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Forklift Tips to Keep your Warehouse Safe

Forklift trucks are extremely useful pieces of equipment used to lift and move materials, enhance productivity and reduce manual labour particularly in warehouse and factory situations.  They can also be very dangerous if misused, resulting in serious injury.  Thousands of injuries are caused every year by the use of forklifts, sometimes by untrained operatives or faulty equipment.  Of course accidents can happen even when all procedures are followed, but there are measures that can be taken to minimise the risks of those misfortunes.

Below are some tips to help you keep your staff and premises as safe as possible.

Training

You have a legal obligation to ensure that anybody in your organisation who operates a forklift truck is fully trained.  Fork lift training can be provided by in house trainers, or external training providers to the standards outlined in the L117 Approved Code of Practice.  This will ensure that they are fully assessed and competent to legally operate a forklift, ensuring they can keep themselves, their colleagues and any visitors to your warehouse safe.

 

Provide Safety Work Wear/Protective Clothing

Your operatives should be supplied with safety clothing to protect them during working hours.  Hard hats should be worn at all times and are a must.  To protect feet, capped shoes should be supplied – a trapped foot under something heavy could be disabling without them.  Hi-vis jackets should be issued to everyone who visits your site, not just your forklift operative.  Loose fitting clothing should be discouraged as it could be easily trapped in machinery.

 

Schedule regular safety inspections

It’s really important that your machinery is serviced regularly to keep it in good working order, but as with driving a car, the responsibility to carry out simple checks before every journey falls with the operator.  Before every use checks should be made to the brakes, steering and tyres.  If further faults are uncovered, they can be recorded and scheduled for repair.  The vehicle should be taken out of action until all faults are repaired by a trained and qualified mechanic or engineer.

 

Safe loading practice

One of the biggest causes of accidents with forklifts is unbalanced/unsafe loads.  If the load is not secure or is too heavy or high, the vehicle can tip.  There are some simple rules to follow when picking a load:

  • Load materials tilting slightly backwards towards the vehicle.
  • Loads should be safely stacked and spread as evenly as possible across the forks.
  • Check for obstacles in all directions (including up) before stacking.
  • Use secure bindings or straps to secure loads
  • Do not exceed the maximum load capacity.
  • Check the load before moving off.
  • The forks should be low down when the vehicle is moving.
  • Ensure you can see above the load and that you have clear visibility before moving off.

 

Avoiding Hazards

It’s important that you know the area in which you operate a forklift.  Any lumps or bumps in the road can also cause the vehicle to tip.

  • Stick to a 10mph speed limit.
  • Check for low ceilings, doorways or other restrictions to your destination.
  • Avoid ramp edges.
  • Slow down for corners.
  • Use your horn to warn pedestrians in your vicinity.
  • Know your stopping distance.
  • When using ramps, move forwards in an uphill direction and backwards downhill.
/ By David / Storage • Warehouse/ 0 Comments

Top Tips to Enhance Warehouse Productivity

Warehouse management isn’t any easy task; the vast space and product and storage layout is a juggling act, as every inch of space is valuable.  Getting it right is imperative.  Constantly implementing ways to optimise processes to improve the effectiveness of operations is a perpetual job and one that is on the top of any warehouse manager’s list.  Productivity needs to be at its optimum in order for warehouse operations to function at their best.

Here are some tips to help increase or improve the logistics within your warehouse.

  • Plan your layout effectively

The efficiency of your warehouse will be directly affected by the layout.  Inventory should be arranged on how often you need to use it.  For example, frequently used items should be kept closer to the loading bay, and those used less frequently can be stored nearer the back.  When your layout is organised, make sure it is maintained; things can become disorganised very quickly, and you’ll have health and safety issues to consider if there are hazards where there shouldn’t be.

  • Maintenance

Machine and equipment failure is inevitable from time to time; it’s how you deal with the breakdowns that’s important.  By ensuring your machines are all well maintained and serviced regularly, breakdowns are less likely to happen.  They say prevention is better than cure, so schedule in those services regularly, then any trouble can hopefully be spotted before it happens and becomes too serious.

