OSHE The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 set the stage for the creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) whose duties include the prevention of illnesses, injuries, and deaths that are work-related. The administration has produced tangible results in reducing occupational deaths and injuries by 62% and 42% respectively. The reason behind OSHA's success is down to its regular inspection of work facilities, as well as issuance of certificates and applications of fines whenever law violation takes place. OSHA takes keen interest in warehouses bearing in mind the central role they play on business supply chain. Warehouse managers must take the safety maintenance issues very seriously (HSE, 2009).

What Role Does Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Play in Warehousing Safety?

OSHA issues warehouse certifications in areas such as electrical wiring methods, forklifts, electrical system design, hazard communication, wall openings and holes, respiratory protection, exits, lockout tags, mechanical power transmission, and portable fire extinguishers (HSE, 2009).

Forklift

OSHA's records show that close to 100 warehouse employees die while 95,000 receive injuries each year while working with forklifts, indicating just how dangerous these machines are. Most of these fatalities are the results of forklift turnovers (HSE, 2009). Fatalities also occur when a worker is crushed between the forklift and any surface, in addition to the forklift hitting or striking an employee before being hit by falling items from dropped weights (Koester, 1912). OSHA has issued the following safety guidelines on how to operate forklifts:

Training, evaluating, and certifying all forklift operators so that they can operate the machines safely

Not allowing anyone aged under 18 years to work with a forklift (Lebergott, 2002)

Proper maintenance of the haulage equipment, which includes the tires

Proper examination of the forklift prior to using it to check for the presence of hazardous materials that could be risky to the operator's safety (Ladou, 2006)

Strict adherence to safety procedures that relate to picking up or putting down, as well as stacking of all loads

Safe driving where the speeds should never be exceed 5 mph, and slowing down in areas that are congested, or full of slippery surfaces (Ladou, 2006)

The operator must always wear a seatbelt, which is installed by the forklift's manufacturer

The operator should never drive the forklift on to a person standing in front of any fixed object, which could be a wall or stacked items

Avoid activities such as horseplay and stunt driving (Ladou, 2006)

Avoid handling heavier loads that weigh more than the forklift's weight capacity

Al unsafe and defective trucks should be removed from service, until proper repair work is done

Safe clearances around aisles, loading docks, and passages, should be maintained, especially where you use forklifts (Ladou, 2006)

Open doors and windows to ensure that the warehouse enjoys adequate ventilation or you can use an effective ventilation system that provides sufficient fresh air that will reduce the noxious gases concentrations that come from engine exhaust under the acceptable limits

Provision of guardrails and/or covers that offer adequate protection to workers from the hazards they face from tanks, open pits, ditches, and vats (Lebergott, 2002)

Employees should be trained on the hazards that are associated with the byproducts of combustion from operating a forklift, and these include carbon monoxide (Lebergott, 2002)

Hazard Communication

Simply put, hazard communication is the passing on of information regarding to chemical hazards as well as the related protective measures to both employers and employees. Chemicals are a health risk in many aspects, and could result in irritation, or give rise to physical dangers such as corrosion and flammability. All manufacturers and importers of chemicals must evaluate the dangers of the chemicals that they either produce or import, and provide all the necessary information on their findings on labels as well as shipping containers, while not forgetting about displaying each piece of information on Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) (Roughton, 2002).

