Inadequate work organisation and inappropriate conduct of employees are the most frequent causes of accidents in warehouses. To add to that, one must refer to structural or technical defects as well lack of suitable protection means. It appears that companies are not aware that only so much is necessary to ensure appropriate safety level to employees, and protection from unnecessary financial and reputational loss to the company, with such loss, in the era of social media providing evidence for anything to anyone, very likely to prove very costly.
According to the most recent data by the General Statistical Office, 15,800 people hurt in occupational accidents were reported in 2019 Q1. 1,426 employees sustained an injury in the transport and warehouse management sector, with six people killed and two seriously wounded. Such incidents could have been avoided.
There is a question why, in a situation where organisational capacities and technical resources increasing occupational comfort and quality in a warehouse are generally available solutions and do not imply high expenditure, the casualties ratio is so high? Why do people get killed unnecessarily? Obviously, aside from the personal protection equipment for your employees, you need to think about all sorts of protection means related to the warehouse infrastructure and its components. It is by by all means certain that businesspersons lack appropriate authority and awareness, in reference to more than just potential hazards but also prevention means available on the market.
This issue becomes specifically significant in high storage warehouses where the risk of accident is high.
Protected space
Tomasz Baryła, an expert at Anter System Polska Sp. z o.o. that manufactures and delivers passive safety systems, acknowledges that high storage without suitable secure racks is always very risky. – In such case, not only the property being stored is put under risk of damage, but also employees are put under direct risk to health and life. If a fork truck operator makes a mistake or moves bin pallets, packages, non-standard packages (such as the ones for cable coils), jumbo rolls, containers (and any other packages which can be stacked), there is high risk of goods sliding down, with very serious consequences – states Tomasz Baryła.
Such risk has been encountered each day by Leoni Kabel Polska Sp. z o.o. This is one of the most modern cable production plants in the automotive sector in Europe. The company has been able to remedy it with Polish high storage barriers, Wall Protector, delivered by Anter System Polska. Using these Leoni has been able to cut down costs and fully use available space without risking accidental downslide of the spools with wound up material being stored, weighing up to 2 tonnes. – For a long time, we have sought and consulted upon various protection solutions for the stacked storage areas for our heavy products. The proposition by Anter System which we finally chose in 2018 convinced us by its robust structure, easy installation in confined space as well as workmanship aesthetics, quite important for us. Thus, we have achieved a goal which was to reduce risk related to falling over of materials stored close to work stations and passageways – informs Joanna Sługocka, OHS Manager in Leoni Kabel Polska Sp. z o.o.
Wall Protection has also proven to be a great solution for protecting the manufacturing area by which the materials are stored in close distance, including heavy copper products wound up on drums, separating production operators from the storage area subject to risk. – The Wall Protection barriers can be combined with the Restrictor barriers, that is, entry restrictors for fork trucks that allow for safe delivery of a pallet while preventing a fork truck from entering into a pedestrian zone. Such solution increases safety of any works and processes carried out in automotive facilities such as Leoni, however, it also proves great in other production sectors such as papermaking, petrochemical, food processing or chemical industry – enumerates Tomasz Baryła, an expert at Anter System Polska.
Protection in configuration
The General Statistical Office’s report on occupational accidents in 2019 Q1 implies that incorrect conduct of an employee was a cause in 60.5% of accidents, and the action performed most frequently by a victim at the moment of accident was moving (40.7%). As an effect, 77.9% of people hurt in occupational accidents sustained limb injuries. Therefore, it is worth mentioning that Restrictor may be used in combination with DE floor rails which safely guide a fork truck loaded with goods to its unloading destination, preventing it from crossing outside specified area. The DE rails prove to be a very good solution in the automotive industry where components are frequently placed in special transport baskets with wheels that can be moved by a fork truck in larger numbers, ensuring safety of the entire operation.
If, finally, we additionally mention free and unlimited enhancement of modular (and recyclable) Anter System Polska solutions which can be tailor-made according to the customer’s requirements and adjusted to local environment, one can hope that the GSO statistics will be reduced by the end of the year, giving evidence to improvement of safety level in Polish manufacturing plants.
