Health and Safety Training: Safe Storage and Stacking

• 1 September 2021

Health and safety training is critical for every business that has products that need to be stacked and stored. Employees who stack and store products face numerous risks which could result in injury, death, or damage to property. Empower your employees with the Emcare Safe Stacking and Storage course and read through our tips to keep your employees and your products safe.

Storage and Stacking Hazards: 

Employees face these various hazards when storing and stacking products. 

1) Collapsed Storage Racks: 

To maximise space in a storage warehouse, many companies use industrial storage racks to hold their products. Storage racks can become hazardous if they collapse. Storage racks can collapse due to these reasons.  

Deficient storage rack design. 

• Incorrect construction of the storage rack. 
• Lack of storage rack maintenance. 
• Stacked products are too heavy for the storage rack. 

If a storage rack collapses, there are numerous safety hazards. Employees can get trapped, injured, or crushed. Rack collapses can also knock into other racks and cause a domino effect of injury and damage. Collapsing storage racks ultimately damage or destroy the stored products, creating an expense for the company and interrupt business operations.  

2) Toppling Storage: 

When storing products on storage structures, it is critical to follow safe stacking methods. Incorrect stacking can result in products toppling and falling off the shelves. These are a few ways you can incorrectly store products. 

• The products are stacked too high. 
• The products have been stacked in an unstable arrangement. 
• Heavier items have been placed on the top. 
• Different shaped and sized products are stored together. 

Storage can also topple if you de-stack the products incorrectly. An example of incorrect de-stacking is unpacking the products from the bottom. 

Toppling storage places employees at risk of various injuries. Depending on the height and weight of the falling products, they may cause bruising, scratches, broken limbs, or even death.

3) Forklift Accidents: 

Forklifts are widely used by companies to assist in lifting and moving products in storage warehouses. Forklifts are also a major hazard as there are numerous accidents that can occur with a forklift. 

1. Poorly Trained Drivers: Allowing employees to drive a forklift who do not have adequate forklift driving training can result in an accident. Poorly trained drivers can cause accidents if they speed, operate the forklift with an elevated load, load the forklift too high and impair their vision, or give other employees a ride on the forklift. 
2. Tipping: With or without a load, forklifts can tip. If the driver is speeding around a corner, the forklift wheels can swing outwards and cause the forklift to fall over. Having to repair or replace a forklift due to tipping damages will be an unnecessary expense. 
3. Insecure Loads: Loading the forklift with products that are irregular or unbalanced can also cause the forklift to tip. 
4. Mechanical Failure: Numerous forklift accidents are a result of mechanical failures. 
5. Workplace Design: Companies often purchase forklifts for their storage warehouses without considering the workplace design. If there is not adequate moving space for the forklift to turn, the forklift may crash into a storage structure and cause it to collapse. 

4) Incorrect Storage of Hazardous Materials: 

Various industries work with hazardous materials. Hazardous materials include explosives, compressed gasses, flammable liquids and solids, corrosive materials, and radioactive materials. There are various ways you can incorrectly store and handle hazardous materials in a storage warehouse. 

• Storing reactive hazardous materials alongside each other. 
• Storing flammable materials, explosives, or compressed gasses near an open flame or in direct sunlight. 
• Dropping hazardous materials whilst stacking or transporting on a forklift. 
• Storing hazardous materials in easily accessible areas of the storage warehouse. 
• Storing a hazardous material amount in the warehouse which exceeds regulations. 

Incorrect storage of hazardous materials can result in spills, gas releases, or exposure to toxic environments. Depending on the hazardous materials, this can severely impact the health and safety of your employees. 

Incorrectly storing flammable materials can also result in a workplace fire. This can lead to injury, death, and damage to products and property. 

5) Obstructed Aisles: 

If an employee leaves products unattended in the middle of the storage aisles, they cause an obstruction in the aisles. 

Obstructions in the aisles of the storage warehouse can result in numerous accidents. Smaller items left in the aisles can cause employees to trip and injure themselves.

Obstructed aisles also make forklift manoeuvring difficult and can result in the forklift crashing or tipping. In the case of an emergency, an obstructed aisle can prevent employees from finding the exit. 

6) Poor Ergonomics: 

Poor ergonomics can result in employee injury. If an employee twists, turns, or trips whilst carrying a load of products, their back can become injured. If employees are forced to carry loads that are too large or too heavy, their muscles can also become strained. 

If numerous employees are injured at work, the business will soon be understaffed and workflow will become affected. Ensuring employee safety is therefore both beneficial for the employees and the business. 

 

7) Pests: 

Pests, such as rats, cockroaches, and birds, are often attracted to warehouses as they provide them with shelter and food. Incorrect storage of products can leave gaps in between products where pests can then nest and breed. Storing products that can be a food source for pests near entryways will also attract pests into the warehouse. 

