If you work in an industry where your safety is dependent on your visibility to other workers, you must take precautions. Read the tips below to learn four ways that you can keep yourself safe in the workplace.
Ensure Proper Lighting Conditions
Proper lighting in the workplace is essential for all workers. Warehouses, with their continual use of forklifts, hand trucks and other motorized industrial equipment, must have proper illumination at all times. When visibility is poor, equipment drivers may fail to see workers on foot, which can lead to an accident. Warehouse employees should take note of any lighting problems and immediately report their findings to management. Common lighting issues include flickering lights, blown bulbs and dirt buildup on lights that reduce their illumination. If these lighting issues aren’t repaired in a timely manner and an employee is injured due to poor lighting, the employee has every right to contact a personal injury attorney, such as Robenalt Law.
Wear High-Visibility Safety Apparel
When you work in an industry where visibility is important, you may be required to wear high-visibility safety apparel. These personal protective garments often include shirts, vests, coveralls and hard hats. This type of safety gear often has fluorescent stripes down the arms, legs and back of the clothing. This bright color is extremely visible to others and the position of the stripes allows others to see your movements when you’re wearing this type of clothing. If you wear high-visibility safety apparel at work, inspect your clothing on a regular basis to ensure that it isn’t torn or soiled. Your protective clothing should also fit properly and it should be comfortable to wear. A senior consultant of the National Safety Council states that workers should be trained on the proper way to put on, take off and wear personal protective clothing. If you’re having any issues with your personal protective gear, report them to your superior at once.
Reduce Clutter In The Workplace
A cluttered area can drastically impair your ability to see dangers in the workplace. Warehouse aisles and walkways that are marked for foot traffic should be kept clear at all times. Stacks of pallets, boxes and other items in the aisles can prevent an equipment operator from seeing an employee on foot. Clutter can also obstruct a pedestrian’s view of motorized machinery. Blind corners can pose a visibility problem for pedestrians and equipment drivers. Employees on foot should always stop and look for oncoming motorized equipment before stepping out from behind a blind corner. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website reports that in a 14-year span, 20 per cent of forklift fatalities were due to forklifts striking employees who were on foot.
Improve Communication Skills
Making eye contact, movement and vocalization are all beneficial types of communication that can improve an employee’s visibility. You should make eye contact with equipment drivers to confirm the driver sees you. Waving your hands in the air is another way that you can communicate to machinery drivers. Yelling or making a loud noise can be an effective method of communication if the equipment isn’t too loud. In this situation, you may also need to wave your arms to ensure you get the driver’s attention.
If you work in an industry where you need to be visible, make a habit of incorporating these four tips into your daily routine. Make sure there’s proper lighting, wear and maintain high-visibility clothing, keep aisles free of clutter and communicate with equipment drivers to stay safe in the workplace.