Last month kicked off the peak season for our industry with Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Despite the current cost-of-living crisis, an estimated £3.95 billion was spent on purchases during those two events, never mind the expected activity around Christmas. This means our busy warehouses are under more pressure than ever, and when we’re under pressure the potential for accidents increases.
Part of our mission at UKWA is to support our members – and that means helping them ensure their warehouses remain safe places to work.
Key risks include fire, unsafe racking, rooftop safety and MHE accidents. Serious accidents bring consequences that lead to expensive operational disruption and stock loss, as well as financial penalties including heavy fines and higher insurance premiums – and in the worst case scenario, human injury or loss of life.
Our Digital Risk Analysis Tool, developed for UKWA members to check compliance on Health & Safety requirements and regulations, plays a vital role in making sure warehouse operators understand what they need to do to be safe and to stay safe, but our message is that all warehouse operators need to develop a culture where safety is simply standard and good safety habits are ingrained.
As an example, the law requiring drivers and front seat passengers to wear seatbelts was introduced in January 1983. Before that around 40% already wore seat belts. Afterwards this increased immediately to 95%. Research in 2008 asked nearly 2000 adults to select which situations would encourage them to wear seat belts. The most likely was if the front seat passenger put on their belt – in other words, peer pressure, the next most likely was if they were driving when police were around – so, enforcement. A review of other studies by RoSPA (Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents) concluded that an increase in perceived risk of injury or accidents seems to have little direct impact on seatbelt wearing behaviour. Rather, it appears more effective to focus on forming a habit – when we get in our cars, we usually ‘belt up’ without thinking. Wearing a seatbelt has become a habit.
Similarly, in warehouses most people don’t behave safely because they believe they are in danger. In properly run working environments, people behave safely simply because it has become a habit. And people form good habits when everyone else is following the same processes and there is a risk of being caught if you break the rules.
Of course, nobody expects accidents to happen, or sets out to harm anyone. However, by allowing unsafe practices, businesses can put their people, as well as their performance and their profits at risk.
So, during this festive season, we at UKWA wish you a safe, successful, and very happy Christmas!
Clare Bottle
UKWA, CEO
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