OSHA's recommendations regarding hazard communication include the following:

Maintenance of a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for each chemical that is exposed to workers within the warehouse

Strict adherence to the instructions meant for handling chemical products as shown on MSDS

Employees have to be trained on the risks of each chemical that is stored in the warehouse

Avail kits for cleaning spillages everywhere that chemicals are stored (Roughton, 2002)

Avail a properly written plan for controlling spillages

Offer employees training on how to clean up spills, in addition to protecting themselves, as well as properly disposing of materials they already used

Avail effective personal protective equipment to everyone, and make sure they are used

Safe and secure storage of all chemicals

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In addition to this, electrical hazards are the leading causes of accidents and fires around sites used for construction. The first step to ensuring electrical safety, involves controlling as well as elimination of all factors that can cause electrical hazards within the warehouse. One of the most common electrical hazards is ground fault electrical shock. OSHA requires that all receptacle outlets must have Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCIs) (Viscusi, 2008). The provision of assured equipment ground conductor program or system is necessary for all warehouses. These two methods, used together or in isolation, will eradicate all hazards in ground fault electric shock.
Conveyors

Workers are injured when they find themselves in pinch points, or around in-going nip points, and falling objects hit them, thus leading to musculoskeletal disorders that are closely linked to repetitive motions or awkward postures (Viscusi, 2008).

Regular inspection of conveyors

Adequate guarding around the pinch points is mandatory

Lock out conveyors and offer adequate training to employees on such procedures

Provision of proper lighting as well as working surfaces around the conveyor (Viscusi, 2008)

Guarding Floor and Wall Openings and Holes

Once you eliminate and control falling hazards, you will have avoided falls in the warehouse. You can achieve this through installation of fall protection equipment or devices. Since there are two types of fall protection, you can apply a combination of both to ensure that employees work in a safer environment thus limiting their exposure to fall hazards (OHSAS 18000 series).

Fall restraint is one of the types of fall protection and consists of equipment that limit free fall, which includes full body harnesses, guardrails and standard railings, as well as warning lines. The second type of fall protection is fall arrest, which stops a fall that is progress, or saves employees while in the middle of a fall, and includes equipment such as safety nets (OHSAS 18000 series).

Charging Station

According to OSHA, all risks of explosion as well as fires at charging stations are avoidable through a number of safety precautions. Smoking should never be allowed around charging stations, while proper ventilation is mandatory. Employees need to wear personal protective gear, and this includes eye and face protection, as well as rubber gloves (OHSAS 18000 series). Employers should also avail emergency equipment, which includes safety showers, fire extinguishers, and facilities for eye washing. Some of the solutions that OSHA recommends include:

Ban smoking as well as open flames anywhere near the charging stations

Adequate ventilation to eliminate all fumes emanating from the gassing batteries

Fire extinguishers should not only be available, but also fully charged

Personal protective gear such as rubber gloves and eye and face protection should be available

Forklifts should be properly positioned and brakes applied before the operator attempts to either change or charge batteries

When refueling gas or propane fueled forklifts, you should follow the required procedures

Install conveyors and overhead hoists as well as equivalent materials used to handle equipment meant for servicing the batteries

Employees must have access to an eye washing and safety shower facility if they are exposed to acids from batteries (OHSAS 18000 series)

Lifting and Handling

Training on general ergonomics and proper techniques for lifting loads is mandatory if you hope to prevent back injuries, according to OSHA. You may also incorporate techniques related to engineering and designing if you hope to minimize the need for lifting. You can then restrict the use of lifting equipment only for heavy objects. Adequate overhead lighting is also mandatory, while the floors should always be clean and lacking in any hazard (Koester, 1912).

Respiratory Protection

Every time accidents occur, which they do frequently throughout each year, the absence of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is often to blame. OSHA requires employers to provide all their employees with proper Personal Protective Equipment. Many of these accidents take place not because PPE is absent, but simply because employees refused to wear them. This is the case with respiratory protection. You will find toxic airborne substances in certain warehouses, and this is where employees must wear the respirators (HSE, 2009).

Respiratory protection offers effective defense against fumes, dust, paint spray, and pesticides as well as numerous substances that could be the cause of long-term impairment, or lead to death. As it is the case with other forms of PPE, you need to ensure that your employees understand the proper ways of cleaning, or maintaining, or repairing the safety programs used within the warehouse (HSE, 2009).

Lockout/Tag out

Defective and damaged equipment are prevalent…