How to create a save work place
Q: There are times when our shipping floor is crowded with pallets and sometimes there are no clear, open lanes for the forklifts. Our company is considering designating fork truck lanes within the warehouse by marking out the floor marking tape.
In marking out these traffic lanes:
1.Does a company expose itself to greater liability should an accident occur?
2. By marking out traffic lanes, does that restrict forklift movements to only within those lanes?
Answer:
OSHA says:
“Aisles and passageways.
Where mechanical handling equipment is used, sufficient safe clearances shall be allowed for aisles, at loading docks, through doorways and wherever turns or passage must be made. Aisles and passageways shall be kept clear and in good repairs, with no obstruction across or in aisles that could create a hazard.
Permanent aisles and passageways shall be appropriately marked.
They do not say how to mark them. Durastripe Floor Marking is an great way to mark your facility there is a problem though. If you mark aisles this way, make sure that nothing is stored, placed within the lines. This is usually the problem. Someone places a skid and a quarter of the skid is in the aisle way. Now the aisle is not clear and free from obstruction.
To answer your questions:
- Making your lanes should prevent an accident from happening. Make sure employees are trained in what those markings mean. Is it for no storage, and forklift traffic only? Or is it for both foot and fork traffic. Most have it for both foot and fork, and area is marked to keep the storage away. You should not have a greater liability for making the area safer, unless the rules are not enforced.
- The forks have to go where they have to go. The marking would probably be for the main aisle ways and not the stacking rack (?) areas. After that truck come in and gets unloaded, you need to have designated spots for the unloading. This is when the shipping floors usually get crowded.
Why does it get crowded? There has to be enough room for the lift to get through or there would be a grid-lock. You might need to mark storage areas only as apposed to where not to store.
Regards -
The Creative Safety Supply Team
email: answerman@CreativeSafetySupply.com
phone: 1-866-777-1360
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