DC Velocity - July 2013

DC SAFETY
specialreport

Be safe … everywhere

If you have multiple warehouses and DCs, you’ll want them all to be on the same page when it comes to safety. Here are some strategies for ensuring consistent compliance across your network.

WAREHOUSE A AND WAREHOUSE B ARE LOCATED ON THE
outskirts of large population centers on opposite sides of the
country. They operate the same number of shifts using similar
equipment. They handle the same product mix in similar quan-
tities, with similar throughput rates. In many respects, the two
facilities are nearly identical. But there’s one area where they
diverge: Warehouse A has a much higher rate of accidents and
“near misses” than Warehouse B. How could that be?
That’s a vexing question for anyone who operates or uses
multiple warehouses and distribution centers. And it’s a
question that must be answered, because it’s in everyone’s
interest that all facilities in a network meet the same safe-
ty standards. When safety compliance is inconsistent,
workers at different facilities are subjected to differing
degrees of risk, regulatory compliance becomes spotty,
service levels and insurance costs become unpre-
dictable, and customers may lose confidence in the
warehouse operator.

Those and other problems associated with inconsistent safety compliance can be prevented by following four basic steps: identify the conditions that are likely to create those inconsistencies; establish corporate standards and policies; effectively communicate those standards and policies to and within every facility; and hold people accountable for compliance. Here’s advice from safety experts on how to do that.