How to Implement a Zero-Waste Strategy in Your Warehouse

20 September 2023 by Lizzie Allen

Are you thinking about going zero-waste in your warehouse? Awesome! It's a challenge, but the rewards are worth it. The name of the game here is all about teamwork and getting creative to cut down on waste.

So, what's the deal with a zero-waste strategy? Well, it's basically about doing everything you can to reduce, reuse, and recycle materials so you're not generating a bunch of waste.

But hold up a second. What should you do to make this zero-waste thing happen in your warehouse? And are there any tips and tricks to make it work smoothly? Well, we're about to dive into that, so stay tuned!

What is a Zero-Waste Strategy?

‘The zero waste ideology involves minimising the number of wasted materials and resources. This encompasses the whole production process, from manufacturing to consumption. It also encourages reusing and recycling instead of landfills and incineration or recovery, which is often referred to as energy from waste.’ - Acquisition International

Put simply, to implement an effective zero-waste strategy, businesses must focus on the ‘3 Rs’:

Reduce: This means you're doing your best to generate less waste. Try to cut down where you can and for everything else... 👇
Reuse: Whenever you can, give things a second life. Don't toss stuff if it's still got some juice left in it. Get creative and use things again and again.
Recycle: If you can't reuse something, don't fret. Recycling comes to the rescue. It takes an item and gives it a makeover, turning it into something fresh and new. Our racksack® waste segregation bin is a great way to sort waste materials to make recycling a breeze.

So, remember these 3 Rs, and you're on your way to being a zero-waste champ! 🌍♻️

Implementing Your Zero-Waste Strategy

Check Where You're At

So, first things first, take a good look at what's happening in your warehouse. Be honest with yourself. You may already be doing some great stuff to reduce waste - kudos for that! But there's likely room for improvement, too. Take stock before moving on to the next step.

Set Clear Goals

Don't jump straight into the zero-waste superhero mode. You've got to set some smaller, bite-sized goals along the way. Think of these as your pit stops on the road to zero-waste greatness. For instance:

Start by getting cosy with the 3 Rs - reduce, reuse, and recycle.
Teach your team the ropes on why zero-waste matters.
Consider swapping out those not-so-eco-friendly materials for some greener options.

Sort That Waste Out

Waste can be a messy business, right? So, make life easier with designated waste sorting stations. You know, big, labelled bins for recyclables, regular trash, organic stuff, and anything hazardous.

And here's a handy tip: check out our racksack® waste segregation solutions. They help you keep your warehouse clean, safe, and green. Plus, they don't hog your precious floor space. In fact, here's five reasons why your warehouse should use racksack®.

Team Up With Your Suppliers

Don't go solo on this mission. Team up with your suppliers and let them in on your zero-waste game plan. Ask them to go easy on the packaging and push for eco-friendly materials.

4 Common Warehouse Hazards and How to Prevent Them

7 September 2023 by Lizzie Allen

Making sure your warehouse is running smoothly and keeping your employees safe is absolutely crucial.

It's pretty alarming when you hear that in the UK alone, 123 workers lost their lives in 2021/22 because of workplace injuries. That's a pretty stark reminder of how important it is to step up safety measures, right?

So, let's dive into it a bit. We'll chat about 4 common warehouse hazards - things like fires and forklift accidents. But don't worry, we won't leave you hanging without solutions – we'll also discuss what measures warehouse managers can implement to prevent accidents and fatalities from these hazards.

Warehouse Fires
Slips and Trips
Falling Objects
Forklift Accidents

Warehouse Fires

A fire anywhere can be devastating, and a warehouse fire is no different. They can quickly spread and cause multiple fatalities among staff and damage stock and equipment, potentially forcing a whole business to close permanently.

Regular fire risk assessments and PAT testing are critical factors in preventing warehouse fires.

In addition, warehouse managers should encourage workers to report any equipment faults or defects and ensure all fire alarms are working, fire extinguishers are easily accessible, and all fire doors are closed.

A great way to keep fire extinguishers, fire blankets, and fire alarms easily accessible is by using Modulean® Fire Safety Shadow Boards. These boards come in various highly-visible 5S colours, ensuring they stand out in the warehouse, and keep fire equipment neatly organised and stored. They also come in a Rack End Board version, which makes fantastic use of otherwise redundant end-of-aisle racking space.

Slips and Trips

Slips and trips are another common warehouse hazard, usually caused by loose wires, tools left where they shouldn't be, and spillages that haven't been cleaned up.

Although the above may sound like easy issues to fix, the Health and Safety Executive states the following:

'Statistics show slipping and tripping to be the single most common cause of major injury in UK workplaces, and they are often the initiators of accidents attributed to other causes, such as some machinery accidents, scalding and falls from height.'

