Warehouse & Storage FAQs | Unsafe Access in a Warehouse

What are the risks of unsafe access in a warehouse?

Risks include slips, trips, and falls from improper stair use, ladder accidents, collisions between pedestrians and forklifts, and falls from heights when accessing high shelving or loading docks. These incidents can result in serious injury or even fatalities.

The main cause of injuries in warehousing

Major injuries

Around a quarter of major injuries (broken bones, injuries requiring hospitalisation for more than 24 hours etc) in the warehousing industry are caused by workers slipping or tripping. In the past, a slip or trip accident may not have been viewed as seriously as an accident involving a forklift truck. However, it is clear from the pattern of major injuries that workers who slip or trip are sustaining serious injuries from the fall or from impact with objects or structures. 

Manual handling, being hit by moving or falling objects and falling from height also cause a significant number of major injuries. See Figure 1.

Over-3-day absence

The manual handling of loads is the main cause of reported over-3-day injuries. As well as being the prime cause of major injuries, slips and trips are also a significant cause of over-3-day injuries. See Figure 2.

The data was gathered as part of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

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