Warehousing Policies

Warehouses have a variety of policies in place for both safety and convenience.

Warehouses have a variety of policies in place for both safety and practicality. While the specific policies might change depending on the types of materials that a warehouse stores and where that warehouse is located, there are a few general policies that most warehouses will abide by.

Smoking

As a rule, smoking is not allowed in warehouses. Given that many warehouses have a very dry atmosphere, and that a lot of material is packaged in paper, cardboard or wood (all of which can be quite flammable), smoking inside most, if not all, warehouses is prohibited. Additionally, many warehouses have rules that people who choose to smoke outdoors (whether customers or employees) should be a certain distance away from the warehouse and they shouldn't smoke directly under doors or windows. This last part is for the comfort of other people rather than as a fire safety precaution.

Privacy Policy

Generally speaking, information given to a warehouse by a client for business transaction purposes should be kept protected and in-house. For a warehouse to offer its clients' personal information to anyone who is interested would be a major breech of etiquette, and would likely result in a lot of customers ceasing to do business with that warehouse. However, this information is not privileged or protected by law. If for some reason a law enforcement inquiry is made, then a warehouse does have to hand over the requested information about clients it does business with.

Equipment Operation

It's very important that when a warehouse has heavy equipment such as trucks, forklifts or other machinery, the people operating that machinery are properly licensed. OSHA sets regulations for a variety of different machines (for instance, all forklift drivers have to take classes and earn a license, and the same goes for commercial truck drivers, who must have a CDL to operate a truck). These regulations are the law, and warehouses that use these machines must be sure to follow all operating and licensing rules and restrictions.

References

• Marine Corps: Warehouse Safety
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration: OSHA regulations

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish