Order Picker Safety: Essential Tips and Regulations

What is Order Picker Safety?

Order pickers are specialized material handling equipment designed to retrieve and move items from shelving or pallet racks to gather orders in warehouses or distribution centers. It provides a safer and more efficient alternative to ladders and scissor lifts when accessing stock manually.

Order picker safety refers to the training, practices, and guidelines that ensure the safe usage of order picker machines. Knowing how to properly operate these types of equipment is integral to protecting workers, especially those who are operating them alone. 

Importance of Order Picker Safety

Order picker machines are essential in warehouse operations due to their ability to efficiently and effectively streamline supply chain operations. However, they present unique risks to lone workers due to the combination of height, machinery operation, and lack of immediate support. 

Order picker safety is important because operating an order picker is a dangerous task, and operating one alone can increase risks due to the absence of immediate assistance in emergencies and the nature of hazards involved in operating such equipment. Knowing the right and proper safety practices can help lone workers:

• Mitigate risks: Prevent falls from heights, equipment tipping, and musculoskeletal injuries from repetitive lifting or reaching through proper safety measures.

• Prepare for emergencies: Equip lone workers with the proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and safety devices to ensure a quick response in emergencies or accidents.

• Comply with regulations: Ensure lone workers are trained and knowledgeable of the safety protocols to meet health and safety regulations and reduce legal and financial risks for employers. 

Its Role in Different Industries

An order picker plays a vital role across various industries because of its ability to streamline operations, ensure accurate order completion, and enhance supply chain efficiency. Some industries that benefit from an order picker include:

• Retail and E-commerce: Maintain speed and accuracy when packing and preparing orders for shipping or store delivery. An order picker helps reduce returns and improve customer satisfaction. 

• Manufacturing: Collect materials and components needed for production lines that help keep production running smoothly. Usage of order pickers ensures manufacturing production deadlines are met and completed. 

• Logistics and Distribution: Assemble customer orders, update branch inventory records and load goods on trucks for shipment to stores or direct customers, promoting shipping efficiency and stock accuracy across the supply chain.

• Food and Cold Storage: Maintain product quality and safety standards while working in a temperature-sensitive environment by efficiently selecting and deselecting perishable goods and ensuring they're properly segregated as needed.

Safety Order Picker Regulations

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) classifies order pickers as a type of forklift. Within the formal forklift classification system, they’re under Class II: Electric Motor Narrow Aisle Trucks. OSHA mandates order picker operators to receive adequate training and certification specific to the type of equipment they are using. These trainings should cover load stability and manipulation, pedestrian traffic and safety, narrow aisles and ramps, and similar subjects. 

In California, order pickers must follow strict safety rules according to the California Department of Industrial Relations. Some of these vital guidelines include: that 

• If the platform is raised above 36 inches, the speed is limited to 2.5 mph, travel is not allowed above 152 inches unless the truck is on rails. 

• A flashing warning light, mounted 4–6 feet high, must also automatically turn on whenever the platform is six feet or higher and the truck moves. 

• In storage aisles, systems such as guide rails or electronic guidance must be in place to prevent colliding with racks or materials.

Order Picking Safety Tips

Order picker safety tips focus on proper training, equipment understanding, use of PPEs to prevent falls, collisions, and injuries. With that said, here are some safety tips to ensure your safety while operating an order picker machine:

• Complete training and certification:  Ensure operators undergo proper and OSHA-compliant training and certification to safely and legally operate order pickers. 

• Use proper PPE: Wear the proper hard hats, safety glasses, steel-toed boots, and high-visibility clothing when operating an order picker to ensure visibility and accessibility in case of emergencies in busy warehouse environments.

• Identify hazards in your environment: Assess your environment’s risks and prepare proactively to ensure the proper plan is in place in case an emergency arises.

• Maintain control during operation: Focus on the task and keep your hands on the controls at all times to maintain stability and avoid accidents.

Use fall protection systems: Prevent falls from height while working on elevated platforms by using harnesses and lanyards and having fall arrest systems in place to minimize injuries.