Working in a warehouse is hard, physical labour and manual handling only increases the risks. First there is the potential for employees to suffer injuries such as muscle strains and tears, or something more serious than that. Not only is that bad for them, it can also be costly and damaging for the business because it will leave you short-staffed and reduce overall productivity and efficiency.
Then there is the second potential problem that manual handling can present risks for your stock. If an employee tries to lift or carry items which are too heavy, they may drop them and cause irreparable damage. Your business will be financially liable for replacing those items and will also suffer reputational harm.
Therefore, it is better to avoid manual handling if at all possible. Read on to find out what you can within your warehouse do to reduce it to the absolute minimum.
What is meant by ‘manual handling’?
The term ‘manual handling’ refers to the lifting and transporting of items of stock from one part of a warehouse to another using your arms and the weight of your body. It can encompass everything from lifting these items from the storage shelves to carrying or pushing them to packing areas. Employers have a legal obligation to ensure that their workers are protected against injury risks due to manual handling. That obligation includes:
• Conducting a risk assessment to identify potential causes of such injuries
• Devising alternatives to manual handling
• Keeping overall injury potential as low as is practically possible.
You will have to conduct a study to determine when and how employees are at risk of injury due to lifting and transporting items by hand and come up with solutions that mitigate the risks for your employees that manual handling creates.
Equipment investment
By far the best and most practical way of accomplishing that is to invest in the right warehouse equipment. While that will cost your business money in the short term, in the longer term you will cut the potential for injuries that reduce productivity, require you to pay sick leave and possibly leave you liable for legal action. Most warehouse owners and managers will view that as a sensible investment. So, what items of equipment will be the most useful in eliminating the typical manual handling risks?
Picking trolleys
Picking trolleys will significantly reduce those risks because they are designed to take the weight of items when they are being transported from the storage areas to the packing ones. These trolleys should be made of tough metal such as steel and need to be fitted with sturdy hard rubber castors to make moving items of any size and weight easy for workers. When it comes to deciding what sort of trolleys to buy, some companies opt for a one-size-fits-all solution, while others favour different trolleys for items of varying sizes and weights.
If you prefer the former, the 3 step 2 shelf warehouse trolley that we manufacture will meet your needs. It is an ultra-versatile trolley with a tubular steel frame that will support both large heavy items and smaller, lighter ones. Workers will be able to load it with stock of any size and push it easily using the castors, minimising any risk to their health.
For smaller items, either a bulk pick trolley or 5 basket 2 step one will enable bulk loading and transporting. Warehouses that primarily store large items like furniture will find heavy duty picking trolleys are most practical for reducing manual handling risks.
Packing benches
Manual handling can also create issues during the packing process. Hard-wearing multi-use packing benches or tables will really reduce those risks though. Again, they need to be constructed of materials that are tough, e.g. steel, hard rubber and plastic so that they can support the weight of larger items of inventory. This will ensure that packing staff do not need to hold items for extended periods of time while they are being prepared for dispatch.
Supporting weighty items in that manner can lead to back and arm strains or other injuries, so options like our sturdy and versatile packing bench, returns bench, processing bench or mail-order desk will be an ideal solution to the problem. These all have steel frames that can bear the weight of even the heaviest items.
It is not just trolleys and tables though. Another piece of warehouse equipment that will help you to avoid manual handling injuries is a forklift. This will enable workers to retrieve items from high storage shelves, eliminating the safety risks involved in doing that manually.
At Steely Products we are a family firm with a long history of servicing warehouses. All of our steel tables and trolleys are built in-house to meet customer specifications. Use the form below to place your order.
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