Anthony Shian Author 

7 Main Hazards in Food and Beverage Distribution Centres

7 hazards of food and drink distribution centres

Food and beverage distribution centres and warehouses can be very busy places. When working in busy environments, there are various hazards that your workforce can be exposed to. From handling machinery to slippery floors, there are dangers around every corner – so, how are you going to control them?

Ensuring that each hazard is taken care of is a massive part of increasing safety in the workplace. After all, nobody deserves to go to work every day and worry about whether they’re going to return home injured, do they? Plus, you’ll find that your business is a lot more efficient if each hazard is taken care of and minimised. 

Don’t worry if you’re not sure of all the different things that can threaten the health of your team within the warehouse. This post will explain seven of the most common food and drink distribution centre hazards and will give helpful guidance on how to effectively have them under control. 

 

We’ll cover:

 

Accidents in the Workplace

Accidents in the workplace are a serious matter for all involved. Slips, trips and falls account for up to 37 percent of all workplace accidents and can cause serious injuries. Other common injuries in the workplace come as a result of failure to handle machinery safely, falling from heights and moving vehicles – these are all factors you must consider in food and drink distribution centres. 

 

food and drink distribution accidents in the workplace

 

Busy warehouses can become very dirty – quickly, especially the floor. Dirt is bad news for multiple reasons in food and drink distribution centres. Not only does it increase the chances of a team member falling over and hurting themselves at work, but it may also lead to cross-contamination of your products if not regularly cleaned. 

Cross-contamination is a huge problem that brings its own hazards, but it also means that businesses have to dispose of items and increase their wastage levels. This can prove to be a large waste of money and time – especially if it keeps happening. 

 

Physical Strain

Picking, packing and handling machinery all day is a common cause of physical strain. There are no telltale sales of physical strain until something jars, aches or pops. But, if you’re not following lifting best practices or are being overexerted, you’ll no doubt be causing your body harm. 

Think about it – how many times have you gotten home from a long shift to find that your shins and lower back start aching for no reason? This is due to the physical strain of being on your feet and working hard all day leaving its mark on your body. Whilst the niggles and pains may go away after a few days, there’s nothing to say that they won’t come back. 

A lot of warehouse workers often feel this pain due to not wearing the correct footwear and personal protective equipment (PPE). 

 

Moving and Handling Machinery

Food and drink distribution warehouses contain various pieces of heavy machinery and equipment. If used incorrectly, without sufficient training, your workforce may find themselves at risk. A lot of machinery has many moving parts, so your team members should be able to confidently use them all before being allowed to operate.

 

food and drink distrubution machinery

 

Warehouse machinery is often heavy-duty too. So, accidents won’t result in a little cut or graze – they’ll be much more serious and could lead to limb amputation or even fatalities in the extreme worst-case scenario. 

By always ensuring that staff are competent, qualified and confident when using machinery, you massively reduce the risk. If you don’t, you’ll be sticking your neck on the line and if there’s an accident, you’ll be forced to pay for it. After all, personal injury compensation doesn’t come cheap and may seriously hurt your bottom line. 

 

Loading and Unloading Deliveries

Food and beverage distribution centres are faced with constant deliveries – both in and out of the warehouse. When unloading deliveries, there are various hazards that your team could be exposed to, including: 

  • Work members could be pinned between forklifts.
  • Work members could be pinned to the loading dock, van or trailer. 
  • Work members could be pinned between vehicles. 
  • Unsecured items could fall and hit the work members. 
  • Equipment could break and cause accidents. 

To ensure the safety of your team members, you need to make sure that procedures are abided by at all times. We know it can be tempting to cut corners, especially during busy periods, but this is when accidents are most likely to happen. 

Also, team members always need to be aware of the hazards that are presented to them in each situation. Holding daily or weekly refresher scrums as a reminder will keep them fresh in the mind and will likely help them operate more safely. 

 

Falling Objects and Items

Within warehouses, there are often racks and shelving that touch the ceiling. All storage space is vital and used on a frequent basis, so machinery will be needed to retrieve those impossible to reach items. Falling objects and items can cause serious injuries – depending on what the object is, of course. 

Again, you must make sure that the correct protocol is taken when reaching for items. Team members will often try and cut corners by standing on racking or trying to reach items on their tiptoes. This is where accidents come into play and start to occur more often – machinery should always be used if items are overhead and out of reach. 

For example, if heavier items are incorrectly placed at the top of the racking (unfortunately, it happens) and a team member tries to carefully coax it off the shelf without using the right equipment, they run the risk of it falling and injuring themselves.  

 

Lack of Safety Precautions and Training

If your workforce isn’t supplied with the correct training to carry out the job at hand, how can you expect them to do it safely? Unfortunately, you can’t. If they are working without the right training and knowledge of safety precautions, then that is poor practice and incredibly dangerous. Plus, should something go wrong, it’ll be the employer who’s liable for the accident.

 

food and drink distribution training

 

Safety precautions and training are there to ensure the job is carried out as safely as possible. This will ease the mind of your team members, which will enable them to work more productively and with fewer worries. If you’re worrying when an accident may strike, you’re likely to not be working at full capacity – this will have a knock-on effect with the rest of the team. 

Regular safety precautions meetings should be a part of the onboarding process – but they shouldn’t be boxed up and left at this stage. You should have constant meetings to ensure that everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet and provide updates should any processes be forced to change. 

 

Exposure to Harmful Bacteria

When working around food, if it’s not stored correctly in the warehouse, it may start to grow harmful bacteria. Not only will this contaminate the products and leave you to throw them away, but it can also pose health risks for your team. If your work members fall ill because of poor hygiene and incorrect storage, you won’t be working at full capacity and productivity levels may fall.

Similarly, if your warehouse isn’t as clean as possible, particularly the floor, you run the risk of exposing your products and workforce to harmful bacteria. The last thing you want to do is have to throw away all of your products and partially close because your workforce is sick due to it, right?

So, you always need to make sure that you’re on top of your rigorous cleaning process. Not only is it necessary for hygiene reasons, but it means that your company operates at a high standard throughout and sets the example. Introducing an industrial floor cleaning machine is a great way to make sure that your workplace is as clean as possible.

 

Introduce an Industrial Floor Cleaner to Reduce Warehouse Hazards

So, as you’ve just read, warehouses can be pretty hazardous places to work – if the right precautions aren’t taken, of course. One measure that doesn’t change from warehouse to warehouse is that they must all be immaculately clean to operate as efficiently as possible. 

With that in mind, it’s worth looking at your current cleaning process. Does the process itself need a little tidying up and improving? If so, the introduction of an industrial floor cleaning machine could be the missing link that you need to plug the gap. 

For more information on how they can help benefit businesses within the food and drink industry, download our free guide today for everything you need to know!