  • Train your staff

Staff training is essential, particularly where health and safety is concerned.  Warehouses can be dangerous places with the amount of stock they hold, and at different height levels.  In order for your warehouse to function as it should, staff should also be encouraged to communicate effectively, and all of your procedures followed.  With technology ever changing, training should be ongoing so that each staff member is continually updated and qualified to use equipment and knows warehouse procedures.

  • Know your stock

Where would your clients be if you couldn’t locate their stock?  They’d be at another warehouse facility before you knew it!  It’s crucial to keep track of your stock and its location.  Be careful not to overstock as you could end up with too much of a certain product, and too little could see your potential clients turn to one of your competitors.  Provide your clients with a guarantee that your warehouse is clean and dry, and that any stock stored there is safe and secure.

  • Move with the times

Technology moves along relatively quickly.  As soon as you invest in new tech, the developers are already working on upgrades!  Try and stay as current as possible by adopting software solutions to make you warehouse operations run more seamlessly.  If your stock is barcoded, use automatic identification methods; this will slash the amount of time spent trying to locate and identify particular stock.  Investing in new software is becoming more and more cost effective as time goes on, even as it becomes more sophisticated.

/ By David / Storage • Warehouse/ 0 Comments

Storage Solutions for 2020

With the start of a new year, many people see it as the perfect opportunity to have a good clear out.  Out with the old and in with the new, so to speak.  But a lot of those people aren’t quite ready to throw away or sell their cherished items.  They may have sentimental value, or just be such good quality that a price cannot be put on them.

Perhaps you’re thinking of travelling this year?  Do you have a house to rent out, or need to give up the tenancy on your current rental?  Unfortunately if you’re selling, furniture isn’t usually part of the deal, so you’ll still need to clear the place before you leave, and if you rent unfurnished then you’ll have to leave it that way too.

Perhaps you’re thinking of moving house or ‘downsizing’.  You might not have as much room as before but that doesn’t mean that you might not have in the future, so more and more people are trying to hang on to their beloved furniture instead of getting rid of it.

Having a cluttered home doesn’t make for the most harmonious environment though.  So what’s the answer?  We are!

Here at our premises on the edge of St Neots, we have clean and dry warehouse space which can house your furniture for as long as is needed.  Packed in purpose build wooden storage containers, your prized possessions will remain dust and damp free for the duration of their stay.  Each container holds up to 250 cubic feet, and is monitored by alarm and fully recorded CCTV to make sure it remains secure at all times.

Unlike other storage companies, we won’t hold you to any long term contracts; all we ask for is a minimum of one months’ rental and notice period.  You can access your storage container during opening hours by arrangement with our friendly team.

You can click here for more information about our warehouse operations and storage solutions.

/ By David / Storage • Warehouse/ 0 Comments

How to Stay Safe in a Warehouse Environment

Warehouses are vast spaces generally used for the purposes of storage and distribution.  They can be full of potential safety risks, but we can all work together in order to minimise them by making sure that proper safety measures are in place.

Forewarned is forearmed as the saying goes, so making sure you are well informed of potential dangers is key.  We’ve listed some of the most common safety hazards below.

Falling items

Warehouse employees are always at risk from falling objects.  The heavier the falling object, the more dangerous to the worker!  Stock should always be stored safely and evenly, rather than just ‘piling’.  Items should then be removed one at a time, to prevent the whole stack from falling.

Slips, trips and falls.

Preventing slips, trips and falls might seem like common sense to most of us, but warehouse environments differ greatly, and accidents like these can be more common than we realise.  Warehouse staff may have to work at different height levels, which means they could be surrounded by equipment which they could hit should they fall.

Safety training should always be given to employees emphasising on the awareness of surroundings.  General health and safety rules state that doorways, corridors and stairwells should be kept free of clutter and debris.  There should be warning signs used for any wet floors, and ropes and/or chains used to cordon off areas where employees are working at heights.

