King Solutions is committed to promoting and increasing safety in the warehouse, on the road and in offices everywhere. That’s why National Safety Month is so important to us. It shines a light on the hazards faced by the nation’s carriers, warehouse workers and all other employees in every industry.

Observed annually in June, #NationalSafetyMonth focuses on reducing leading causes of injury and death at work, on the road and in our homes and communities. It’s a great time to refocus, brush up on safety procedures, and implement new policies that help keep you and your team members safe.

In the world of logistics and fulfillment, there are two major areas where safety is of utmost importance: in the warehouse and on the road.

Safety is always a top-shelf issue
More than 145,000 people work in over 7,000 warehouses across the country, and the injury/fatality rate in this area of work is higher than the national average across all industries. OSHA identifies six major hazards for warehouse workers:

Unsafe use of forklifts
Improper stacking of products
Failure to use proper personal protective equipment
Failure to follow proper lockout/tagout procedures
Inadequate fire safety provisions
Repetitive motion injuries

Let’s raise awareness and lower this number. According to OSHA, forklifts alone injure 95,000 people annually, making them one of the most important focuses of safety for warehouse managers.

What can warehouses do to promote safety? There are four major areas of focus that can help prevent a large amount of injuries every year:

Awareness: make sure all employees are aware of the biggest dangers in the warehouse
Training: use frequent training to help employees stay up to date on new technology and provide refreshers on proper procedures
Communication: implement team-building exercises to help employees learn to communicate more often and effectively
Updates: keep all equipment and tools properly maintained and up to date to avoid preventable accidents

For more warehouse safety resources, refer to OSHA’s Worker Safety Series Guide.

Driving safety home
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the transportation and material moving occupations (which includes truck drivers) made up 47% of all worker deaths in 2017. Distracted driving and other hazards on the road pose some of the greatest risks to workers in the United States. Promoting safe driving is one of the most important steps third-party logistics providers, carriers and other businesses can take. Because even one preventable accident is one too many.

For Distracted Driving Awareness Month, King wrote an article about staying focused on the road by eliminating manual, visual and cognitive distractions. Carriers and shippers can also promote roadway safety by:

Pre-planning better routes for drivers
Properly enforcing ELD and HOS mandates
Investing in newer vehicles

For more resources on preventing distracted driving, visit the National Safety Council’s website.

King knows safety. So get to know King.
King is honored to have earned our second consecutive Governor’s Safety Award last month. Our company was recognized for occupational safety, for exceeding the industry average for safety program evaluations, and for keeping our incident rates low. But you don’t rest on your laurels when it comes to safety, so we plan to continue putting a heavy focus on safety in the years to come.

Our promise is to deliver best-in-class service to your business. So from safety practices to how we handle your freight, everything we do is done with extreme care. Ready to talk solutions? Contact me today.