A key factor in preventing these sorts of accidents is ensuring you don't assume someone else will fix the problem - if you see a hazard, report it immediately or remove it if you can safely do so. Warehouse managers can also use anti-slip tape, line marking tapes and floor signs to highlight hazards.

Falling Objects

Falling objects in a warehouse can prove fatal in some cases - especially if the accident involves heavy stock or equipment too heavy for the racking it's placed on.

In this case, weight-load notices become essential. They're crucial for maintaining a safe and efficient warehouse environment as they provide employees with clear information about weight limits and load capacities, helping to prevent accidents.

Combining weight-load notices with ensuring all items are fully secured can prevent many tragedies.

Forklift Accidents

According to The UK Material Handling Association, the industry experiences over 1,300 forklift truck accidents annually, leading to an average of five accidents every workday in the UK alone.

Often, accidents are due to a lack of training or safety-conscious behaviour by the forklift operator. Warehouse managers can help reduce the risk of such accidents by providing all employees with up-to-date forklift training, ensuring all equipment is regularly checked, inspected, and maintained, and encouraging a clean and tidy warehouse.

Additionally, graphic floor signs are a simple, effective, and highly visible way of warning pedestrians about forklift truck areas.

Plus, while accident prevention is the ultimate goal, impact protection solutions such as rack-end barriers and Rack Armour® upright racking protection can help mitigate injury or damage in the event of a collision into warehouse racking.

Important Safety Signs Regulations

6 June 2022 by Lizzie Allen

In a busy workplace, you may start to ‘overlook’ signage and fall short of H&S compliance and risk management targets. Making it important to regularly review safety signs regulations.

Are you fully familiar with current workplace safety signs regulations in the UK? Next, the big question is whether your company is still keeping within the rules, and using the correct signs, in the correct places!

Particularly in complex, busy or ever-changing work environments, this issue is far from straightforward. Also, the global pandemic is the perfect example of how safety signage guidelines and demands can alter!

This article is a guide to important safety sign regulations and outlines the latest products for workplace safety communications and compliance.

Beyond compliance; the value of proper signage

Evaluating how up to date your safety signs are is not just about meeting UK regulations (more on this later).

Of course, the biggest reason safety signs are so important is that they prevent injuries to staff or site visitors. Apart from the duty of care you hold, you could face litigation, fines or loss of reputation, if someone is hurt due to poor safety issue communication.

Safety signs can also help you to avoid problems from structural collisions, accidental damage to sensitive electrical equipment and vehicle repair bills!

However, doing a thorough risk assessment and updating workplace signs also brings a far less tangible benefit. Your staff feel safer!

The presence of highly visible, correct and strategically placed safety signs is reassuring not least in demonstrating how serious you are about employee health and welfare.

Do safety signs work?

The answer is yes, but in a qualified way. This also links with why you must stay up to date with safety sign regulations.

To be truly effective, your workplace safety signage needs to be regularly reviewed, refreshed and updated. This prevents it from becoming ‘invisible’ over time, or literally hard to see due to being blocked, faded or placed in inappropriate locations.

Do you understand the different categories of safety signs?

When you get workplace signage right, it does play a significant role in reducing safety accidents, by drawing attention to hazards or prompting essential actions.

Also, keep in mind it doesn’t replace all the other things you can do to maintain site safety. For example, your site speed restriction signs may need to be accompanied by robust, high vis speed bumps!

Best practice and safety signs regulations

Ensuring your signage is up to date and truly visible becomes easier when you evaluate it within the context of the latest H&S rules on this topic. The HSE provides a free downloadable guide to help you.

This backs up what we mentioned above: “Safety signs and signals are required where, despite putting in place all other relevant measures, a significant risk to the health and safety of employees and others remains.”

We gave one example of that above, but others include using trip and slip hazard signs in conjunction with specialist flooring and other physical safety management methods.

Other H&S guidelines include:

Specific and clear signs for traffic management.
Proper maintenance of safety signs.
Training for existing and new staff in the meaning of safety signs and any actions they demand.

The best safety signs

We sell high quality and durable safety signs at low prices. However, the focus is still on you placing them in strategic locations.

Even simple safety communication tools such as hi-vis floor tapes and other low-cost H&S stickers need to be placed correctly, to be effective.

For example, informative safety signs should be well spaced out to emphasise visual clarity. Modulean® Shadow Boards are a great way to group safety messages and insights together in an impactful way.

Also, floor markers are not always sufficient and you need to source signs that can be mounted on different surfaces, (including ones directed at HGV and LGV drivers).

Safety signs for warehouses and other high-risk areas – such as weight load markers for racking – must be visible at a glance.

There are other tips in our guide to types of safety signage, so this article will be well worth a read.

Of course, it also helps if you source safety signs designed to deliver maximum clarity and impact, using proven methods of getting attention. Such as incorporating the universal colour coding system for workplace signs.