Chemical use

Most chemicals are dangerous, and more so if they’re handled improperly.  Storage of chemicals is vitally important, and an inventory essential.  Some chemicals can degrade over time which can make them explosive.  Containers should be labelled with their contents and expiry date clearly visible.  Proper training should be given to employees that handle them – they need to know exactly how to store and dispose of chemicals safely, and also what to do in the event of spillage or other accident.

Forklift Trucks

Forklifts are heavy and cumbersome pieces of machinery and if they’re used improperly they can result in serious injury or worse.  All forklift operatives need to be qualified and hold a licence to use a forklift, where they’ll have learned several skills including being aware of weight capacity and not overloading; a common reason why a forklift could tip over!

Electric Equipment

With the amount of electrical appliances used in warehouses, their power supply has to be a safe one.  The use of extension cables should only ever be a temporary solution, and the joining of extensions should be avoided; not only is this a fire hazard, but a tripping hazard too.  If you need to use an extension cable in the first place, it may be wiser to have a professionally installed power outlet instead.

 

For more information on our Warehousing services please click here.

/ By David / Storage/ 0 Comments

Why Use Self Storage?

Some of us move into a new house with few belongings.  If it’s a ‘first home’ we may well only move in with what we have brought with us from our parents’ and that could be just a few pieces of furniture and a bed!

So it’s surprising how quickly we accumulate possessions.  The goodwill of friends and family could see us equip our homes in no time, and with credit being readily available buying brand new things has never been easier!  And it’s these ‘things’ that some of us find hard to part with, even if they’re no longer in use.  We feel connected to our ‘stuff’ and are reluctant to dispose of it, even when we upgrade or replace it; our homes stay the same size, but our possessions can grow and grow!  This is when we might have to think about a sensible storage solution.

There are many storage facilities that can accommodate the hoarders among us, but not all are used just because we have too much stuff.  There are several other reasons for use – take a look below!

  • Moving house

You might need some temporary storage if you’re moving. You may well have sold your house before completing the sale of a new one.  A storage unit could prove invaluable if you have an overlap between accommodation.

  • Home extension or renovation

Moving home might not be a viable option, so more and more people now choose to renovate their existing home.  Building work can be a messy business so a storage unit can house your furniture without fear of it being damaged or ruined during renovations.

  • Downsizing

Many families are choosing to downsize their properties, either to free up cash or because their kids have all flown the nest.  A storage unit is sensible to house furniture that can either be passed on or sold at a later date.

  • Your family is growing

Having a baby comes with all kinds of paraphernalia!  You’ll find that several rooms in your house can be quickly filled with the things you need to adequately look after a new baby.  You may well have to clear a whole room to use as a nursery, so a storage unit could come in very handy to store things you don’t want to get rid of.

  • Seasonal items

We’re not just talking Christmas decorations!  Garden furniture could be ruined if left out in the elements all year round, and you may not have adequate storage at home for the cold and wet winter months.  Of course, having somewhere to put your Christmas tree for 11 months of the year is also handy!

  • A change of relationship status

A breakdown in a relationship is one of the most stressful times in a person’s life.  When a house needs to be sold and possessions have to be divided, a storage unit can help alleviate the problem of housing belongings until you move on, both literally and emotionally.

  • House clearance

Clearing the house of a loved one that’s passed away can throw up all kinds of problems.  Short term self-storage could be the solution as you decide what to do with furniture, or need to clear a property in a short time frame.

  • Security

You may have possessions that you do not feel are as secure whilst stored at home. They may be high in value, either financially or sentimentally!  Or you may have equipment and tools that could be dangerous to curious children and would be safer if stored away from the home.  Storage units are an ideal solution; you can remove and return them to your allocated unit as and when you need them.

