Conveyor belts are essential parts of the meat packing industry. Not only can they move products around much faster than people can, but they also automate many processing steps. Even if you’re used to seeing conveyor belts in your warehouse or meat packing plant, it’s a good idea to review your safety procedures. Check out these four warehouse safety tips for conveyor belts.
Machine Guards
Conveyor systems contain powerful mechanisms that can easily smash a foot or break a finger. It’s essential to place machine guards around your conveyor belts, especially near exposed pulleys and wheels, to avoid these kinds of injuries.
To improve the machine guarding in your workplace, follow up with regular training for your employees so they know to be careful. Make sure they also know the reasoning. When employees are short on time, they sometimes cut corners, thinking they’ll only do it once. However, they may end up causing an accident anyway. Knowing why safety procedures are in place can prevent this from happening.
Control Room Access
In a dangerous facility like a plant or warehouse, it’s crucial that only approved personnel have access to the rooms with conveyor equipment. If office workers, delivery people, or custodial staff wander in alone, they could get hurt or accidentally injure someone else.
The best way to control who is in your facility is by using access-controlled doors. They might require a code, keycard, or physical key for entry, preventing outsiders from coming in unsupervised.
Monitor All Visitors
Clients, students, and upper-level management may visit your plant to see how things work. It’s important to remember that even though these people have permission to be in your facility, they aren’t trained in conveyor belt safety, not to mention regular warehouse safety. Always make sure someone on your team is there to watch visitors to prevent accidents.
No Loose Items
The most important warehouse safety tip for conveyor belts is to never wear loose or dangling items near them. This includes jewelry, lanyards, baggy clothes, and even long hair. If something you’re wearing gets caught in the machinery, you could end up going to the hospital with broken fingers or worse.
It’s also possible that lost jewelry could cause an obstruction in the machine and damage it. In a meat-packing plant, an additional risk is contaminating products, rendering them unusable.
Conveyor belts may be common in the meat industry, but we should never take them for granted. Use this list to refresh your plant’s safety procedures.
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