Considerations When Conducting

The stress of a warehouse inspection can take its toll, but not if you take the time to get organised.

When you manage a warehouse,  you’ll be aware of just how laborious a warehouse inspection can be.

The entire vicinity of the warehouse will require checking, including inventory, productivity, health and safety and more. And that is not including the strenuous task of developing a strategy to improve the issues found afterwards.

It’s a process that can become quite overwhelming and tempting to avoid altogether. However, with concrete plans in place, before you go ahead, a warehouse inspection isn’t as scary as you may have once thought.

The ins and outs of a warehouse inspection

Keeping track of how well your warehouse processes are running is so important if you want your business to perform the best it can.  A warehouse inspection is a good way to document whether your warehouse handles equipment and situations safely. Creating a checklist or plan of process before running an audit will ensure the once tedious assessment can run smoothly with ease.

A warehouse inspection can provide improvements such as greater employee productivity, efficiency, health and safety and of course, provides a trustworthy service that clients can rely on.

What do you need to pay the most attention to in your warehouse? The best way to conduct an inspection is to create a checklist and mark the issues that need improvements.

Why you mustn’t wait!

• Action must be taken as soon as possible in order to prevent potential issues. During an inspection, it’s likely that you will come across hazards you may not have noticed previously.  The quicker you identify any risks and address them, the smoother your warehouse process can run.
• There are a number of laws and regulations to ensure warehouse safety. If you are not following the rules, there is a risk your business finds itself in trouble with the authorities, or worse,  you could get shut down!
• An inspection provides nothing but facts, and using this information to your advantage can save you a pretty penny instead of second-guessing what the issues might be.
• Customers want a trustworthy, safe service that they can rely on. The first thing they will search for is whether you have correct safety procedures in place to produce their products.

Before you begin, there are some things you need to know!

Know your equipment and its location

It is important to update your knowledge on all of the machinery and equipment in the warehouse so you know exactly which hazards could occur and what to look out for.

Drawing a diagram that differentiates the workplace into locations with equipment, machinery, and materials labelled will help organise and speed up your inspection process. This will also help you keep track of workers and fire exits in case of emergency. Warehouse design plays a big part in your overall operations.

Examine the hazards

When inspecting the warehouse, there are a few things you should look out for:

• Health-related hazards caused by bacteria or viruses.
• Safety hazards such as unsafe workplace conditions or unsafe work practices.
• Physical hazards affected by energy, heat, cold, electricity or radiation.
• Psychological hazards that affect employee well-being such as mental health – leading to stress, violence, and depression.
• Chemical hazards as a reaction from liquids or gas.
• Other safety hazards affecting both physical and physiological affecting workers such as poor workstations and complications with warehouse equipment.  

Creating a chart of the information found can help to improve your warehouse and make it as safe as possible for you and your workers.

3,2,1 Action!

Now you have the information needed, it is time to take action! Acting on the findings is essential after conducting an audit. A good management effort goes hand in hand with your plan of action. You need to list all areas that require attention.

This will also ensure the next warehouse inspection goes to plan with less stress and more structure. Be sure to remind workers of hazardous areas/equipment in the warehouse by labelling them with information discovered during the inspection.

Going above and beyond

You need to put the effort in if you wish to see great results. Going above and beyond safety measures will help achieve the greatest standards of health and safety.

There are plenty of steps you can take to ensure warehouse safety which in turn provides great inspection results.