OSHA

Material handling equipment doesn’t operate in a vacuum. A forklift is only useful to the degree that it interacts with the things and people around it: operators, loads, other material handling equipment, the physical layout of your facility, and more. To get the most value out of material handling costs, then, it may not be enough to simply buy a new machine. You also need a plan for integrating new solutions into your overarching material flow.

Passenger cars aren’t the only mode of transportation switching from gas to battery power. Light commercial vehicles—delivery vans, work pickups, cabover trucks—represented just 24,000 of the U.S.’s electric vehicles in 2021. By 2030, they’re expected to grow to nearly 4 million units. That means many fleet owners are currently trying to figure out how to make the transition. A big part of that project will be creating charging infrastructure.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard 1910.176(b) requires employers to store materials securely. “Storage of material shall not create a hazard,” the standard says. Complying with this standard can be a challenge for products that seem designed to roll away—as is the case with pipes of all sizes and materials.

There are many ways to move materials and equipment from one elevation to another: scissor lifts, lift trucks, spiral conveyors, and more. For many warehouses, distribution centers, manufacturing plants, and other industrial facilities, however, vertical reciprocating conveyors (VRCs) provide the greatest combination of benefits. These include improved safety, higher throughput, and an overall boost in productivity.

In 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that the injury rate in warehousing was significantly higher than the average for all industries: 4.8 injuries per 100 workers in warehousing and storage, versus 2.7 per 100 for all industries combined. In an effort to improve warehouse safety and bring down these injury rates, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced a five-year initiative beginning in August 2022. It’s called the Regional Emphasis Program (REP) for Warehousing Operation.

Academically, ergonomics is the study of work and how it interacts with the human body. As an applied science, ergonomics involves matching the work to the worker. The goal is to eliminate discomfort and injury on the job.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires most employers to record workplace injuries and illnesses. (Some relatively safe industries, and small businesses with fewer than 11 employees, are exempt from OSHA record-keeping rules.) But OSHA has different requirements for different types of injuries.

When Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspectors investigate a workplace injury, they ask a lot of questions. One of the first is always, “Was the employee properly trained?”

Proactive ergonomics improves workplace safety, but that’s just one of the benefits. It can also cut costs to help your business grow.

Not sure whether you should use a platform cart or a furniture dolly? Or even what the difference is? Find out here.