Warehouses need to be free from pests to avoid placing your employees at risk and contaminating stored products. 

Emcare Safe Stacking and Storage Course: 

The recommended health and safety training for employees who store and stack products is the Emcare Safe Stacking and Storage course. Emcare’s Safe Stacking and Storage course will provide your employees with all the relevant skills and techniques for safe storage practices. 

Some of the important aspects this course covers are training employees, the methods of stacking different sized and shaped goods, and rules for de-stacking. Your employees will walk away from this Emcare health and safety training course fully prepared to keep themselves and the products safe from injury or damage. 

The Emcare Safe Stacking and Storage course is also beneficial for employers. The course covers the policies and procedures which need to be implemented in every workplace that stores products. The course also covers the South African legislation around safe storage practices. Equipping yourself with Emcare’s Safe Stacking and Storage knowledge will reduce the risks of legal action against your company should an accident occur. 

The Emcare Safe Storage and Stacking course is completed in one day. On completion, each person will receive an accredited certificate that is valid for two years.  

The Emcare Safe Storage and Stacking course is available at all the Emcare branches, which are located in Cape Town, Hoedspruit, Johannesburg, Polokwane, Port Elizabeth, and Durban. For further convenience, Emcare can bring the course to you for groups of ten or more. 

Ensure that your employees are equipped to perform their work safely by enrolling them in the Emcare Safe Stacking and Storage course. 

Tips for Safe Stacking and Storage: 

Alongside offering your employees health and safety training with the Emcare Safe Stacking and Storage course, you can follow these extra safety tips. 

1) Personal Protective Equipment: 

Every employee who works in the storage warehouse, whether they are directly storing products or supervising the workers, should have the correct personal protective equipment. This is a list of personal protective equipment specifically for storage and stacking warehouses. 

1. Gloves. 
2. Eye protection. 
3. Steel-toed safety boots. 
4. Hard hat. 

Personal protective equipment must be supplied by the employer, and employees must always wear this gear when inside the warehouse. 

2) Inspect Storage Warehouse: 

There should be a storage and stacking supervisor in the storage warehouse who regularly assesses the storage of products. These are a few of the aspects the supervisor should inspect. 

• Stacking: The supervisor should ensure that all products are stacked correctly according to their size and shape. The supervisor should also check that heavier products are stored closer to the bottom to prevent a collapse. 
• Storage Racks: The supervisor should inspect storage racks for any possible damages or defects that could affect the strength and stability of the storage rack. 
• Cleanliness: The supervisor should continuously assess the cleanliness and organisation of the warehouse. A clean warehouse will reduce the risk of pest infestation and prevent waste from accumulating and becoming an obstruction. 
• Forklift Driving: The supervisor should also monitor the driving of all forklifts to ensure they are being loaded correctly and that the driver is not speeding.  

3) Segregate Stock: 

Keeping hazardous materials stored in a specialised space in the storage warehouse can help prevent any spills, contamination, or workplace fires. 

This separated space needs to be adequately signposted to alert employees about the hazardous materials inside. Authorised employees should only be allowed access to storing and stacking hazardous materials in the segregated area. 

4) Maintaining Equipment: 

Storage warehouses make use of various types of equipment to assist in storing and transporting products. These include a forklift, platform truck, dolly, hoist, and drum handling truck. Every piece of equipment needs to be consistently maintained. Defective equipment needs to be immediately repaired or replaced. 

5) Emergency Plan: 

It is critical to have an emergency plan in place in the event of any collapsing storage racks, leaking hazardous materials, workplace fires, or any of the other hazards that storage and stacking pose. 

This emergency plan needs to be taught to every employee in the warehouse. Additionally, you can install signage to help assist people in the event of an emergency. 

About Emcare Health and Safety Training: 

Emcare offers a diverse range of health and safety training courses that are relevant for every workplace. Alongside the Emcare Safe Stacking and Storage course, there are other important health and safety training courses you can enrol your employees in to ensure workplace safety. These include the Risk Assessment course, the Safety Officer course, and the Emergency Evacuation Procedures course. 

Every Emcare health and safety training course is accredited, which means that each course is held to high standards and continuously monitored. This ensures that you can trust the quality of the health and safety training you receive from Emcare. 

All Emcare health and safety training courses are facilitated or moderated by professionals. The whole Emcare team is fully qualified, has numerous years of experience, and is registered to be facilitators. You will only receive high-quality health and safety training at Emcare. 

We make sure that all our health and safety training courses are timely without sacrificing quality, affordable for a wide range of budgets, and accessible to both South Africans and surrounding African countries. 

Emcare health and safety training for safe storage and stacking is critical for all employees who store and stack products.