5 Ways to Improve Warehouse Safety Protocols With PPE

With such a wide variety of personal protective equipment available, it can be hard knowing what solutions can help make your warehouse safer.  From masks to gloves to face shields, it’s essential to properly equip your warehouse staff in order to keep your shop floor running smoothly.

In a warehouse environment, providing multiple personal protective solutions that work in conjunction with one another will not only help minimize your workers’ risk of bacterial exposure, but will also help them feel safer performing their essential jobs during difficult times. Explore some of the personal protective options that you can employ to keep your warehouse safer.

Face Covers

From cloth masks to surgical masks to respirators, face covers can be used to help protect the wearer from exposure to airborne droplets. Within the category of face covers, there is a wide variety of use cases, care and effectiveness. The CDC recommends wearing some form of face cover when around others who don’t live in your household, such as your work environment.

Depending on the type of warehouse environment your workers are in and the materials they encounter on a daily basis, a heavy-duty respirator may have always been required. If not, a respirator, cloth or surgical mask that completely covers the nose and mouth and has multiple layers is a great option to meet mask mandates that are in place in many parts of the country. Be sure to replace disposable masks every day or wash cloth masks between days of use.

Earplug Dispensers

In many warehouses, earplugs are essential on a day-to-day basis to keep workers protected from ear damage due to loud noises. However, any container that comes into contact with many people throughout the day is going to come with some risk of spreading contaminants, whether or not people in the warehouse are symptomatic.

Having a designated dispenser for earplugs that is sanitary for use by multiple people in the warehouse allows you to help protect your workers from potential infection from interaction with shared equipment.

Face Protection

Used in many warehouses to protect from eye and face hazards, face shields and eyewear can be an effective form of personal protective equipment to safeguard against exposure to certain airborne particles and droplets.

A disposable face shield or goggles, along with a face cover or respirator, can be a good option for warehouses where social distancing is difficult. A good face shield will fully cover the wearer’s face and chin, and meet government regulations for splash and droplets. Protective goggles are designed to fit snugly around the wearer’s eyes to minimize the possibility of contact underneath the eyewear.

Temperature Screening

Scanning individuals for elevated temperature can help monitor employees and visitors, and how their physical state has changed over time. While some asymptomatic people may pass through temperature screening without realizing they are infected, screening in conjunction with other safety precautions can add another level of precaution to your daily routine.  Once identified, a secondary screening method can then be applied to confirm that person’s temperature has exceeded the acceptable threshold.

Cleaning Wipes

The use of wipes goes beyond cleaning surfaces in your warehouse – they can be used to keep your PPE clean as well. Utilize cleaning wipes regularly to maintain the integrity of personal protective equipment such as face shields, goggles and other hard materials. Additionally, be sure to clean every surface that your employees may come into contact with while not wearing PPE, such as doorknobs and sinks.

In addition to providing the proper personal protective equipment for your warehouse workers, there are several steps you can take to enhance your warehouse safety protocols. Adjusting schedules to limit the number of staff in the warehouse at a given time, spreading out equipment in the warehouse to minimize interaction with other workers and allowing time off when an employee or an employee’s family member becomes sick can all help to enhance the workplace environment.

Want Honeywell's help in keeping your employees safe? Explore Honeywell's family of personal protective products and discover their safety solutions for your office or warehouse.