Other warehouse issues
Consultation
Good business management
practices involve drawing upon the skills, knowledge
and experiences of
Sprains and strains
within the Best Working Zone
Even when work is confined
to between shoulder height and knee level, and close
to the body, injuries can occur due to:
1. The characteristics
of the objects being handled (weight, centre of gravity,
stability, ease of grip, etc)2. Speed of pick and time
spent picking (work pace, frequency and duration, etc))3.
Environmental factors (cold, wind chill, heat etc).To
manage risks associated with sprains and strains in
the Best Working Zone it is necessary to:
- Assess these risks
with regard to the specific circumstances and address
them.
Sprains and strains
when reaching to lift or handle objects
Reaching to lift or move
objects may lead to injury. Bending or twisting while
reaching will substantially increase the risk as will
handling the objects while in restricted spaces.
To manage the risks associated
with sprains and strains when reaching to lift or handle
objects:
- store objects on
pallets in walk-in bays with sufficient room around
the pallets to get close to items before handling
- ensure that items
which are frequently picked can be slid close to
the body before lifting
- the weights of
objects that are frequently lifted at a distance
away from the body should not exceed the values
in this table corresponding to the distance away
from the body
- use mechanical
assistance to move pallets into the aisle to gain
access to all sides
- store goods in
gravity feed shelving so that all items can be picked
from the front of the shelving
- layer pick pallets
so that objects can be slid close to the body before
lifting
- use a well designed
lightweight picking stick to get move small objects
close to the body before lifting.
Sprains and strains
when moving to the picking pallet
Bending, twisting, lifting
and carrying are affected by the distance between the
picking point and the pallet being picked to. Access
can be impeded by congestion, layout, configuration,
work rules regarding traffic flows or allowing replenishment
to occur where employees are order picking. On the other
hand, the point being picked to may be too close, eg
conveyor location. Vertical distances should also be
minimised, eg moving goods from a high rack to a low
picking pallet, or from a floor-level pallet to on top
of a high load.
To manage risks associated
with carrying loads it is necessary to:
- Ensure the distance
is as close as practicable between the picking point
and the pallet or trolley being picked to, without
creating a congestion hazard or constraining movement.
For example, enough space is provided between racking
and conveyors to allow employees to take a step
to place objects on pallet or conveyor.
- Ensure working
heights are similar and in the Best Working Zone,
for example by height adjustable pallet jacks, rise
and fall platforms, order picking mobile plant,
spring loaded, hydraulic or similar devices able
to be inched.
Sprains and strains
caused by stretch wrapping
Manual wrapping (hand wrapping)
may require awkward postures, over-exertion or heavy
lifting.
To manage risks associated
with carrying loads it is necessary to:
- Use string or narrow
wrapping as compared to wide wrap to stabilise objects
on pallets.
- Use automatic stretch-wrap
machine where stretch wrapping is frequent or a
risk exists of a manual handling injury.
Sprains and strains
caused by packaging
Packaging is a key variable
dictating the nature of manual handling in a warehouse.
Packaging should allow objects to be picked with minimal
cutting, leverage, or twisting, and to be handled by
a single person. Higher risk of injury occurs with objects
of irregular shapes or sizes, or where the centre of
gravity is unknown or shifts. It may be necessary to
talk with suppliers to get these issues addressed.
To manage risks associated
with packaging it is necessary to:
- Design packages
and storage configuration for grip e.g. handles,
hand-holds, inbuilt straps so boxes can be pulled,
the load inside is balanced
- Purchasing specifications
require consistency in packaging eg square, regular
centre of gravity
- Ensure the amount
of glue is appropriate - commonly there is too much
in the wrong places
- Eliminate the need
for knives in the workplace eg purchase part-glued
loads, redesign strapping method.
- Order goods in
packages that suit the work environment - non-slip
in wet or cold situations, do not collapse when
stressed or saturated, enable good grip even where
employees wear gloves
- Identify heavy
awkward or unstable objects as a manual handling
hazard eg by stickers, on label
- Provide a weight
label on all objects that can be seen without shifting
or juggling the object
- Configure software
so packaging is included among the safety criteria
considered when determining bin allocation
Injuries caused by motivating
people to work beyond their capacity
Methods motivating people
to work harder faster or longer should be reviewed to
determine whether they increase the risk of injury.
The hire of temporary staff, employees working overtime,
use of engineered standards or Bonus systems are not
inherently risk factors in themselves. These and other
methods however can foster a competitive work environment
where people work at or above their capability to endure
without injury. This can undo other work done in the
warehouse to ensure that work is carried out in the
best working zone.
