Working at a warehouse can be stressful. There are hazards and accidents waiting to happen. But there are ways to make sure your employees stay vigilant to minimise risks and accidents. Here is a helpful guide on how to improve comfort for warehouse workers.
1. Floors
Flooring offers another opportunity to show your workers you care about their comfort and wellbeing. For health and safety reasons you should make sure that you have signs ready in case of spills or damages, ways to mark walkways and hazardous places. A big part of your floor is the mats you can put down. The minimum will be anti-slip mats to prevent slips and falls but you can also invest in anti-fatigue mats to improve your employees’ experience.
Buying Anti-Fatigue Mats is becoming a must for businesses where employees are required to stand still for extended periods of time. Though the mats are not a legal requirement, The Workplace Health, Safety and Welfare Regulations 1992 state that all workstations need to be suitable for workers and anti-fatigue mats are often recommended to help with meeting this legal obligation. They can help with blood circulation, muscle and joint pains and back pains. Anti-fatigue mats also help prevent slips and falls and, if an accident should occur, they can cushion the fall. They can also prevent damage to falling items.
2. Health and Safety
The first and most important thing is to make sure that you comply with all health and safety regulations. Make a thorough assessment of your warehouse and identify any potential risks that you can safeguard against. Make sure all your employees are trained in health and safety regulations before they start work. Also, provide appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and make sure everyone is using it correctly, from safety hats and shoes to safety ladders and kick stools. Make sure you are stocked up with first aid supplies and you have the correct number of trained first aiders.
3. Upgrades
Keeping with the latest technologies is not only for the young and hip anymore. Workplaces should keep up to date on the latest technologies that can make their employees’ work life more comfortable. There are many technologies suitable for warehouses to do just that.
Examples include:
- Upgrading a standing station to a mobile one with power so it can be taken around the warehouse can minimise unnecessary and time consuming going back and forth.
- Mobile hand-held devices that contain stock information and can be used to keep track of what you have and what you need.
- Conveyor belts
- Voice-activated systems
4. Layout
Make sure that the layout of your warehouse is not hard to navigate. We all know how easy it is to get lost at an IKEA store; that might be deliberate on IKEA’s part but it’s a bad idea in your warehouse. Warehouses should be easy to get around, and well organised with easy access to items. This can be a time saver for your employees and prevents them from exhausting themselves running around to find what they need.
5. Management Presence
Increase management presence to show your workers that you care. Managers can wander around making sure everything is compliant with safety requirements and that everyone is using any health and safety measures or safety equipment issued by the company. Use the time to assess where changes can be made to improve employees’ working conditions and collect feedback from employees about problems and difficulties they are facing during work.
6. Employees’ Comfort
Before even opening your warehouse for business you can take into consideration the future wellbeing of the people who will be working there. Sometimes it is the little things that can help people feel more at ease.
- Heating and cooling systems – make sure to have temperature-regulating systems as warehouses can get cold during winter or warm and stuffy during summer.
- Rest area – having somewhere to take a breather and recuperate can help your employees come back refreshed and with better concentration, boosting their productivity. It is also a good idea to include a kitchen area where they can spend their lunch breaks.
- Music – many studies support the argument that music can help productivity. If you can include music around your warehouse, it’s worth a try.