These are all things we have considered when interpreting safety signs regulations and the needs of modern workplaces. Get in touch with Beaverwood’s workplace product advisors for prices and more product ideas.

Warehouse Signage: What are your sector’s requirements?

10 January 2022 by Lizzie Allen

Signage in workplaces can make everyday life much easier and keep productivity higher. However, it often serves a more serious role, particularly warehouse signage.

From school libraries to vast warehouse complexes, signage serves vital locational purposes. A sensible system of labelling can help staff and automation technology to find items quickly, limiting hesitation and worse still, error.

However, there are times when signs are literally there to protect the health and safety of people who work in that environment. Especially warehouse signage that keeps pedestrians and machines apart, or which reminds people about serious workplace hazards.

The Health & Safety Executive mandate on signage is: “Employers must provide safety signs if there is a significant risk that can’t be avoided or controlled in any other way.” That covers a lot of different situations!

As signs play such a vital role in all modern workplaces, we thought it would be handy to ‘spell out’ what your sector needs to consider.

Signage in public buildings

The type of signage needed by different sectors varies, though the core aims are the same.

For example, in schools, colleges, libraries, town halls and museums – just like warehouses and factories – the objective is to mount public building signage that creates a logical flow of movement and keeps important safety information ‘up front and central’.

From safety inspections and reports displayed on walls to vinyl floor signs.

Vital warehouse signage

Within industrial, fulfilment and logistics premises, signage needs become more complex, though. Especially warehouse signage, where slips, trips, falls and collisions are a daily risk.

Fortunately, floors, structures like columns, racking systems and even glass can all be used to provide warehouse staff with essential directional and hazard warning information.

Some warehouse signage needs to be permanently fixed in place – such as signs to indicate where forklift trucks operate and exit points. However, regular reviews are still vital as information fatigue and sign ‘blindness’ can creep in.

When doing a risk assessment to make sure warehouse signage is still intact and doing its job, consider new ways to convey important information. This could refresh attention levels and adherence.

Fortunately, there are innovative warehouse safety products being developed all the time, to improve compliance and avoid accidents.

Racking up good signage protocols

Periodically the layout and workflow of a warehouse can be altered. Leading to the need to assess and update shelf and rack label holders, for example.

Again, this is not just about keeping productivity high and avoiding confusion or mistakes. If you have unequivocal and logical labelling for aisles, racking systems and shelves, it creates a confident and assured way of storing and then retrieving items. Less confusion equals a safer working environment.

A sign of the times

Whichever sector you operate in, you may need to review COVID-19 safety signage regularly. Have you got sufficient clear floor-level information about safe distancing and plenty of reminders about PPE protocols? Complacency can be counteracted by upgrading or changing your signage and information periodically.

Checklist of key signage

One of the easiest ways to update warehouse signage – and safety information in other sectors – is to hit the floor! There are cheap, easy to use floor markers and half circle markers to cover vital messaging. This includes:

• Forklift operational areas
• Fire extinguisher locations
• Fire exit locations
• Speed limits
• Hazardous areas.

Also, as racking poses a considerable risk, have you got the latest rack safety charts on display?

In laboratories and some manufacturing environments, you need specialist PPE and safety equipment signs. Including reminders to wear eye protection and signage to show where equipment is available.

Does your building need signage for a Quarantine Area? That’s something else that can be achieved with floor markers.

Firm grip on safety solutions

It’s worth emphasising that some safety signage for workplaces needs to point people to vital equipment to enable them to respond quickly. For example, modulean shadow boards that hold cleaning apparatus to manage spills, first aid equipment or COVID-19 related items.

Warehouse signage – or signs in any sort of workplace – come down to this. You need to walk every square foot of your premises and consider all potential risks, then post up information wherever there is a “significant risk that can’t be avoided or controlled in any other way.”

If you need help with any of that, Beaverswood offers free safety product advice.

Which Aisle Signs Does Your Business Need?

20 September 2021 by Lizzie Allen

In any kind of business environment, having the correct signage is important to ensure that every day runs smoothly. Here, we will discuss the different options when it comes to aisle signs and how they can benefit your business.

When do you need aisle signs?

You may wonder when you would require aisle signs in your workplace. There are actually many different answers to this. For example, in an office environment, you may use aisle signs to delineate the different shelves – this can be especially useful in offices that store a lot of complex paperwork and data, as it can make it clear to employees where they can find what they need. Aisle signs can also be useful when it comes to marking different desks for front-facing employees who interact with the general public.

In factory environments, aisle signs can provide safety by making it clear which area is which. This makes it easier to mark out areas where more delicate work is taking place, so employees know which areas are safe to enter, and where they should remain.

Similarly, in a warehouse setting, you can use aisle signs to mark out different areas for different kinds of stock and/or materials, making it quicker and easier for employees to be able to place or retrieve what they need.

