4 Tips for Forklift Safety

Warehouse Safety

Among industrial jobsites, warehouses are well-known for featuring both outdoor and indoor traffic. Indoor traffic consists of the combination of pedestrian and heavy machinery operating in the same space. More specifically, forklifts make up the majority of vehicle traffic and are also responsible for a large amount of accidents. In fact, OSHA estimates that there are nearly 35,000 serious injuries as a result of forklifts every year. Though forklifts often pose greater risks to the safety of employees working in your warehouse, they are a necessary part of taking inventory efficiently.

Prioritizing Safety in Your Warehouse

Luckily, increasing the safety in your own warehouse — especially in regards to forklift traffic — is easier than you think. You don’t need to go looking for a brand-new warehouse space just yet. Sometimes, all you need is to do is add a little visibility to the most at-risk areas around your warehouse. Here are four areas to focus on when it comes to forklift safety:

  1. Aisle Corners
    The corners located at the ends of each of your warehouse aisles are often the sources of blind spots. To combat that, you should add a little light to those areas. Additionally, make sure you install safety mirrors to increase visibility around all your aisle corners and hang up forklift traffic signs to warn individuals to be even more careful in such dangerous areas around the warehouse.
  2. Aisle Pathways
    Just as you would on any city street, you can post speed limit signs to discourage speeding by forklift operators. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recommends that forklift speeds shouldn’t exceed 5 mph. In the same vein, remind operators to proceed with caution around slippery and narrow areas.
  3. Places Where Workers Gather
    From exits to restrooms and breakrooms, you should make a point of adding tools to increase safety in areas that your employees hang out. Plant traffic and forklift safety signs are great ways to help keep machine operators and pedestrians safe in your warehouse. Remind forklift operators to slow down when approaching areas like these and consider designating a pedestrian lane with floor marking products.
  4. Maintenance Areas
    As you know, there will be times that certain parts of your warehouse require extensive cleaning or maintenance. Make sure you have enough floor safety cones to use when necessary. You can even pick out safety cones that feature forklift-specific wording, too.

From forklift alert systems to safety signs, Emedco has everything you need to keep all your workers safe, regardless of the warehouses in which they work. Just give our team of professionals a call at (866) 748-5963 or visit Emedco.com to find safety solutions for every challenge.

This entry was posted on and is filled under Forklift Safety.

Comments are closed.