Guide to protecting lives and stock
Current supply chain focus is predominantly on cargoes on the move, however safety concerns at the multiple locations where goods are ‘at rest’, either at the interfaces between different modes or in longer term storage, are just as critical, says TT Club.
Photo by Jake Nebov on Unsplash
TT HAS issued a new warehousing series of its graphic TT Briefs, which are designed to convey risk management advice succinctly in easily digestible form for operators to download and utilise both in the workplace and throughout their organisations. In the case of the warehouse series, five topics are addressed: choosing a storage warehouse; operating a safe warehouse; mitigating flood risk; preventing warehouse fires; and operating a secure warehouse.
TT’s managing director of loss prevention Mike Yarwood, says: “We are keen to increase awareness of all key risks, however our role at TT is also to guide operators in the prevention of incidents. Our TT Brief series seeks to provide pithy messaging to support toolbox talks and good operational practices.”
Safety precautions begin with practical considerations for establishing a warehouse. These inevitably relate to location, size, availability of labour etc., but the first and most important decision will be whether to own or lease the property. There are considerable differences in responsibilities and liabilities and these must be fully understood to mitigate risk.
While there are more obvious physical measures such as perimeter fences, CCTV and barriers, effective security measures also include procedural aspects such as ensuring due diligence when hiring personnel. A consideration of growing importance is that of climate change, risk of exposure to weather related losses and likelihood of flooding. A less obvious consideration might be the activities of adjacent facilities, including potential contamination risks from incompatible cargoes.
Perhaps the most significant in terms risk to life, damage and cost of claims, is fire. The primary causes of warehouse fires include electrical failures or malfunction, hot works, maintenance related issues and poor enforcement of no smoking policies. “As with much of our advice on loss prevention, preparation and planning are crucial,” says Yarwood. “Periodic risk assessment, effective maintenance and training, enforcement of policy and good housekeeping are all key as the TT Briefs highlight.”
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