Aisle sign options

end of aisle racking ,arker signs for warehouse racking identification

There is no “one size fits all” approach to the correct aisle sign for your business. However, there are two main options for aisle signs that you can consider using based on your own environment and what you will be using the signs for.

End of shelving signs

Shelving signs might be some of the most popular and commonly used. These aisle signs are great for improving identification and clarity on shelving found in office environments, but thanks to the robust nature of the signs, they can also be used in warehouse or factory settings. You can choose yours in white or yellow, and have up to three characters custom printed on the sign for simple use.

End of rack signs

Do you need a sign that is highly visible and can provide clarity at the end of your racks? End-of-rack signs are ideal for identifying your bays, helping to give you better identification. These sturdy signs are perfect for factory environments and also work well in warehouses or offices. Available in a range of sizes, you can have custom-made markers created with your company logo, colours and more. These are supplied pre-drilled so that applying them to your racks is easy.

The benefits of aisle signs

There are many different benefits to using the correct aisle signs for your business environment. They can offer clear identification of the different areas that a colleague or visitor may be entering, which can improve both clarity and security, especially in warehouse or factory settings.

This can also boost the level of organisation in an office or more construction-based setting, meaning that even new employees or visitors to your site can find their way around easily, and know where they are meant to be.

Best of all, these aisle signs are easy and quick to install, so you won’t have to interrupt your day in order to improve your workplace.

As you can see, whether you are in a factory, warehouse or office environment, aisle signs can contribute a great amount of clarity and safety to your workplace. They can help you to differentiate between different areas and keep employees moving seamlessly throughout their day. Whether you require end-of-shelving signs or end-of-rack signs, you can be sure you are getting high-quality signage with Beaverswood.

We can provide you with aisle signs to meet your unique specifications, so browse the full range and see how we can best help your business.

The Ultimate Checklist For Warehouse Safety

22 February 2021 by Lizzie Allen

If you were starting up a new warehouse operation or updating an existing one, you would need to work your way through the HSE’s HSG76 rules on warehouse safety. Spoiler alert! These are products you will inevitably need.

The Health and Safety Executive’s warehousing and storage health and safety guide drills down on the key areas of workplace risk. Especially, manual handling/musculoskeletal disorders, slips and trips, vehicles in and around the premises, and working at height.

When you consider the number of things that could go wrong in a busy warehouse, it could give you sleepless nights.

To help you focus on the priority areas of H&S compliance, here’s a checklist of low cost, high-value products you will certainly need for warehouse safety.

Anti-Slip Tapes

Our tape rolls provide you with incredibly durable and effective anti-slip measure, for any work area prone to moisture, oil or other floor pollutants. They are a must-have in warehouses and storage areas when open apertures bring the British weather indoors. In fact, any entranceway and staircase (indoors or outside) will be safer if anti-slip tape or stair treads are used.

The combination of a highly-effective adhesive, a strong structure and diamond-hard aluminium oxide impregnated into the tape, makes sure that our tapes and treads won’t let you (or a staff member) down. Your workforce will be able to be more productive with the assurance of well-place anti-slip tapes too.

We do a clear version for discretion in reception areas, tape rolls in high-vis colours, and stair treads with warnings printed on. All helping you to prevent working place injuries.

Racksack

Sometimes a simple moment of genius makes a big impact in warehouse safety! Kudos to the inventor of racksacks.

You fasten these strong, flexible sacks onto racking with S hooks or ties. Then, you have instantly moved waste management off the floor, avoiding tripping risks and taking up less space.

As they are so close to hand, racksacks make it less likely someone will take short cuts with disposing of waste materials effectively and safely, including glass.

Racksacks also enable staff to segregate rubbish quickly, in an instantly visible way. Without bending down or lifting heavy bins, so avoiding musculoskeletal pressure. Simply lift and empty as needed, before attaching the colour coded, purpose-specific racksack back to a convenient location.

These products are an excellent way to comply with EU & UK waste segregation legislation, with versions to slip on to trolleys and roll cages too.

Floor Lane Marking Tape

You could invest in substantial traffic management systems to separate your workforce and off-road vehicles such as forklift trucks. Though in many places and situations, a more low-cost solution does a great job of keeping pedestrians out of the way.

Simply put down unmissable demarcation lines, to manage the flow of people and machinery!

Our extra-wide floor lane marking tapes have the added advantage of providing a versatile warehouse safety measure. You can put them in any temporary or permanent location, to indicate areas of risk that include slippery surfaces and proximity to sensitive equipment or electrical supply for example.

Our floor marking tapes come in high-vis colours and with a durable adhesive, making them a long-lasting warning system. Though the low unit cost of tapes means you can replace them cheaply, whenever you need to.

Weight Load Notices

Just as warehouse safety tapes can be a quick, cheap way to stay H&S compliant, having the right signs in place can tick a lot of boxes in reducing workplace injuries too.

