Is Your Forklift Safety Ready for the Busy Christmas Period?

With Christmas just around the corner, experts are predicting a 2.2% rise in seasonal spending compared to last year, which could make it one of the busiest Christmas periods in the last 10 years.

While this is great news for our economy, and hopefully means we’ll all be enjoying a very merry Christmas, it’s essential that businesses, and especially suppliers and retailers, are prepared for the impending rush. One thing that absolutely cannot be overlooked is health and safety, and while some business owners may be concentrating on profit and keeping up with demand, if you fall in to this trap and neglect your health and safety policy, it could end up costing you much more.

Warehousing equipment, forklift trucks, pallet trucks and staff will be in great demand for the next few weeks, but by following our advice to keep your warehouse safe, you’ll be able to keep up with the Christmas rush and protect yourself against the risks and costs associated with accidents in the workplace.

Stock up on equipment

At this time of year, many materials handling providers will see an increase in hired equipment to help warehouses manage the increased demand. So book your hired forklifts early, with a trusted and certified supplier, to ensure you have everything you need to keep up with the work.

Prepare your staff

Invest in refresher courses for staff that have already been trained, but may not have had to use the equipment or operate machinery for a while. It may not be a legal requirement, but keeping your workers’ skills sharp could drastically reduce the potential downtime caused by accidents.

Prepare for the weather

Businesses can lose a lot of money at any time of year if delivery trucks can’t collect goods, staff can’t get to work, or workers can’t navigate your site safely – but with an increase in profit at stake, it’s especially important over Christmas.

It may be a matter of hiring attachments for your vehicles to move snow, or if you have a large outdoor yard you may have to invest in leasing a snow plough, but at the very least you will need plenty of grit and snow shovels.

Seasonal staff

We all know that increased pressure at work can lead to mistakes as staff cut corners and rush to get their work done, but this is particularly dangerous in warehousing environments as a mistake could lead to a serious accident.

Employing temporary staff to help out over the Christmas period is a great idea, and will help to ensure you are not expecting too much from your permanent staff, to the point they may become frustrated, tired and overworked.

However, it is essential you only hire qualified staff or supply them with enough training to let them legally and safely operate machinery. Make sure they are supplied with the correct PPE and are informed of your specific health and safety policy.

Risk assessments

If you are particularly concerned about the increased level of risk in your work environment then carry out a review of your risk assessment. Take into account the increase in machinery, stock and staff, and implement safety precautions that will help to negate the new hazards.

Depending on what type of equipment you use, you may also need to arrange for servicing and maintenance before the christmas rush, to ensure potential machine faults are identified and remedied before your staff get too busy.

These steps will not just keep your warehouse operating safely over Christmas, but will also help to maintain efficiency and productivity, so you can look forward to a successful Christmas!

The team at Health and Safety Training Ltd offer a range of training courses, tailored to suit the needs of your business, so whether you’re looking for general health and safety courses, risk assessment training or forklift operator training – simply get in touch today.