FREE warehouse and storage safety posters
Introduction to warehouse safety
Warehouses are essential to many industries, including retail, manufacturing, and logistics. In the UK, 215,000 people work in warehouses and storage facilities. The Health and Safety Executive categorises warehouses workers as part of the larger “transportation and storage” sector.
Transportation and storage workers sustain 31,000 non-fatal injuries at work each year. More specifically, 1.4% of warehouse workers will suffer from work related musculoskeletal disorders each year –which is significantly higher than the all-industry average.
Free forklift truck health and safety posters
Creating a safe work environment for warehouse and storage workers
Often, warehouses can be high-performance environments, where workers feel compelled to meet strict quotas. This high-pressure environment can have long term effects. One recent poll found that a quarter of warehouse workers felt their job was having a negative effect on their mental health, and an even larger amount said it was having a negative affect on their physical health.
There are many ways you can act to protect your warehouse workers’ wellbeing. If you’re looking for overall advice, try our Free introduction to health and safety.
In this article, however, we thought we’d give you a helping hand by providing some free posters for your warehouse. These free posters will not only act as helpful reminders, but will also help you create a culture of safety in your warehouse or storage facility.
Free forklift truck safety posters
Working with Forklifts and other vehicles
Forklift trucks are a common sight in warehouses, but they can also be dangerous if not used properly.
Health and safety law requires those operating forklift to have appropriate training in its use. Whilst having a forklift “license” (certification) is great, it doesn’t mean that an operator will never make a mistake.
As an employer or manager of forklift drivers, you should carry out regular testing and top-up training. Beyond this, though, it can be helpful to remind users of best-practices. That’s why we’ve produced a couple of forklift safety posters for you to put up around your warehouse.
Free warehouse manual handling poster
Manual handling in warehouses
Manual handling (lifting and moving) heavy objects is a common cause of injury in warehouses. Not only can objects fall and hit people, lifting heavy or cumbersome goods can cause muscle strains and other long-term injuries.
As a warehouse employer or manager, you undoubtedly will have trained your team on how to lift properly, while minimising injury. Unfortunately, in the rush of a busy shift, people can put productivity over their own wellbeing.
By downloading and displaying our free “Manual handling" poster, you can remind your team to get help carrying unwieldy loads. This is a great aid for creating a culture of communication, in which people aren’t embarrassed to ask for help
For more info, we have a handy guide to safer manual handling (with another free poster!).
Free “Vehicle cargo loading” safety poster
Warehousing and transportation safety
Loading and unloading vehicles can be a hazardous part of your warehousing or transportation business. Not only do many accidents happen while loading, but poorly loaded cargo can also be dangerous to delivery drivers.
Loading cargo evenly and centrally makes a vehicle easier and safer to drive. It’s important to make this information clear and memorable to staff. If warehouse staff, for instance, do not drive the vehicles they are loading, it can be easy for them to not understand the difference well-distributed loading can make.
Our free “Vehicle cargo loading” poster contains helpful advice on how to properly load a vehicle and will make a great addition to your loading dock or by your warehouse shutters.
If you work in the transportation sector, you can find more great health and safety information, here.
Free “Keep your area tidy” slips, trips and falls poster
Keeping your area tidy –slips trips and falls
Slips, trips and falls are some of the most common causes of injury in warehouses and storage facilities.
To keep a safe and efficient workspace, you should encourage your staff to keep their area clean, tidy and free from spills.
Remember, it’s important to not only tell your staff to keep their space clean, but also to make enough time for your staff to tidy. Download our free “Keep your area tidy” poster to remind your staff that a clean area is a safe area –and that it’s okay to spend a few extra minutes tidying, even when they’re busy.
Free “aches and pains” health and safety communication poster
Communicating as a warehouse team
Effective communication is crucial in a warehouse environment, particularly when it comes to safety. Workers should communicate any concerns they have with their supervisors or other team members, and they should always report any hazards or incidents as soon as they occur. By doing so, they can work together to maintain a safe and productive working environment.
Reports have shown, however, that warehouse, storage and transportation workers are reluctant to talk about their wellness (physical or mental). That’s why we’ve made a poster encouraging workers to seek help and talk to their supervisors when they have a strain or injury.
Remember, if your staff are experiencing aches or pains, it might be helpful to mix up their role for a while. If the worker doesn’t rest, that small injury can become more serious.
For example, if someone who normally loads goods manually is struggling with their back, maybe move them onto a machine for a while.
Free PPE posters –footwear and headwear
PPE in Warehousing
Although PPE should not be the first step when trying to protect your staff (there are usually better methods of risk reduction), wearing appropriate PPE is often an essential part of working in warehouses, transportation and related fields such as manufacturing.
A lot of the advice around PPE is simple: workers should wear ear protection when working in loud environments, such as near machinery, and safety shoes wherever there’s a risk to their feet. Keeping this consistent, however, can be tricky.
Chances are, your warehouse staff will probably be wearing PPE such as steel-toed boots as part of their standard uniform, but for visitors or people who change location a lot, it can be important to remind them. That’s why we’ve provided these free PPE posters –reminding people to wear proper footwear and hearing protection. You may want to display these posters at the entrances of high-risk areas.
Our free guide to lone working
Lone working in warehouses
Finally, as experts in lone working, we wanted to highlight the risks facing warehouse, storage and transportation staff who work alone.
Workers in these industries often work on the move, out of eyesight or earshot of their colleagues (due to large premises and loud machinery), and during unusual or unsociable hours.
Many of our free posters talk about the importance of communicating openly between colleagues and teams but, for those that work alone, communication can be tricky.
As well as thinking about manual handling, forklift safety, trip hazards and the like, take a look at your team and assess who works alone (for any amount of time) and how that might affect their safety.
No matter how diligent you are, accidents do happen and those who work alone have the same legal rights to supervision and support as anyone else.
If the world of lone working all feels a bit confusing, we encourage you to read our free guide to lone working, which will bring you up to speed.