Safety in the workplace is one of the basic issues regulated by the Labor Code and intra-company health and safety regulations. Under the current regulations, it is the employer's responsibility to ensure proper working conditions in each position, and failure to do so can result in serious consequences. However, it is not difficult to see that each environment will require a slightly different approach to occupational health and safety. So how should you take care of occupational safety in the warehouse and distribution halls of all kinds?
Warehouse work safety under general law
Work safety in warehouses should, in the eyes of the law, be organized primarily on the basis of the basic provisions of the Labor Code relating to health and safety issues independent of the nature of the activities performed, the number of employees employed or the industry within which they operate. In addition, the employer must comply with the requirements of the Code related to the management of building facilities and work premises, machinery and other technical equipment, factors posing special risks, preventive health protection for employees, occupational accidents and occupational diseases, the organization of occupational health and safety training, or equipping employees with personal protective equipment.
However, occupational health and safety is not an issue that is completely independent of the environment and the nature of the work performed, making an additional set of requirements for employers organizing work in a warehouse space the Regulation of the Minister of Labor and Social Policy of September 26, 1997 on general regulations of occupational health and safety. According to the above regulation, the employer is obliged to:
- ensure occupational safety and health of employees by preventing work-related hazards,
- carry out a risk assessment of hazards that cannot be excluded,
- eliminate hazards at the source of their origin,
- adapt working conditions and processes to the employee's capabilities through appropriate design and organization of workplaces,
- applying new technical solutions,
- replacing dangerous technological processes, equipment, substances and other materials with safe or less dangerous counterparts,
- prioritizing collective protection measures over individual protection measures, and
- effectively instructing employees in occupational safety and health confirmed by tests of their understanding of the applicable rules.
Specific requirements for safeguards used in warehouses
A warehouse is a specific example of a work environment in which machinery and in-plant transportation play a huge role alongside people doing manual labor. Safety issues here, therefore, will include not only the above-mentioned general regulations and the need to create clear and understandable company health and safety rules and regulations for employees, but also the appropriate organization and protection of areas where humans meet working machinery.
Intra-plant transportation in the warehouse - requirements for safety
Providing adequate routes and passageways inside the warehouse, marking them appropriately and maintaining them in a condition that does not pose a danger to users are among the more important responsibilities of the employer and warehouse manager. The main thing to remember here is that traffic laws apply to intra-company roads, and the employer is obliged to develop traffic rules in accordance with them for all access, parking and intra-warehouse roads. Proper signs, stickers and safety devices regulating traffic can also be found at Gabi Health and Safety.
Storage of materials and occupational safety
The rules for the storage of materials in warehouses and related safety are specified in the regulation of the Minister of Labor and Social Policy on general regulations of labor safety and health. The employer responsible for the organization of work in the warehouse should precisely determine the place, manner and permissible height of storage depending on the type of goods. Once these have been determined, instructions should be posted in warehouses specifying how to store, pack, load and transport stored materials, and, if necessary, instructions relating to the storage of dangerous goods.
Both during instructional and periodic training, as well as on the instructions themselves posted in the warehouse in places visible to all employees, there should be information about the permissible loads on the racks, floors and ceilings. The racks themselves should, of course, be secured against overturning, including by providing adequate spacing between racks that takes into account the type of transport equipment and cargo used and the ability to operate them safely. Employees should know and apply the rules on how goods are stored and the markings used on their packaging - the arrangement of products in the warehouse cannot be done arbitrarily and should be strictly regulated by the company's internal regulations.
How to prevent accidents at work in warehouses?
Taking all precautions, adequately training employees in occupational health and safety and in-house operational rules, and complying with all legal requirements for the storage of goods in warehouses is a basic requirement for ensuring an adequate level of occupational safety for employees. When creating a health and safety policy for warehouses, it is necessary to take into account all, very diverse and specific risks, but also the human factor - without proper preparation of employees to comply with health and safety rules and warnings about the consequences of ignoring the applicable rules, it is difficult to expect proper organization of work in such a dangerous environment. Health and safety accessories are just one of many elements supporting the effective operation of an implemented safety policy at the plant - even the best helmets will not protect an employee if he does not follow the rules.