For example, we supply a range of 7 different semi-rigid weight loading notices, to swiftly attach to diverse types of racking or floors. They can be unprinted, for you to add your own wording and graphics such as a logo. Or, we can add your chosen content. Whatever you need to say, to manage proper use of racking and highlight your company’s procedures and systems.

Managing A Warehouse Safety Checklist

Even if you find a reliable supplier of the warehouse safety products on this list, there would be plenty more labels, document display materials and signage items you need. These days, buying COVID-19 safety materials adds considerably to your H&S obligations.

The best way to create a comprehensive warehouse safety checklist – and fulfil it cost-effectively – is to contact Beaverswood.

Aisle Markers For Warehouses: Become Safer And Better Organised

12 January 2021 by Lizzie Allen

Keeping staff and machinery flowing efficiently around your warehouse can be challenging. Fortunately, our aisle markers for warehouses are great ways to boost visibility across your warehouse shelves, racking and bays.

Organising warehouse layouts to be both consistently efficient and safe is like ‘painting the Forth Bridge’; a never-ending challenge. With product moving in and out constantly, the carefully formulated arrangement of goods is rarely static for long.

The need to amend, update or even totally re-arrange the layout of your warehouse on a regular basis can leave your technology and your workforce with a series of new locational challenges. Pedestrian workers and forklift truck operators can find navigation a constant headache.

Of course, lost items equal lost time. However, this is not just about protecting productivity. If you are creeping towards chaos in your aisles it can increase the risk of accidents as hesitant or confused workers try to locate goods.

Highly visible aisle signage – that’s updated immediately when changes are made – can manage this situation. It also enables a faster response time in warehouse emergencies, and the ability to get maintenance teams in place quickly too. Calling a ‘clean up on aisle 2’ is not much good if no one is quite sure where aisle 2 is!

Beaverswood has applied its product knowledge and organisational logic, to create versatile aisle markers that perform brilliantly. You can mix and match from the following warehouse signage products for example.

1. Self Adhesive Racking Bay Markers

High-vis signage and aisle markers for warehouses often rely on a fundamentally sound system of clear numbers and letters. We have sourced some robust, unmissable self-adhesive alphanumeric characters for our customers. Though we also supply a magnetic version too, for application direct to steel racking or to metal aisle tabs.

We offer these self-adhesive letters and numbers in two sizes, both of which can be applied to the no-drill aisle and bay markers that we also stock.

The result is quick to update and a no-hassle method of identifying aisles and bays, that is also unmissably good value!

2. End of Shelving Aisle Markers

In space sensitive areas of your warehouse – or for additional locational support – erecting markers on the ends of shelving can help with navigation and product identification too.

We supply made to order aisles markers for shelving ends that can fit up to three alphanumerical characters on them. You can even use these high-vis shelving markers to display your company logo or some other graphic if you prefer.

As these are part of our bespoke warehouse signs range, you can request these markers with no drill holes if you prefer, and in whatever colour combination you need. As with all of our locational aids for warehouses, prices are kept low without compromising on quality. You can even specify versions of these made to order metal markers for external use.

Aisle markers for warehouses make layouts effortlessly manoeuvrable

Creating the ultimate navigation and location system in your warehouse relies on it being agile enough to cope with constant change. All the planning and mapping this requires must then translate into signage that your workforce can see at a glance.

The products highlighted here – along with the other tradition or tech-savvy signage items we supply – can make even the most complex warehouse easy to navigate. That keeps your workforce and technology on track around the clock, supporting speedy logistics and high productivity.

It also means that maintenance and emergency crews can arrive where they are needed quickly, with pinpoint accuracy. All ‘signs’ that your warehouse operation is successful!

Top 10 Warehouse Safety Tips

9 November 2020 by Lizzie Allen

Author: Beaverswood® | Last Updated:January 2024

Warehouses can be potentially dangerous environments and can generate a wide range of risks for employees, which is why we have compiled our Top 10 Warehouse Safety Tips.

Some companies exceed Health & Safety standards which not only shows their dedication to safety but also boosts employee loyalty and aids recruitment. Additionally, it helps prevent productivity problems caused by safety mishaps and oversights, which can lead to delays and disruptions.

To help you improve warehouse safety, here are our Top 10 Warehouse Safety Tips.

1. Create a Strong Signage System

Ensure that the warehouse is equipped with easily understandable and highly visible warehouse signage to effectively convey safety guidelines, emergency exit locations, and areas with potential hazards. By prominently displaying these signs, any confusion can be minimised, and overall awareness can be improved.

2. Regularly assess weight restrictions

Despite the advancements in automated technology, warehouses still rely on manual lifting and carrying to some extent. Back injuries pose a significant challenge for workers in these industries. It is essential to regularly review weight restrictions for your storage racks and lifting mechanisms and ensure that warning labels and staff information are always kept current.

