The warehousing industry is huge here in our “Crossroads of America,” with Chicago garnering particular notoriety as a “major logistics hub.” Read, “Chicago is a major logistics hub. But what makes it so?” written by Mia Goulart and published by RE Journals on September 26, 2023.
In both Illinois and Indiana, the interworking of our roads, rails, and ports not only (1) invites commercial movement of cargo but (2) requires more and more warehouses for both storage and distribution. For more on our growing warehousing industry, read our earlier discussion in Fatal Industrial Warehouse Accidents in Indiana and Illinois.
Warehouse Dangers: Keeping Workers Safe
Alongside this increasing need for warehousing in Illinois and Indiana comes the necessity for making sure that worker safety is not disregarded or compromised. The concern for warehouse work accident risks here is real because things are becoming more and more hazardous in these work environments.
So much so, that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently instituted a national program targeting the warehouse industry for its increasing risks of worker injury. Read, New OSHA National Emphasis Program Targets Dangerous Warehousing Industry; also read, Amazon Warehouse Workers: Risk of Severe Bodily Injury or Death on the Job as OSHA Investigations Continue; and Local Amazon Warehouses Under Federal Investigation for Both Worker Dangers and Fraudulent Conduct.
Why is warehousing so dangerous? According to OSHA, warehousing and distribution injury risks for warehouse workers include things like:
- struck-by accidents
- caught-in-between incidents
- slips, trips, and falls
- blocked aisle dangers
- means of egress risks
- powered industrial vehicles and other material handling equipment
- heat hazards
- ergonomic hazards.
See, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) Directive Number CPL 03-00-026, entitled “National Emphasis Program on Warehousing and Distribution Center Operations,” page 3.
One of the key components of a safe and effective workplace in any warehouse facility, no matter its size or scope, is its housekeeping protocols. A clean and tidy worksite cannot be underestimated in its ability to protect people from serious or deadly accidents on the job.
What is Warehouse Housekeeping?
Warehouse housekeeping can be complicated. Properly done, it involves much more than sweeping the facility floors or making sure all the trash bins are emptied on a daily basis. Housekeeping in any warehouse facility necessitates constant vigilance to make sure that all worksites for all workers are clean, orderly, and safe from hazards.
Warehouse housekeeping includes:
- Monitoring all walking areas, aisles, passages, stairwells, sidewalks, platforms, and ramps to make sure the surfaces are clean and dry as well as being free of clutter. Guardrails should be secure.
- Stacks and Storage should be kept secure so that things like pallets cannot slide or fall. Carts must be stored in a stable manner (no tipping).
- Fire exits must be monitored to make sure they are never blocked and that fire extinguishers are in proper working order.
- Products and stored goods must be checked for leakage or damage. This is very important when the warehouse is holding cargo that can be hazardous or flammable.
- All heavy equipment (forklifts, cranes, hoists, etc.) must be checked to make sure they are in clean repair and in good working order.
For more, read Workplace Housekeeping and Serious Accidents on the Job: Duty of Care.
How Housekeeping Helps Protect Against Work Accidents
From a boardroom perspective, housekeeping may be seen as a means to improve overall productivity and therefore, boost profits. However, warehouse housekeeping is essential to keep workers safe from bodily injuries – and this should be the priority focus, from the viewpoint of safety agencies and those advocating for worker victims and their families.
Each warehouse facility will have its own unique housekeeping needs. Walking surfaces, shelving, forklift routes, as well as the variety of inventory stored or moved through the site will vary. Challenges in keeping things clean and orderly will be different for warehouses that store food products in refrigerated areas from those facilities that store and distribute hazardous materials or flammable goods.
However, common to all warehouses will be the hubbub of daily activity: there is always a lot happening in any warehouse facility, and this arguably increases the risk for work accidents at any time, but particularly if the place has not been kept clean, organized, and tidy.
