Why Warehouse Workers Should Use Personal Protective Equipment

You’ve probably heard at least one, if not more, of those stories.

You know, the kind of story where someone had a close call while working in a warehouse and narrowly escaped a serious injury.

But, that’s just a story, right? It’s just not possible that something like that can happen in your warehouse or to one of your workers.

Unfortunately that isn’t always the case.

Hazards can happen within any warehouse. Something bad can happen to one of your employees while they’re working. But, there are safety measures you can take to make sure your employees are protected from potential hazards while working in a warehouse environment.

The Use of Personal Protective Equipment

Some warehouse environments require the use of protective equipment, but many do not. To assist your employees in avoiding job hazards, here’s a few examples of personal protective equipment you can provide and implement for use:

Hard Hats
Falling objects are always a hazard concern, especially when you use multi-level pallet rack systems. Hard hats can protect employees in the event that an object does fall in your warehouse.

Eye & Ear Protection
Dust and debris are another cause for hazards in the warehouse environment. Eye protection can easily prevent eye injuries.

Similarly, warehouses can be excessively noisy especially if you have large amounts of equipment in use at the same time. Earplugs or earmuffs can easily prevent work-related hearing loss.

Gloves
Gloves won’t only keep your employee’s hands safe while handling boxes and pallets, but they can also assist with gripping larger objects and keeping hold on them while performing a task. This can prevent injury, and also prevent the loss of materials that a dropped box can cause.

What personal protective equipment do you use in your warehouse? What items are useful that we missed? Let us know by joining the conversation below!