Items Tagged with 'Loading dock safety'

How can facilities proactively address and mitigate common workplace hazards?

Washington — The Federal Highway Safety Administration has awarded $148 million in grants in an effort to “improve air quality and reduce pollution for truck drivers, port workers and families that live in communities surrounding ports.”

Loading docks are busy places – and hazards are everywhere. Dock personnel exposed to crushing threats and repetitive, manual tasks are at serious risk for chronic, life-altering injuries.

What’s needed for effective spill response in a loading dock area?

Portable dockboards are used to help prevent falls over gaps in the surface when forklifts, pallet jacks, carts and other equipment are moving between a trailer and the warehouse dock area.

Workers at height. Stacked materials. Pedestrian, forklift and truck traffic. All in one place. “Loading docks are very dangerous areas for employees,” OSHA’s Reginald Jackson says.

In Episode 37, the S+H team celebrates the third anniversary of the podcast by diving into the March issue’s feature story on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Additionally, Reginald Jackson, a safety and health specialist in OSHA’s Office of General Industry and Agricultural Enforcement, discusses loading dock safety in an expanded “5 Questions With …” interview.

In 2018, nearly 6,600 employees missed work because of injuries sustained on loading docks, dock plates and ramps. Employers can implement a number of safety strategies to help prevent injuries.

Washington — A new OSHA safety alert lists measures employers should take to protect stockroom and loading dock workers during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.