Workplace, warehouse and forklift safety barriers are all necessary in order to create a risk free, safe workplace. Although there are many elements that need to be considered when it comes to health and safety in the workplace, this is the fundamental goal of most warehouse environments. Although it is inevitable that accidents will occur in the workplace, you can hopefully minimise the chance of severe accidents happening by taking steps to ensure that the work environment is safe as it can possibly be. Undertaking simple safety measures such as using safety barriers is a good approach to optimising health and safety in the workplace. But what exactly are the benefits of using safety barriers? We’ll detail below a few reasons why it is a good idea to have these installed in the workplace.
Increase staff awareness – Worker and pedestrian safety is paramount for any workplace. Although your staff should be constantly alert and aware of their surroundings at all times, having safety barriers installed ensures that your team members will be protected from vehicles such as loading trucks and forklift. Your staff won’t have to worry about being in the way of these vehicles. This is especially important because as the day goes on, your staff will become tired and their physical awareness of their environment will decrease. If they aren’t paying attention even for a short moment, this can be all it takes for an accident to happen. For example, their failure to hear sounds of a forklift reversing could result in injury. Safety barriers offer protection and peace of mind with regards to scenarios like this.
Stock protection – Although products and stock are nowhere near as important as ensuring the safety of your staff, safeguarding equipment should still remain a top priority for any workplace environment. Damage to equipment and stock can result in lost revenue for a business and repairing or replacing broken stock can be very costly. Many companies these days utilise vertical stock stacking rather than horizontal stock stacking as it is an excellent way to maximise space. However, with items being stored up high, there are risks involved when it comes to accessing these products. Installing safety barriers can negate the risk of damage in a collision and prevent you from having to fork out money for expensive repairs.
Vehicle protection – Another reason for installing safety barriers in the workplace is to prevent possible damage to any vehicles such as forklift and loading trucks. If these vehicles collide with a pedestrian or any equipment, this can result in costly damages for a business. In the event of a collision, if you have a safety barrier installed, it will lower the risk of physical injury to anyone involved as well as hopefully minimise the damage to the vehicles. It is important to check what type of material your barriers are made from, as ones that are crafted from steel potentially won’t offer you efficiency and complete protection in the event of a vehicular collision.
So there you have it – the main benefits of installing safety barriers in a workplace environment. Additionally, a key element of a purposeful safety barrier is maintaining presence and visibility. We recommend that your safety barriers are bright and vibrant in colour in order to stand out. Yellow is often the preferred colour in the industry, as it is a colour that is similar to the yellow of hard hats and high-vis jackets. By utilising bold colours, you will be able to ensure that your barriers are easy to spot, even in darker winter months when light levels are lower.
