Ensuring safety is the watchword of workplace traffic management. This is of utmost importance for managing warehouse traffic else it will lead to loss of precious human lives.
The warehouse is vulnerable to hazardous risks
Health and safety is the very first thing that comes to mind when we talk of warehouse and mobile heavy-weight machines. In spite of care, there can be untoward mishaps and accidents. Properly managed warehouse traffic and neatly laid out traffic plan can lessen the accidents and casualties, if not negate it completely.
Since the warehouse is jam-packed with machine operators, pedestrians and official visitors, safety barriers need to be installed as a precautionary measure.
Safety Barriers Ensure Optimum Safety
As per experts in the industry like Verge Safety Barriers, It can actually lead to the smooth flow of traffic ensuring the fastest and safest movement of machines and men. Safety barriers can clearly demarcate the line between the passage of machines and the workers or visitors.
Having a smooth vehicular operation flow is a must because heavy goods need to be unloaded with heavy machines, transferred to trucks, stored on the racks and then deliver the prepared products to parking bays.
Safety barriers are crucial because in most cases forklifts are required to transport heavy load from one place to another. During this process, the accidental snapping of the forklift might lead to fatal losses and vulnerable product damages. But if a safety barrier is present (in warehouses where fork lifting cannot be replaced by other safer transportation methods) the risk can be minimized drastically.
Both permanent and temporary barricades need to be placed in the strategic entrance and exit points. It should ideally be coupled with proper line markings for pedestrian pathways and work areas and clear-cut audio/ visual signage. Flashing lights and proximity alarms are effective safety measures.
Management is a key player
The accident-prone areas must be identified before planning the traffic movement with safety barriers. Heavy forklift areas should ideally be kept away from pedestrian passages, with the idea to make minimum interaction possible between machinery and people.
Pedestrian crossings need to be marked at important warehouse locations and inward opening gates need to be installed so that people never fail to check traffic before crossing the accident-prone area.
A traffic management plan for handling emergency situations should be treated with equal importance.
Last but not the least information and training on the safety measures included in the plan are a must.
More on safety precautions
There are many hazardous areas and points in a warehouse. Right at the bends and junctions low visibility is a serious problem just like elevated floors and platforms which might make accidental contact with the head. Heavy loads may fall on workers and pedestrians. Danger also lurks in the form of exposed pipes, columns, cylinders, etc.
In a nutshell, warehouse layout should be effectively utilised for pedestrians, machines, and vehicle parking. Keeping a check on the speed limit of moving the vehicle is important and in places, it is advisable to keep speed humps. Keeping a workplace site map for traffic flow is helpful for one and all.