3. Consider shelving units’ maximum weight capacity

Not only is it important to think about weight restrictions when employees are manually lifting items, but you must also consider the weight capacity of the storage rack or shelving unit. If the weight of items on a warehouse shelf exceeds its maximum capacity, it can lead to structural damage, potential collapse, and compromise safety.

The use of Max UDL labels ensure warehouses comply with safety regulations and avoid excessive weight that can cause structural problems. This protects inventory, equipment, and personnel from potential harm.

4. Implement anti-slip measures

Slip and fall accidents are a common danger in industrial settings, causing various injuries such as fractures, sprains, and concussions.

By adopting efficient and cost-effective anti-slip measures such as anti-slip footprints, anti-slip stair treads and adhesive anti-slip tapes, you can establish a safe work environment and minimise the chances of accidents.

Implementing anti-slip measures not only ensures compliance with safety regulations but also protects employees and enhances the company’s reputation.

5. Minimise waste and eliminate unnecessary clutter

Minimising waste and eliminating unnecessary clutter in a warehouse is essential for meeting productivity, recycling and space-saving targets.

Racksack® offer a practical solution to efficiently manage waste and maximise storage space. By securely hanging them on different fixtures, they create a clutter-free environment with their spacious open mouth, allowing easy disposal of waste. This not only optimises storage capacity but also minimises the need for additional storage facilities.

Additionally, ensuring the continuous removal of waste and organising it into separate Racksacks contributes to creating a safer workplace for warehouse employees.

6. Implement Warehouse Impact Protectors

It is essential to carefully assess your workspace and identify areas that may require impact protectors such as corners, pillars, doorways, and posts, as they may need to be re-evaluated to safeguard both your vehicles and staff.

By using versatile high visibility materials that are designed to absorb impact, you can effectively shield every edge and corner. Consider incorporating polyWRAP column protectors and safety ends to further enhance the protection measures throughout your warehouse.

7. Keep your Employees Informed

Having logical access to important safety and operational information is extremely important. To ensure that your commercial display boards, health & safety documents, and inspection documentation are well-maintained, it is essential to use the latest products that provide excellent visibility and clarity.

Modulean® shadow boards are the ideal solution for keeping your employees informed of important information as they boost organisation and visual management in the workplace.

8. Arrange Regular Training Sessions

When you’re under pressure to reach performance targets, don’t overestimate the level of your workforce’s understanding and awareness.

It is important to acknowledge that not all individuals retain information or acquire new skills at the same rate. Therefore, implementing continuous staff training modules and refreshers is a sensible approach and can help contribute to the overall efficiency, safety, and effectiveness of warehouse operations.

9. Review Exterior Warehouse Safety

Exterior spaces in warehouses frequently include the movement of vehicles like trucks, forklifts, and delivery vehicles. Reviewing these areas are crucial for maintaining a secure and efficient work environment.

Speed-reducing ramps are effective in reducing the risk of accidents and collisions by slowing down vehicle traffic and creating a safer environment for pedestrians. Alternatively, you could use flexible traffic bollards combined with plastic chains which can help separate traffic and pedestrian routes.

10. Perform Regular Safety Checks

It is necessary to perform both regular and comprehensive safety assessments in your warehouse to fulfil your health and safety responsibilities.

To keep track of this effectively, attach an asset tag marker to each piece of equipment, provide a handy checklist, and establish a system to record inspection dates. By taking this proactive approach, you can ensure the safety of your warehouse environment.

Making the workplace work smarter

All our Top 10 Warehouse Safety Tips share a common theme and that is to have a reliable supplier of high-quality products that ensure effective communication, control, and risk management in your workspace.

Therefore, we recommend browsing our extensive range or contacting us to discuss your safety shopping list.

The importance of proper warehouse signage

13 October 2020 by Lizzie Allen

Good warehouse signage must be considered an effective step on the path to improved levels of performance, operational efficiency and safety in the warehouse environment.

In the swirling vortex of today’s 24/7 world, where people expect their online orders to be fulfilled almost at the drop of a hat, it’s easy to overlook the role warehouses’ play in the seamless functioning of global supply chains: they help to ensure we have what we want; when we want it.

But never underestimate what a busy – and sometimes dangerous – environment warehouses can be. Often, there’s usually a lot going on, with some extremely hazardous and powerful equipment trundling about.

What’s more, demand on global supply chains is snowballing and as a result warehouses are facing increasing pressure to store and dispatch products at high speeds.

In order to be able to meet these demands, it is essential for operators to maximise the efficiency of their warehouses by improving their functions and throughput.

So, in this sometimes brutal, cacophonous industrial landscape, it’s important to remember the power of good warehouse signage. With a few words, an image, and the proper placement, a sign can swiftly and effectively communicate an order, direction, or elicit a desired action.

