How To Ensure Safety When Lifting And Handling Heavy Loads At The Workplace

A warehouse is a place where there is a lot of manual work. All the workers will have to do tasks like lifting, pushing, pulling and carrying heavy objects while loading and unloading them. 

While performing these tasks, you should ensure that every worker is following safety rules. If mishandled, your workers will face risks that affect their physical health, especially shoulder and back injuries. 

Risks Involved: 

In detail, your workers will get MSDs (Musculoskeletal disorders) like sprains, strains, fractures, and joint dislocation. They will get injured from lifting loads improperly and carrying objects that are too heavy. Other risks include:

• Shoulder and back injuries
• Nerve injuries or compression
• Muscular and vascular disorders
• Soft tissue injuries like hernia
• Chronic and acute pain 

MSDs will also happen slowly if workers perform the same strenuous work repetitively. Sometimes, it can occur suddenly during lifting objects from unexpected movements like when handling a load that shifts position. 

Duties of A Supervisor:

As a warehouse supervisor, you should ensure that workers are following smart lifting practices so that they suffer less from MSDs. Additionally, you will be less likely to face property and product damage which could positively affect your annual revenue. You have to:

• Make sure your employees are working in a healthy and safe environment
• Give proper training on handling the objects and the right way to move them without straining their muscles.
• Make sure your employees know how to use weight-lifting equipment like forklifts, hand trucks, push carts, etc.
• Ensure they are breaking down heavy work into smaller parts. For instance, they can carry smaller portions of load multiple times instead of doing it in one go.  
• Keep emergency first aid kit handy in case of injuries to minimise the damage before reaching the hospital. 

Always work in coordination with other authorities so that your workers receive proper treatment when they are subjected to injuries in the workplace. 

Tips For Safety Lifting And Handling Equipment

Following safety tips while lifting and carrying heavy objects in a warehouse is vital. They are:

• Identify hazardous aspects of your workplace. Avoid carrying when the floor is slippery, has obstacles, stairs, uneven surfaces, etc. If possible, use sign boards so that every worker receives a proper warning. 
• Make sure all the employers are pushing the heavy loads rather than pulling them.
• It will be easy to keep the loads close to the body and try to avoid twisting with the loads still in your hand.
• To prevent back pains at the end of the day, always bend at knees rather than hips. 
• Ensure that you have a system in place that prevents risky behaviour like rushing tasks, not using equipment properly and so on.
• Ensure that the environment is conducive to lifting heavy loads safely.
• Make sure that you have the proper equipment for different kinds of loads. If not, you can use a forklift hire service to load and unload heavy objects in your warehouse.
• Use protective gear like gloves, glasses, boots, etc., so that they are not causing too much strain on the joints.
• Always ensure the employees are getting proper rest breaks to rebuild their energy. 
• If the weight of the objects is too high and you don’t have any machines to carry them, make sure two or three people are working on a single heavy load. If possible, you can also divide the heavier weight into smaller parts while loading or unloading them.
• Make sure the boxes are easier to carry. It should have proper handles, slots, or holes so that your gloved hand can fit through. If not, workers may fail to lift them properly resulting in falling and tripping. 

By following the safety rules, your warehouse becomes a healthy environment for the workers to work and you will have fewer things to worry about.

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