/ By David / Storage • Warehouse/ 0 Comments

Commercial Warehouse Solutions St Neots

Established in 1984 and UKWA accredited in 1986, at Eynesbury Warehousing we’ve been providing secure commercial warehouse solutions for businesses across Cambridgeshire for many years.

With our premises located in St Neots, we’re in easy reach of the A1, A14, and A428, making our warehouse extremely accessible to those in the surrounding areas. No matter what the size of your commercial business, we can help with the safe storage of your items.

Our commercial warehouse solutions are ideal for those large, bulky items you’re not quite sure where to put. Don’t take up valuable space in your expensive commercial office building! Let us store your items for you, for however long you need us to. We work with a number of different companies in St Neots, providing reliable warehouse solutions.

As well as our self-storage service, we also offer palletised storage including full RH&D to suit our commercial client’s needs. Our palletised storage options are simple and efficient, our computerised stock control system maintains the safe storage and retrieval of stock allowing for effective handling and dispatch. We offer both long and short-term palletised storage in our 60,000 square feet warehouse.

Concerned about security? Don’t worry, our warehouse is fully protected with professionally installed, state-of-the-art alarm systems with recorded and monitored CCTV cameras to ensure the total safety of your items.

Need access to our warehouse at short notice? We understand that our clients value flexibility, we are able to provide fast access to our warehouse facility with trained staff and suitable technology. It’s what we’re here for.

As a family run business, we pride ourselves on offering outstanding customer service, competitive prices and flexible options. To find out more about our commercial warehouse solutions in St Neots, contact our friendly team on 01480 215555, and we’d be happy to assist you with a free no-obligation quote.

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Commercial Warehouse Facility Services Eynesbury

Established in 1984 and UKWA accredited in 1986, here at Eynesbury Warehousing we’ve been proudly providing customers with commercial warehouse facility services in Eynesbury, St Neots, for many years. We maintain a consistently high standard of care in our warehouse, with a clean and tidy environment.

No matter how big or small your organisation may be, we can help with the safe storing of your items. We work with a diverse range of organisations providing reliable and secure storage services for bulky items, as well as providing palletised storage services too. We have all of the necessary infrastructure and services in order to store and deliver your products to the desire destination, relieving you from the stress and hassle.

Our palletised storage services option includes full RH&D to suit our commercial client’s needs. Our computerised stock control system maintains storage and retrieval of stock which enables a smooth and efficient handling and dispatch of stock. We offer short and long-term pallet storage facility services within our 60,000 square feet Eynesbury warehouse.

There’s no need to worry regarding the safety of your items, our commercial warehouse facility space is 100% secure with professionally installed security alarm systems, backed up with recorded and monitored CCTV cameras in place.

We often find that our clients require our warehousing functionality at short notice; we can guarantee rapid access to our facility with trained staff and suitable technology. From our experience, we know that flexibility is vital which is why we’re proud to offer this service to our clients.

Superior customer service, flexible options and competitive prices it’s all part of the service we offer here at Eynesbury Warehousing.

Contact our friendly, experienced team on 01480 21555 to find out more about our commercial warehouse facility services in Eynesbury, and to receive a free no-obligation quote!

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Commercial Storage Space Cambridge

Are you looking for reliable commercial storage space in Cambridge? Established in 1984 and UKWA accredited in 1986, we’ve been providing secure storage solutions for businesses across Cambridgeshire for many years. No matter how big or small your organisation may be, we can help with the safe storing of your items.

Situated just outside of Cambridge in the market town of St Neots, our commercial storage space is very accessible with the A14 in easy reach. Our storage solutions are ideal for large, bulky items. Don’t clog up your expensive commercial space with out-of-action furniture and equipment, let us hold it for you! We work with a diverse range of companies, providing reliable and secure storage services.

We provide both self-storage and palletised storage service options including full RH&D to suit our commercial customers’ needs. Our palletised storage solutions are simple, our computerised stock control system maintains efficient storage and retrieval of stock allowing for effective handling and dispatch of your stock. Within our commercial warehousing, we offer both short- and long-term pallet storage with over 60,000 feet of clean warehouse space.