It can intuitively educate the uninformed. It can quickly convey a complicated message in a simple way.

Accountability

It is a legal requirement to display certain signs in prominent spots around your warehouse. You must also remember that if an incident occurs it could be you that is held accountable if the legislation has not been followed correctly.

It’s also important to have health and safety measures in place so that staff can perform their work as safely as possible.

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 section 2, states that every employer has a duty to ensure the health and safety of their employees so far as is reasonably practicable, and it is your duty to operate within the legal requirements of your business.

Guidance on regulations relating to safety warehouse signage and signals is also covered in the Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996, which provide information for employers and duty holders, and others who have responsibility for the control of work sites and premises, or operating equipment requiring verbal and/or non-verbal communications.

In short, these require warehouse employers to ensure that safety signs are provided (or are in place) and maintained in circumstances where there is a significant risk to health and safety that has not been removed or controlled by other methods.

They also make it clear that in determining when and where to use safety signs, employers must consider the results of the risk assessment made under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (the Management Regulations).

This should identify hazards, the risks associated with those hazards, and the control measures to be followed.

In addition to be a legal requirement, signs add real value to the effectiveness of warehouse operations.

They can improve the visibility of products and increase supply chain efficiency – warehouses are all about the swift turnaround and despatch of goods, and that process is a lot quicker when good signs are in place.

Proper warehouse signage helps eliminate fulfilment errors by ensuring that the worker is in the right place and picking the right materials for each order.

Unsafe warehouses will never be efficient warehouses, and signs help keep your warehouse safe.

Installing signs that remind your employees about important safety practices, policies, and protocols help keep employees from getting hurt on the job. Keeping experienced employees on the job means you’re spending less time training new employees and more time fulfilling orders.

Worthwhile investment

We must also remember other play in facilitating a smooth and seamless workflow through the warehouse. These include role racking signs, pallet signs and warning signs as well as racking bay markers, which let operatives know exactly where they are and where they need to go in order to fulfil their task.

These can be colour coded, making it possible for people to quickly and easily identify them from distance. They can be incorporated with other technologies to provide long-range scanning solutions to allow employees to scan them from forklifts.

When properly placed, these signs take far less time to scan – which saves you time. And time is always money.

Inefficiencies, poor safety records and under-performing operations can be symptomatic of warehouses that fail to employ effective strategies.

So, you must ask yourself: can I afford not to invest in good warehouse signage? Unquestionably, warehouses operate better when there are signs to direct traffic, warn people of hazards, provide instructions, and assist with organisation.

What are the 4 types of safety signs?

6 October 2020 by Lizzie Allen

Having safety signs in the workplace is essential.

A visible instruction from a safety sign gives a clear indication and lessens the likelihood of accidents to employees and non-employees, and therefore creates a safer working environment.

Importantly, having warehouse safety signs will help you to comply with the Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996 (the Regulations).

In this blog, we’ll cover 4 compulsory safety signs in the UK workplace, as well as introduce you to some lesser-known methods of signage.

Compulsory signs in the UK workplace:

Fire safety signs
Emergency exit signs
Road traffic regulations within the workplace
Prohibition signage

These 4 important safety signs can be broken into categories: Prohibition, Warning, Mandatory and Emergency.

Prohibition Signs

A sign prohibiting behaviour likely to increase or cause danger (e.g. “No access for unauthorised personnel”)

These signs should be used for “Do Not” commands. For example – to indicate that smoking is not allowed in a particular area. In the workplace, they should be used to reinforce instructions prohibiting dangerous activities.

Signs prohibiting an activity appear as a circular red band with a single diagonal cross line descending from left to right at a 45-degree angle. The background should be solid white with the imagery indicating the nature of the command in black.

Prohibition signs can also be applied to the floor as a graphic floor marker. For example, you could highlight areas where forklift trucks or pedestrians are prohibited.

Large circular sign symbol of forklift truck and words attention no forklift trucks

Image of large circular floor sign with symbol showing no pedestrain right of way

Warning Signs

A sign giving a warning of a hazard or danger (e.g. “Danger: High Voltage”)

These signs should be used to make people aware of nearby dangers.

For example, a flammable liquid store.

These health and safety signs are required by the Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996 and in specific cases by the Dangerous Substances (Notification and Marking of Sites) Regulations 1990.

Signs warning of a particular hazard appear as a black band in the shape of an equilateral triangle. The background within the band should be yellow with the imagery indicating the type of hazard in black, positioned centrally on the sign.

