Warehouse automation is often pitched as a money-saving or efficiency strategy, and this is definitely one of the main benefits of investing in automation. However, automation also has a wide-ranging impact on warehouse safety, with the potential to reduce injuries, sickness, and downtime, and improve the happiness and well-being of your workforce. Here’s how:
Reduction In Manually Controlled Equipment
Warehouse automation can lessen the reliance of your workforce on manually operated equipment such as forklifts, which are a common source of workplace accidents. By segregating human workers from heavy equipment and moving machinery, the risk of collisions and other accidents is greatly reduced. One of the design facets of warehouse automation is to create designated zones for heavy and potentially dangerous machinery to operate away from human traffic, enhancing safety.
Reduction In Heavy Manual Labour
The role of a warehouse operative is, traditionally, a strongly physical one, involving a lot of heavy lifting, walking, carrying, and bending, often over a long shift. Poor lifting techniques place people at severe risk of strains, sprains, and joint injuries – and even well-trained workers can develop MSK issues through repeated heavy lifting. These injuries have a detrimental effect on the workers’ quality of life, while also increasing sickness leave and turnover in the workplace. Workers with bad backs and damaged knees do not work as productively, putting increased strain on healthier workers and perpetuating the cycle.
As a warehouse safety solution, therefore, automated systems such as picking robots and conveyor and shuttle systems can drastically reduce the volume of manual lifting, carrying, and handling, minimising the need for operatives to engage in awkward or strenuous movements that increase the risk of strain and injury.
Reduction In Walking Distances
In large warehouse settings, employees traditionally cover extensive distances on foot each day. Maybe good for ‘getting the steps in’, but also leads to increased fatigue, a greater risk of accidents, and long-term health issues from joint strain. Automation can reduce walking distances by, for instance, ferrying goods to and from storage locations to a centralised picking station, or using warehouse planning software to optimise picking routes, to speed up the retrieval process by cutting out unnecessary walking.
Next Steps
Please get in touch with one of our logistics planning specialists today to find out more about warehouse automation and how it can improve health and safety in your warehouse.
Image Source: Pixabay
