There is much to be said about safety concerns in the workplace. And now more than ever, during this ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, employers are feeling the pressure to rise up and improve working conditions and/or implement new protocols that provide a safer environment. Many employers are going to extraordinary measures to ensure safety in the workplace. So how can you best prepare and ensure safety in your facility?
Cleanliness: Wash Your Hands
Clearly, it’s no surprise by now that washing hands and wearing masks will help the spread of any virus/infection. Employers providing hand sanitizing zones and hand washing stations throughout the facility promotes an employee’s health and well-being, as well as wiping down and sanitizing any/all community surfaces regularly. This along with other general health practices to include avoiding touching your face, and covering coughs/sneezes fosters respiratory hygiene/etiquette.
Social Distancing
By utilizing advanced automated technologies and solutions available in the industry, many warehouse facilities are able to limit employee interactions based on those material handling functions, successfully achieving any social distancing measures. Several goods-to-person automation technologies create a safer and more efficient work environment, keeping employees at a safe distance while working. Additionally, implementing AGV and palletizing systems can also increase the safety and social distancing of employees by removing employee interaction and instead allowing for the AGVs to perform the necessary tasks for optimization. These end-of-line automated solutions can result in significant improvements in production management and minimize supply chain vulnerabilities.
Bringing it All Home
Indeed, automation provides solutions to your material handling challenges, boosting productivity in your daily operations. Automation proves to be more reliable, removing the human error element, relieving some physical labor demands while strategically placing an employee in a position to utilize their skill set more effectively.
The success of your daily operations is partially dependent upon each and every employee recognizing and contributing to do his/her part to create a safe work environment. For it is not the material handling equipment alone that sufficiently, efficiently, and successfully keeps your facility up and running. As we head into the fall flu season, it is critical to maintain all health and safety measures. Furthermore, implementing a viable material handling automated solution will undoubtedly achieve higher accuracy and productivity—minimizing an employee’s exposure to any safety and health concerns that may arise.
It is only when you collectively put the needs of the employees front and center coupled with the capabilities of your material handling equipment do you have a successful operation—ensuring that all areas in your warehouse facility are ‘healthy.’
Author: Heather Connors, Director of Marketing, Conveyor Handling Company
Are you ready to automate your material handling?
