Guide: The Dangers of the Transport & Storage Industry

If you already work in the storage industry or are considering a position in the field, you may be curious about the dangers of accepting a position in this industry. While you should always do your research before jumping into a position of any type, being aware of the potential risks of the transport and storage industry is particularly important. You want to be as informed, prepared, and cautious as possible so that you can stay safe and healthy on the job. In this article, we’ll cover the dangers of the storage industry so you can be fully informed. We’ll also provide tips on how to stay safe. Read on to learn more.

Dangers of the Transport and Storage Industry

In recent years, there have been serious injuries and even deaths in the transport and storage industry. It is a hazardous field, but many accidents can be prevented through proper adherence to safety procedures.

Fatalities

In the five years between 2007 and 2012, there were 280 deaths caused by work related injuries. Moreover, 94% of these involved a vehicle. Workers were either in a truck, aircraft, car, bus, train, watercraft, or large equipment like a forklift and excavator when their tragic death occurred. Other causes of death included being hit by moving objects, falling from heights, being hit by falling objects, or being trapped between moving and stationary objects.

Clearly, there are a wide variety of dangerous activities that you may encounter when working in the storage industry. You will have to decide yourself how you want to weigh the risks versus the benefits you may encounter. There were a lot of deaths, to be sure, but think of the hundreds of thousands of people who work in the field and did not die at their job. It’s important to keep things in perspective. Accidents happen and tragedies occur, but they are not common or expected.

Serious Injuries

While there were 280 deaths, the same data shows that there were 9,100 successful claims for workers comp. This covers injuries or illnesses caused by hazards encountered in the workplace. That figure puts the risk level at about 28 claims made per day. To qualify, workers had to have taken one or more weeks off of work in order to recover from their work related injury or illness. Another way to look at it is that the transport and storage industry accounted for 8% of all workers comp claims at that level. The rates are higher than the rates for all other industries. It had the highest incidence rate of serious injuries and illnesses out of all other industries.

The most common source of these claims was body muscle stressing caused by handling heavy objects like boxes, barrels, and crates. Accidental slips, falls, and trips followed right behind. Another common cause was being hit by moving objects like trucks, boxes, crates, or other types of shipping containers. Workplace injuries can happen in any field. Some fields are riskier than others, but there is no way to completely avoid all possible dangers out there. While deaths and serious injuries do occur in this field, it’s not necessarily a reason to rule out this industry entirely.

How to Stay Safe

Now that you are fully informed about the risks and hazards of the storage industry, it’s time to learn about steps you can take to protect yourself and keep it a safe workplace environment. Staying safe is one of the most important things you can learn about if you are going to head into this field for your professional occupation.

Choose Safety First

Staying safe starts with you. Don’t take risks. Don’t do anything hazardous. You must follow the existing safety procedures and speak up when you come across something that seems unnecessarily risky. If you see areas for safety improvement, it’s very likely that your supervisor will want to hear about them. Before doing anything else — even if you’re in a rush — make sure to follow safety checklists, wear proper protective equipment, and double check your work. It’s always more important to stay safe than to get the job done or rush through things quickly.

Safety Barriers

Another way to stay safe in this industry is to never go anywhere without express permission or previous clearance. If there are safety barriers in place, you can trust that they’re there for a reason. Never cross safety lines or go into unauthorized territory. Putting yourself in harm’s way is a quick way to be involved in a serious accident. Stay behind the yellow lines and ask for safety barriers to be put in place if your workplace does not already have them. Preventing slips or accidental crashes can be done through the simple placement of barriers and barricades that prevent workers from entering anywhere that is not safe for them.

Follow the Rules

Another important safety measure to abide by is to obey all safety procedures and report anyone who does not abide by the rules. In other words, always follow the rules, and report any people who don’t do the same. No one wants to feel like a tattle tale, but saving face is not worth the danger posed by another person’s reckless actions. Your life — and the lives and safety of others — must come first. Friends and coworkers will come and go, but you only get one life to live, and risking it at work simply isn’t worth the cost.

Need More Safety?

If you work in the storage industry — or any other industry where the workplace is fraught with peril — you’ve come to the right place. We offer safety products to help protect you and your fellow workers and employees. Safety barriers are an important precaution in any place where vehicles and workers occupy the same space. Warehouses, shipping facilities, loading docks, hospitals, and more can all benefit from installing safety barriers.

The storage industry may be a risky industry to work in, but with proper safety mechanisms in place, you can go to work with the peace of mind of knowing you are protected.

Have questions? Contact us today!