How Painting Your Warehouse Can Lead to a Safer Work Environment
Warehouses are busy places that require constant attention to safety. While numerous tools and implementations can help promote safety in the workplace, using paint is one of the easiest ways to promote a safer work environment.
It may seem like a simple solution, but a fresh coat of paint can make a significant difference in preventing accidents and protecting employees. From improving visibility to creating hazard warnings, paint can help keep your warehouse and employees safer. Let’s explore how painting your warehouse can help promote a safer work environment.
Better Visibility
While routine cleaning can help promote the brightness of warehouse paint, the paint will eventually begin to dull and wear out. When this happens, visibility can become poor, potentially leading to accidents.
For example, consider the once-bright paint that warns of a step up. When it wears out and becomes dull, employees may not see it and could fall and injure themselves.
By implementing a fresh, bright coat of paint, you can keep different elements of your warehouse clearly visible and minimize the risk of accidents.
Fire Resistance
While a coat of paint might seem defenseless against the blazing fury of a fire, it can serve as another barrier that protects your warehouse if such an event were to happen. There are special types of paint, including intumescent paint, designed to protect the core elements of your warehouse.
Intumescent paint helps slow or prevent the collapse of key structural elements during a fire. When the paint is exposed to high temperatures standard in a fiery blaze, a complex thermo-chemical reaction takes place, causing it to expand and become less dense.
The thickened paint protects the steel beams or material underneath, providing an extra barrier that safeguards your warehouse structure against the all-consuming blaze. In some cases, this barrier can provide precious minutes that allow your employees to get to safety.
Improved General Safety
Paint can be a great way to promote safety in your warehouse. From color-coded pathways to symbols indicating important details, paint can help keep your warehouse and employees safer.
After all, paint has long been a staple for creating hazard warnings, with different colors used for specific hazards. For example, red has been used for high hazards and warning tags, while black and yellow have marked high-risk areas.
While the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) no longer requires universal colors for specific hazard warnings, they strongly suggest incorporating these hues into industrial and commercial settings to promote safety.
Create a Safer Work Environment With McLean Company
Warehouse painting is an easy and cost-effective way to promote safety in the workplace. From improving visibility and creating hazard warnings to providing fire resistance, paint can help keep your warehouse and employees safer.
With the right colors, symbols, and coatings, you can create a safer work environment that promotes employee well-being and productivity. So why wait? Contact McLean Company today and start painting your way to a safer workplace. Call us at (978) 774-4430 or complete our online contact form to start with a free quote.