Enjoy peace of mind that your items are safe and secure. Our commercial self-storage space is protected with professionally installed, state-of-the-art security alarm systems, backed up with fully recorded and monitored CCTV cameras.

We often find that our clients require our warehousing functionality at short notice; we can guarantee rapid access to our facility with trained staff and suitable technology. We understand that flexibility is key which is why we’re proud to offer this service to our customers.

We pride ourselves on offering superior customer service, flexible options and competitive prices – just ask our existing customers! To find out more about our commercial storage space in Cambridge, contact our friendly team on 01480 215555, we’d be happy to help you.

/ By David / Storage • Warehouse/ 0 Comments

Commercial Storage Units Huntingdon

For reliable and secure commercial storage units in the Huntingdon area, look no further than Eynesbury Warehousing. Located just outside of St Neots, with fast access to the A1, we work with many commercial organisations in and around the Huntingdon area, and have done since we were established in 1984!

Whether you’re a start-up, medium-sized or a global business, we can help with both commercial self-storage units and palletised storage services. Our 60,000 square feet warehouse near Huntingdon provides dry, clean space for the safe storage of your items. We maintain consistently high standards at all times.

You can be safe in the knowledge that your property is protected with our highly secure and professionally installed state-of-the-art security alarm systems, backed up and fully recorded with CCTV. All stock is professionally handled by our experienced staff with care and attention.

We provide small business customers with access to self-storage units which is unlimited during working hours. All goods at Eynesbury Warehousing are stored under the UKWA conditions of storage. Furniture storage containers within our warehouse are also accessible with advance notice and arrangement with our team.

With our commercial palletised storage options, you have nothing to pay ‘up front’. We do not require a deposit, you only pay for the storage unit that you need and our terms and conditions are simple and easy to understand. The effective storage and retrieval of palletised goods is controlled by our computerised stock control system providing a responsive and efficient service for our commercial customers.

From our years of experience, we understand that flexibility is key for our clients, which is why our warehousing functionality is available at short notice. We are able to guarantee fast access to our facility with a trained member of the team and the necessary technology.

For excellent customer service, flexible solutions and competitive prices, call our office near Huntingdon on 01480 21555 for a free no-obligation quote.

/ By David / Storage • Warehouse/ 0 Comments

Commercial Storage Solutions Bedford

Are you a business looking for secure storage services? At Eynesbury Warehousing we provide commercial storage solutions for businesses in Bedford and beyond.

Situated in St Neots, with fast access to the A1 and A421, we work with many commercial organisations in the Bedford area, and have done since 1984!

We offer commercial self-storage or palletised storage options including full RH&D to meet our customers’ needs. Whether you are a global business looking for distribution solutions into the UK or an existing UK local business requiring storage and distribution solutions, we have the necessary infrastructure and services to store and deliver your products to their destination with minimum fuss and bother.

Your property is safely protected by our professionally installed, maintained and monitored state-of-the-art Security Alarm System, backed up by fully recorded CCTV. Within our warehouse our commercial customers are assured stock is safely and professionally handled by our trained and experienced staff.

Storage and retrieval of your palletised goods is effectively controlled by our fully computerised stock control system providing a responsive and efficient service. We provide the home and small business customer with access to self-storage containers which is unlimited during working hours. All storage containers are at ground level in our clean secure yard. All goods are stored under the UKWA conditions of storage. Furniture storage containers within our warehouse are accessible by prior arrangement.

We know that our location is very important to our clients. Flexibility is just as an important consideration. We find that our clients often need our warehousing functionality at short notice; we can guarantee rapid access to our facility with trained staff and suitable technology, which our clients find works to their convenience.

We strive to offer superior customer service, flexible options and competitive prices – just ask our existing customers! To find out more about our commercial storage solutions in Bedford, contact our experienced team on 01480 215555.