Safe material handling is a process of minimizing the potential hazards associated with moving materials in the workplace. It includes preventing injuries, reducing damage and training employees to use proper equipment and techniques.

Material handling can be an important part of your business, but it is also a major risk factor for workers. It can result in costly medical expenses and lost productivity.

Preventing Injuries

Regardless of the type of work being performed, workers are exposed to manual material handling risks. This can include lifting, pushing, pulling, bending, carrying and twisting.

While no method can completely eliminate these injuries, organizations can reduce their occurrence through safe work practices 5 reasons you need an industrial step stool. These can help decrease the frequency of workplace injuries, medical costs, and loss of productivity.

Back pain is the most common type of musculoskeletal injury. While the complete elimination of back injuries is not possible, organizations can decrease their occurrence through proper manual material handling practices and equipment.

CCOHS recommends eliminating or decreasing the demand for heavy manual material handling tasks, reducing stress body movements and the pace of work, increasing rest breaks and improving environmental conditions. If this is not feasible, powered or mechanical handling systems should be utilized to lower the risk of back injury.

Preventing Damage

Safe material handling involves preventing damage to equipment, materials and employees. It also involves minimizing the amount of manual handling that takes place.

A material handling safety program includes procedures for handling different types of materials and the proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE). This includes wearing steel-toed boots, eye protection, and stout gloves that are leather-palmed.

Injuries from material handling can be expensive for an organization, with medical costs, lost productivity and decreased employee morale among the top concerns.

PepsiCo, the third-largest food and beverage company in North America, developed a web-based damage prevention training program. It includes seven modules.

A company’s inventory can be damaged in several ways, including through ineffective product packaging or improper transportation practices. This can lead to a loss of up to five percent of sales.

Training Employees

The most important part of ensuring safe material handling involves training employees. This includes re-training new hires, as well as ongoing safety compliance activities.

Whether employees are lifting and moving materials manually or operating equipment like forklifts and cranes, they must be aware of the risks associated with this type of work and take measures to prevent injuries from occurring.

Injuries from material handling can be devastating to both employers and workers. They often result in long recovery times, costly medical bills and damage to machinery and company assets.

This can be prevented by training employees to safely lift and move heavy objects. For example, a worker should stand close to the load and keep their back aligned and balanced.

Other key safety practices include limiting the weight of the items they lift and using mechanical equipment according to its manual. This will prevent overloading and ensure that each piece of equipment is designed to handle the weight, size and shape of the material being moved.

Monitoring Employees

In addition to training employees on safe material handling, it is also important for employers to monitor their staff. This can help you track employee performance and avoid costly legal issues.

It can also help you identify any employees who are wasting time on unproductive tasks, or those who are engaging in activities that could negatively impact your business.

Monitoring can be done in many different ways, including through email and instant messengers. Some software records email messages, applications used, individual keystrokes, Internet browsing history, network logon/off times, and files copied to USB drives.

There are some risks with this method, but it can help you protect employee privacy and data breaches. Before you start using it, though, you should review your local laws and get consent from employees. This will save you a lot of headache down the road!