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Required Safety Practices for "Working Warehouses"
Warehouse-style stores (also known as "big-box retailers" or "superstores") are facilities which combine warehouse and retail operations under one roof and provide retail services to the public. Because of the fast-paced and busy environment of some warehouse retail stores, injuries can occur to workers and to members of the public who shop in these establishments. Objects falling from above and striking people below have caused serious injuries and account for a number of fatalities every year. In response to the growing number of warehouse-style stores and the particular dangers that exist in these “working warehouses,” California passed legislation in 2001 intended to safeguard customers and workers who may be at risk for these injuries.
The law applies specifically to a “working warehouse,” that is, wholesale or retail establishments in which both of the following occur:
- heavy machinery, including but not limited to forklifts, is used in areas where the public shops while customers are on the premises, and
- where merchandise is stored on shelves higher than 12 feet above the sales floor. (“Sales floor” meaning any area where the public is invited to shop, whether indoors or outdoors.
If these conditions exist, owners, managers or operators of the working warehouse have until July 1, 2002 to comply with the law by securing merchandise stored on shelves higher than 12 feet above the sales floor. The approved methods of securing merchandise include rails, fencing, netting, security doors, gates, cables or the binding of items on a pallet into one unit by shrink-wrapping, metal or plastic banding or by tying items together with a cord.
The law also requires that a safety zone be temporarily established which blocks customers from entering areas where merchandise could fall when heavy machinery is used to remove items from a shelf. As an extra precaution, it would be wise to have a “spotter” in the adjoining aisle where items might be pushed off racks or platforms during moving or stacking of materials. And, if possible, restrict these stacking and heavy moving operations to hours when fewer people are present.
Additionally, owners, managers or operators of a working warehouse who employ more than 50 employees are required within 30 days of December 31, 2002 and within 30 days of December 31, 2003 to submit to the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) a report of all known injuries requiring hospitalization, including emergency room medical treatment or deaths occurring to customers as a result of falling merchandise. Each year, a corporation owning, managing or operating more than one working warehouse may submit a single report on behalf of all of the corporation’s working warehouses in the state, provided that the report identifies the location of the warehouse where each reportable incident occurred.
Make sure all employees are informed of these new legal requirements, not only for compliance purposes but, more importantly, to insure customer and worker safety.
"Information or recommendations contained in these articles were obtained from sources believed to be reliable at the date of publication. Information is only advisory and does not presume to be exhaustive or inclusive of all workplace hazards or situations."
The above evaluations and/or recommendations are for general guidance only and should not be relied
upon for legal compliance purposes. They are based solely on the information provided to us and relate
only to those conditions specifically discussed. We do not make any warranty, expressed or implied, that your workplace is safe or healthful or that it complies with all laws, regulations or standards.
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