Creating a safe working environment in warehouses is critical to protecting the safety of your employees. Warehouse work brings safety risks to employees that must be mitigated to ensure a safe, productive, and fulfilling working environment. At the top of the list of possible hazards is the risk that improperly secured materials can pose to employees as falling objects. By implementing strapping products into a warehouse working environment, you can prevent falling item hazards in a warehouse affordably and effectively. At Strapping Products.com, we provide an excellent selection of strapping products for warehouse applications at the best prices, giving you control over the work environment in your warehouse. Let’s look at how strapping products can make your warehouse as safe and productive as possible.
The Role of Strapping Products in Warehouse Safety
Strapping products provide great safety benefits to warehouses by preventing falling material dangers, shifting loads, increasing forklift safety, and enhancing handling safety. One of the most common safety issues that warehouses encounter is the danger posed by shifting loads. Besides the risks to product damage, a shifting load can cause workers to be struck by falling items from a compromised load or crushed when a load shifts, trapping an employee. Straps, when used properly, prevent the dangers caused by shifting loads by:
- Applying even pressure across a load
- Anchoring a load in place
- Compressing multiple items into one load
- Preventing load movement during transportation
- Decreasing the chances of falling items from a shifting load
Choosing The Right Strapping Material
As important as securing a load is to prevent load shifting, choosing the correct strapping material is just as important. Straps are made from various materials, but the most common three are steel, polyester, and polypropylene. Let’s look at these materials and their applications for securing loads.
Steel Straps: Steel straps are best for securing heavy loads, sharp-edged items, and tension strapping applications. They are also excellent options for long-term storage of loads and for securing loads that will be exposed to outdoor conditions that can weaken other straps made from non-steel material.
Polyester Straps: Polyester straps are excellent options for securing medium to large loads that require high-tension strapping of more fragile items. While steel straps generally can handle more tension than polyester straps, they can damage more fragile materials, making polyester straps better choices for securing fragile loads.
Polypropylene Straps: Polypropylene straps are excellent for securing light to medium loads. Polypropylene straps are among the most affordable straps and make great choices for securing smaller loads for short-term storage and during transportation.
Best Practices for Using Strapping Products Safely
Straps provide excellent safety benefits to warehouses when used correctly. Employees should be trained to use straps to secure loads properly with the correct strapping materials. After the correct strapping material has been chosen, the load should be prepared with items stacked neatly and evenly, with the heaviest items at the bottom of the load and lighter items up top. Once the load is ready, straps should be applied to all sides of the load horizontally and vertically. Edge protectors can prevent sharp edges from damaging straps as they are tensioned. After the straps have been secured, the load should be periodically inspected, and tools should be used during strapping. With proper strapping products, warehouse work safety can be ensured for all employees.
Technological Innovations in Strapping for Safety
While employees apply many strapping products manually, modern strapping machines can secure loads with straps quickly and safely while reducing manual strap handling risks for employees. Many modern strapping machines come with integrated safety features, further reducing risks to warehouse employees. As smart strapping machines can secure loads quicker than manual methods, they quickly offer a return on their investment with increased productivity.
Get Help With Warehouse Safety at Strapping Products.com
Using straps to secure loads in the warehouse is crucial to keeping your employees and inventory safe. At Strapping Products.com, we can help you with everything from choosing the proper strapping material for the job to keeping you informed about future trends in strapping technology, materials, and tools. For more information about our products and best practices for warehouse safety, contact us directly at 888-803-8140 or send us an email.
