Warehouses and distribution centers are one of the most common workplaces in the world, and most of these workplaces rely on a good deal of physical labor from their personnel in order to complete their everyday operations. In the United States alone, more than 145,000 people work in a warehouse environment.
If you’re a warehouse manager or operator, it’s normal to be concerned with traditional safety concerns associated with things like forklift operation; about one in four accidents that take place in the workplace (warehouse and otherwise) involves the use of a forklift truck.
Yet musculoskeletal disorders — conditions that affect one’s muscles, nerves and tendons — are actually one of the top causes of lost work time due to injury and illness. These disorders are brought on by repetitive motion, straining and awkward positioning: all very common practices within a warehouse environment.
To help protect the productivity, efficiency and overall health of your warehouse’s personnel, it’s imperative to invest in ergonomics.
Improving your warehouse’s ergonomics can help encourage workplace and battery room safety as well as warehouse organization and warehouse efficiency. Here’s our list of the three most important pieces of ergonomic equipment that every warehouse needs:
Lift tables
Lift tables are essential when it comes to lifting and lowering heavy items and stock off the warehouse floor. Because their function is so simple, lift tables can be used in a wide variety of applications. These lift tables allow personnel to perform their jobs without the added physical strain of lifting heavy objects, saving hours of lost labor and increasing overall productivity.
Container tilters
Another repetitive motion that can easily put strain on personnel’s neck and back? Bending down to reach items inside large warehouse containers. That’s where the container tilter comes in. These tilters raise containers at an angle to make items within easily reachable, making work faster, safer and more efficient.
Lifter transporters
Lifter transporters are responsible for transporting heavy items throughout the warehouse floor. One example? The forklift battery extractor and cart, which removes these 2,000-pound batteries from the forklift and can be wheeled over to the various stations within the forklift battery handling area. Because of the sheer weight of a forklift battery, using a forklift battery extractor to handle these objects is vital to protecting personnel.
How do you maintain a high level of warehouse efficiency and ergonomics? Have any other questions for us about forklift battery handling safety? Share your thoughts with us by leaving a comment below.