Warning signs can also be displayed as graphic floor markers, including half-circle floor signs. For example, you can highlight areas where pedestrians should watch their step, or areas where forklifts should sound their horn to alert others to their location before proceeding.

circular adhesive floor signs for the warehouse saying Stop sound your horn proceed with caution

Mandatory Signage

A safety sign prescribing specific behaviour (e.g. “Personal Protective Equipment Must Be Worn”)

These signs should be used to indicate actions that must be carried out in order to comply with statutory requirements. For example, self-closing fire doors that must be kept closed to comply with the fire risk assessment should be labelled with “FIRE DOOR KEEP SHUT” signs. An area of a construction site where hard hats should be worn should also have appropriate signs at the entry points.

It should be noted that the Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996 do not apply to mandatory fire instructions but do apply to health and safety mandatory signs where imagery is required. The minimum regulatory requirement is for the sign to display appropriate imagery.

There are no pictograms for fire safety instruction signs and although mandatory in the UK through inclusion in the requirements of workplace fire assessments, such signs are not considered health and safety signs within these Regulations. Thus the familiar white-on-blue fire safety mandatory signs using text only will remain in place and will not have to be changed.

Fire instruction notices are notices which list actions that occupants must carry out in the event of a fire and are, by convention, written in white text on a blue background but not in the circular format. The colours are used to convey the mandatory nature of the instructions but because of the amount of text typically needed, a rectangular format is used.

The general mandatory sign of a white exclamation mark on a blue circle may be used in conjunction with a fire instructions notice.

Signs indicating mandatory requirements consist of a blue circle with the pictogram or text in white positioned centrally.

A great way to display mandatory signs is through graphic floor markers. For example, you can use either full-circle or half-circle floor markers to highlight areas where Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is mandatory.

Large circular floor sign with symbols and text saying hi-visibility vests and footwear must be worn

Emergency Signs

A sign giving information on emergency exits, first aid, or rescue facilities (e.g. “Emergency Exit”)

These information signs should be used to indicate escape routes, emergency exits and first aid equipment.

Safe condition signs appear as a green rectangle or square with the imagery or text in white positioned centrally. As is the same way for mandatory signs, some UK fire safety signs in this category are not required by the Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996.

For example “PUSH BAR TO OPEN” is not required to comply and there is no imagery with that meaning.

Emergency exits can also be highlighted via graphic floor markers.

Colour / Meaning or purpose / Instruction and information

Red
- Prohibition sign
- Dangerous behaviour; stop; shutdown; evacuate
Yellow / Amber
- Warning sign
- Be careful; take precautions; examine
Blue
- Mandatory sign
- Specific behaviour or action; wear protective equipment
Green
- Emergency escape / First-aid sign
- Doors; exits; escape routes; equipment and facilities

Breaching these strict health and safety regulations is a criminal offence. Enforcement by the relevant authorities can result in serious fines or imprisonment as outlined by the Health and Safety Executive.

Action can be taken against companies, individual managers and responsible persons.

Safety signs lessen the likelihood of accidents to employees and non-employees, and therefore creates a safer working environment.

How to Display Your Safety Signs

frames4docs®

There are lots of ways to display workplace safety signs. Often they are affixed to walls using screws. However, our Frames4Docs enable you to display safety notices without the need for drilling into walls. With a self-adhesive or magnetic back, you can easily frame and display important safety signs and notices. The clever design also allows for easy insertion and removal of safety notices without the necessity of moving the frame.

Modulean® Shadow Boards

Safety signs can also be displayed via our Modulean® Shadow Board system. Using the standardised Board 2 (Notice Board), you can display up to four A4 safety signs or notices. The beauty of Modulean® is you can then add to the modular display in the future, depending on your needs. For example, you could add Board 7 (First Aid Board) or Board 10 (Fire Safety Board) to store important safety products.

Modulean Lite small shadow boards on wall

Graphic Floor Markers

Wall safety signs can be supported with floor graphic markers. These can come with symbols and words, just symbols, or as half-circle floor markers.

This is a great solution for when you need to get an important safety message across without going to the extreme of painting your warehouse or workspace floor.

Large round floor floor sign warning of fork lift area

Safety Signs FAQ

What safety signs are compulsory for workplaces in the UK?

For workplaces in the UK, the following safety signs are compulsory to comply with the Health and Safety Regulations 1996: Fire safety signs, Emergency exit signs, Road traffic regulations within the workplace, and Prohibition signage.

What are warning safety signs used for?

Warning signs should be used to make people aware of nearby danger, for example, a flammable liquid store. These health and safety signs are required by the Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996 and in specific cases by the Dangerous Substances (Notification and Marking of Sites) Regulations 1990.

What does the colour of safety signs mean?

Red safety signs are used as prohibition signage and dangerous behaviour; meaning to stop; shutdown; or evacuate. Yellow / Amber signs are warning signs, meaning to be careful, take precautions or examine. Blue safety signs mean that a sign is mandatory and that specific behaviour or action should be carried out, such as wearing protective equipment. Green signs signal an emergency escape or first-aid available. Green safety signs can also be used to label doors, such as exits, escape routes, equipment and facilities.