Examples that might motivate
people towards higher risk of injury include Bonus payments,
early knockoff, workplace norms of exceeding engineered
standards, allocation of overtime, allocation of privileged
status (eg promotion, task variety, ongoing or continued
employment for temporary staff), priorities when supervising
staff (eg, no enforcement of proper procedures for safe
manual handling coupled with video camera surveillance
and high-output-oriented individual performance plans).
Providers of Preferred-Methods-based
systems expect users to understand and be able to adjust
the assumptions of the system to reduce risk to employees.
WorkSafe requires that such systems will not drive unsafe
behaviours.
To manage risks associated
with motivation systems it is necessary to:
- Where injury rates
are high or transferred, review motivation methods
to determine whether they contribute to the risk
of injury, and change them if they do or may contribute
to injury.
- Train employees
in assumptions of engineered work standard or preferred
methods systems operating at the workplace.
- Have a method that
allows employees to alert the people operating engineered
standards system of breaches of the assumptions,
so assumptions can be changed accordingly. For example,
do the following assumptions apply?
1. Will each employee use exactly the same method
in exactly the same way in exactly the same time?
Employees should be able to adopt several different
but equally safe and healthy working postures to
reduce the risk of injury.
2. Is the system of work safe for every employee,
not just the average employee? How are individual
differences recognised such as build-up periods
following absences (after illness, holidays etc),
upon recruitment, or when fatigued.
3. Do all lifts occur within the best working zone,
or without twisting, or onto a pallet always at
the best working zone? These assumptions may not
be valid where work occurs frequently or occasionally
above shoulder height or below knee level.
4. Does work always occur in a comfortable climate?
Is adjustment made for work in heat or humidity,
or in cold situations such as chiller rooms?
5. Do relief breaks occur as calculated? For example,
do micropauses still occur if the goods in the pick
list are all located in one aisle?
6. Does work duration affect expecations? Assumptions
based on a 9-hour day or a 42-hour week may not
apply to a 50-hour week
7. Does new knowledge result in changed assumptions?
For example, new knowledge of braking distances
for powered pallet movers may require changes in
expected speed.
- Review work intensification
occurring with new technology (e.g the configuration
of electronic-based picking systems) to ensure they
are set up within human capability limitations.
Fatigue
Fatigued employees are
more likely to be injured.
To manage risks associated
with fatigue it is necessary to:
- Have a fatigue
management policy in place that manages physical
stress on employees
- Minimise double
handling, for example,
1. Ensure the picking sequence takes into account
the objects being stacked so the picking pallet
does not need re-packing to avoid crush or damage
to picked objects;
2. Encourage customers to bulk buy so that manual
handling of stock is not required, for example,
minimum ordering requirements, bulk/unit or multi
buy so the work method doesn't require pick/replace/pick
and the employee can pick several objects without
repetitive moves;
3. Obtain extra storage off-site for peak periods
to minimise aisle congestion and manual stock transfers;
4. Eliminate manual handling of incoming stock,
for example, incoming stock is compatible with racking
bay height so the top layer doesn't have to be manually
removed before putting away.
- Scanners and other
picking systems are ergonomically designed to minimize
fatigue and gripping injuries. (Including when gloves
and other personal protective equipment is worn,
eg cold storage)
- To reduce eye strain,
ensure day and night lighting is adequate for all
visual tasks including general work, reading labels,
and sighting high-visibility clothing.
Sprains and strains
from handling empty pallets
A surprisingly large number
of injuries to Storepersons in the transport, storage
and retail sectors from pallets are due to manually
handling empty pallets. Standard Pallets even when empty
are heavy and awkward to manually handle.
To manage risks associated
with handling empty pallets it is necessary to:
- Remove empty pallets
at floor level using hand pallet jacks
- Lift and stack
pallets with mechanical aids such as forklifts,
overhead cranes or purpose-built stackers
- Install an empty
pallet return mechanism within the storage system
eg within the pallet racking
- Ensure there is
no single-person lifting and carrying of empty Standard
wooden pallets.
Preventing stock from
falling from racking
Employees have been killed
by loads falling from height, where unstable stacks
have collapsed.
To manage risks associated
with stock falling it is necessary to:
- Stretch-wrap or
strap pallets before placing replenishment stock
at height
- Provide barrier
methods to prevent potentially unstable loads from
falling, eg nets
- Install rear stops
or barrier mesh on racking
- Use stillages or
similar unit load devices for storage at height
- Do not allow stock
to pulled down from height to the floor or to be
caught during picking
Amputations
People can wrench or lose
their fingers when they fall or jump from racking or
mobile plant and their hands get caught. This is more
likely where people climb up racking or shelves.
To manage risks associated
with amputations it is necessary to:
- Provide equipment
to raise employees so there is no need to climb
up racking
- Have a policy of
'no wearing of rings or jewellery'
- Ensure the 'no
climbing of racking' policy is communciated at induction
and is reinforced by supervision.
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