As a general rule, all warehouses with proper housekeeping help to protect against things like:
Blast Injuries
Explosions can kill independently of any resulting fire from the blast. Warehouses that are not kept orderly and clean invite industrial explosions. Even something as simple as failing to dust or vacuum during the day can give rise to the risk of combustible dust explosions if there is an ignition source.
Burns
Flammable goods are stored in warehouses, along with other types of combustible materials that if not properly maintained can ignite and cause fires that can hurt or kill warehouse workers. Even some waste in a warehouse facility may be flammable and a fire risk.
Electrocution
The failure to keep warehouses clean includes making sure that all electrical cords, outlets, circuit breakers, and other components of the electrical systems are all maintained and spotless. Warehouse workers in a facility with bad housekeeping practices are at risk of electric shock or electrocution from exposed wires, frayed cords, faulty outlets, and more.
Fall Injuries
Warehouse workers face the risk of a fall injury in a surprising number of situations on the job given the risk of spills on floors; cluttered aisles; damaged tiles or gaps in walking surfaces; uneven surfaces (ramps, etc.).
Internal Organ Injuries
Aside from explosions or falls, any warehouse worker in an unclean or disorganized warehouse runs the increased risk of internal organ harm from objects falling from a higher shelf, forklift, or loading area in blows suffered in crushing injuries.
Warehouse Housekeeping: Legal Duties
All warehouse employers have the overall legal duty of care to keep workers safe on the job. Read, What is the Employer’s General Duty Clause? All warehouses in Indiana and Illinois are governed by our OSHA State Plans. Read, Workplace Safety and OSHA Regulations in Indiana and Illinois.
While there is no overall warehouse housekeeping safety regulation, there are specific housekeeping laws that pertain to most warehouse situations. For instance, all warehouses in Illinois and Indiana must comply with 29 CFR §1910.22 (walking-working surfaces). Likewise, warehouses here must follow the guidelines for sanitation (29 CFR §1910.141) and fire prevention (29 CFR §1910.39).
Other federal safety laws apply to specific warehouse services. For those serving the agri-business industry, there must be compliance with 29 CFR §1910.272 (grain handling). For those storing hazardous materials, there may be specific regulations for each type of product, such as explosives or blasting agents (29 CFR §1910.109) or flammable liquids (29 CFR §1910.106).
For more, read “11 tips for effective workplace housekeeping,” written by Sarah Trotto and published by Safety and Health Magazine on July 1, 2015.
Warehouse Housekeeping Accidents in Indiana and Illinois
Any worker who is seriously injured or killed in a warehouse accident on the job that was the result of poor housekeeping practices has been harmed in an entirely preventable accident. Owners of our local warehouses, as well as those who own the underlying premises and those involved in the shipping, loading, or transport of goods in that warehouse facility may all have violated legal duties of care that contributed to this work accident.
Sadly, all too often housekeeping is maligned or disrespected by those in control or possession of aspects of the warehouse operations. This disrespect for how housekeeping contributes to overall safety can lead to an avoidable tragedy.
Warehouse worker victims and their loved ones have legal rights to seek damages involving the catastrophic injuries resulting from the warehouse accident. State laws and/or federal statutes may provide avenues for justice to the injured worker and their loved ones. These include worker’s compensation as well as personal injury claims involving negligence, defective products, premises liability, and more. Damages including medical costs, lost wages, pain and suffering, lost future earning capacity, and more may be sought.
For more:
- The Two Main Differences Between Workers Compensation and Personal Injury Claims for Accident Victims in Indiana and Illinois
- What are Legal Damages After a Work-Related Accident in Indiana or Illinois?
- Wrongful Death Damages After Fatal Work Accidents in Illinois or Indiana
- Who Can Claim Damages After a Work Accident in Indiana or Illinois?
- Premises Liability and Workplace Accidents: Third Party Injury Claims
- The Jones Act vs. the Longshoreman and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act for Maritime Workers
Warehouse workers are working on jobsites pinpointed by OSHA as dangerous and a national concern. Warehouses without reasonable and proper housekeeping can be the cause of life-altering accidents. Please be careful out there!
