Safety is absolutely essential in any warehouse. But policies and procedures are only part of the solution. For warehouse safety to truly become a reality, you will need to make communication a center point of your safety plan. Here’s why.
Why Communication With Your Employees Is Vital
Training
Warehouse safety training shouldn’t end with onboarding, or even with once-a-year updates. Good training is an ongoing exercise that includes not only regular refresher classes but also one on one conversations on the floor and group discussions during team meetings. The more you reinforce your basic message, the more likely it is to stick.
Feedback
Warehouse safety isn’t a one-way street. Your employees are your eyes and ears on the ground. Give them an easy way to talk about their concerns, from ill-fitting PPE to compliance issues you might not have considered. Casual conversations can sometimes be the most illuminating.
Reporting Issues
In addition to open lines of feedback, provide a specific path for employees to formally report safety violations. This could be a malfunctioning machine, or a lack of available gloves or other PPE, or a coworker behaving in an unsafe way. Whatever the issue, employees should have a way to create a formal report, complete with a paper trail. Your workers also need to know that they will be supported, and will not face retaliation for making a report.
Updating Procedures
Like so much in business, and in life, safety policies should not be static. As you add new equipment, staff, or processes, things may need to change. OSHA could issue a new guideline, or you might learn a new idea from someone else in your industry. Whatever the reason, when safety procedures need to change, it will be far easier to communicate them to your employees and get them to buy in if you already have a strong culture of safety communication.
Warehouse safety is an ongoing challenge. But constant communication can help improve compliance and smooth out your safety procedures.
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