Posted on 31st May 2018
Mezzanines are a great way to increase the storage capacity and amount of usable floor space of any warehouse with costly and permanent renovations, but as with any warehouse installation it comes with safety tips that must be followed.
A lot of warehouse managers are unaware of these needed precautions, thinking that it simply adds more usable floor space and nothing else. That said, there?s a lot of safety procedures that need to be followed, whether according to OSHA or simple common sense, and keeping these tips in mind will help protect your workers, your products, and your installations from damage. Here?s a few to get started with:
Much like any staircase in a warehouse, keeping the stairs leading up to a mezzanine free of obstruction, clutter, or impediment is critical to letting your workers travel the stairs and carry inventory and equipment safely.
Train all your workers to keep a watchful eye on these stairs, or designate a ?safety officer? to watch for obstructions such as packages, mislaid tools, or even spills and other messes on the staircase to keep it safe and usable.
Depending on the design of your mezzanine, you may have exposed sides or open areas that might make moving products easier but can easily lead to falls, injuries, and worse.
Make sure the correct kind of guard rails are installed on each open side of your mezzanine to protect your workers, inventory, and equipment from falls, no matter where the mezzanine is located or what?s being stored on it.
Even the sturdiest mezzanine has a limit to what it can hold, and being aware of these limits can make all the difference when it comes to safe mezzanine usage.
Review the stated loads of your mezzanine, including weight limit, worker capacity, and so on to make sure nothing exceeds these limits, and post these requirements in clearly visible and easily-accessed locations so your workers are just as aware as you are.
Whether posted by your local government, federal requirements, or even OSHA codes, building codes for things like fire safety and worker safety also apply to mezzanines the same way they apply to the rest of your warehouse storage.
At every step of the process, from planning your mezzanine layout to the actual installation and usage, review these codes to make sure everything is being adhered to.
These codes exist for a reason, even above and beyond simply ?not getting fined or shut down?, and following these codes will go a long way towards keeping your staff safe from the injuries that stem from misused equipment.
If you want to maximise your warehouse space through the use of second hand or new pallet racking, please don?t hesitate to get in touch with us on 0800 345 7088 or send an email to sales@advanced-handling.co.uk
Make sure you follow?#TeamAdvanced?on Social media for all our latest news and offers.
Like us on?Facebook
Follow us on?Twitter
Connect with us on?LinkedIn
Subscribe to Our?YouTube?channel
Follow us on?GooglePlus
Read our other blogs on?Medium
Follow us on?Instagram
Site designed & developed by hush digital.
