

Not all warehouse hazards are dramatic or immediate. Repetitive motion injuries and strain from heavy lifting might take time to show up, but they're just as dangerous in the long run, despite being often overlooked. Watch for workstations where workers bend, twist, or lift repeatedly, or where there are people standing for long hours without support. Additionally, pay attention to areas where the height of the work surface seems too low or too high. These kinds of risks are often missed because they're not as obvious as other types of hazards, but incorporating ergonomic-friendly designs like adjustable work tables or anti-fatigue mats can reduce injury rates over time. This is important because small, repeated physical stresses can lead to time off work, reduced productivity, and workers' compensation claims. By addressing these risks proactively, you not only protect your team's health but also improve morale and productivity.

Ask Your Team

You know your warehouse, but the people working the floor every day really know it. Ask them where they feel unsafe, where near-misses tend to happen, and what changes they wish they could make. Take their considerations seriously, and prioritize making fixes that solve the problems they bring up.
Getting your team involved helps build a safety-first culture. When people feel like their input is valued, they're more likely to speak up before something goes wrong.

Use Technology to Monitor Trends

Technology can help monitor and identify high-risk zones. If you're already using equipment operator login reporting, that's a strong start. Consider adding heat mapping tools to track traffic patterns, incident tracking software, automated safety audits, and environmental monitoring for things like noise, temperature, and air quality. The more data you collect, the better your insights.

Upgrade with the Right Facility Safety Products

Once you've identified the problem areas, it's time to invest in the right facility safety products. This could include things like guardrails, safety signage, floor tape, anti-slip coatings, loading dock bumpers, safety mirrors, and pedestrian walkways. If you're looking for more advanced solutions, ELOKON offers material handling and safety solutions. Instead of expensive facility infrastructure or cumbersome aisle access controls, our systems use innovative, automated technology to protect personnel.

Reassess Regularly

According to OSHA, forklifts, materials handling, and slips and falls are some of the biggest concerns in warehouses, but these issues aren't static. Inventory changes, staffing shifts, and equipment upgrades can all shift where the risks are. Set a schedule to reassess high-risk zones at least once a quarter, or more frequently if you're dealing with rapid growth or turnover. Build safety reviews into your regular operations. Even a 15-minute check can go a long way in preventing problems.

Learn More About Warehouse Safety 

With the right mix of observation and smart facility safety solutions, you can improve warehouse safety and build a facility that's efficient and productive. Here at ELOKON, we offer automated forklift safety and fleet management systems. Our products use the latest sensor technology from the automotive industry to maximize the speed and safety of your material handling operations. This includes anti-collision systems, pedestrian safety devices, fixed-position warning systems for high-traffic areas, radar-based speed control devices, and integrated fleet management systems. We also offer technical consulting services on machinery and facility safety.

Our technologies align with the cutting-edge advancements of Industry 4.0. Thousands of customers in 45 countries benefit from our solutions. If you're ready to improve workplace safety and increase material handling productivity, contact us today to learn more.