A curved conveyor system.

In any warehouse situation, safety needs to be the highest priority. Any system that can be put in place to promote safety is worthwhile. Safety incidents don’t just cost money and time for business operations, that can also hurt or kill warehouse workers. It may not seem obvious, but conveyor systems in warehouse can be an excellent way to make a warehouse safer.

Let’s take a look at how conveyors make a warehouse safer and explain how they can make sure everyone can perform their job better.

Conveyors Can Prevent Lifting Injuries

A conveyor system being used to move goods and cartons throughout a warehouse means that warehouse workers need to do less lifting and less carrying of goods. Even with proper and safe lifting protocols in place, mistakes happen and people get hurt. An injury due to a lifting accident generally means somebody off work and doctor’s bills; this is something nobody wants.

The way using conveyors to prevent injuries from lifting and carrying is so simple it’s easier to forget: less lifting and carrying leads to fewer injuries from lifting and carrying. It’s that simple!

Conveyor Systems Can Be Faster

Related to reducing lifting injuries through the use of conveyor systems is the fact that conveyor systems can often be faster at transporting goods throughout a warehouse. A lot of accidents happen when warehouse workers feel rushed during busy period. Rushed workers make more mistakes and this can lead to injury.

Since conveyor systems are inherently faster, not only do they take the pressure of workers, they also limit the time when an employee can actually have an accident by interacting with the goods they’re moving throughout a warehouse.

All of this is just about reducing accidents through human error. Although we all strive for warehouses with zero accidents, human error happens. Part of safety is about limiting the potential for human error to end up hurting somebody, and conveyors can help with that.

Conveyor Systems Limit Interactions Between Workers And MHE

A potential place for very bad accidents to happen is when warehouse workers need to interact with large manual handling equipment like forklifts. Limiting pedestrian interaction with workers in forklifts is a must. It may be impossible to completely eliminate pedestrians and MHE from being in the same areas, but reducing these areas is a key to reducing workplace injuries.

By using conveyor systems to transport pallets, cartons, and other goods throughout a warehouse, the need to workers to move about the warehouse is reduced. This limits potential areas where both MHE and pedestrians need to be in the same place. And if they’re not in the same place, there can’t be a collision between a forklift and a pedestrian worker.

It’s Important That Conveyor Systems Have Their Own Safety Mechanisms Though

While conveyor systems can introduce more safety to a warehouse environment, it’s important to note that any equipment comes with its own inherent safety risks. Where safety risks are introduced, those risks need to be mitigated. Because of this, conveyor systems are equipped with things like emergency stop buttons, load limits, and safety barriers. Routine maintenance is also used to keep conveyors (and other equipment) in good working order, ensuring safe operation.

Safety in a warehouse (or any industrial environment) is often about reducing risks. Although conveyor systems introduce their own safety concerns, the overall risk of accident in a warehouse is reduced if the conveyor systems are operated in a safe manner as well.

How’s Your Warehouse Safety?

Warehouse safety is more than just installing some conveyors. But whether it’s conveyors to help with warehouse efficiency and safety, or general help with safety throughout the warehouse, we here at Colby Dandenong have what you need. Get in touch with use for advice.