Sector Expertise
Health and Safety for Warehousing and Logistics
The M1, M42 and A42 corridor has made this region a national logistics hub. Warehouse risk is dominated by vehicles, racking and repetitive handling, and all three are manageable.
Warehousing & Logistics: What Makes This Sector Different
North West Leicestershire sits at the centre of the UK's distribution network. The area around Castle Donington, Bardon and the M1 junctions carries an enormous concentration of warehousing and freight operations, and the sector keeps growing.
Warehouse health and safety is unusually concentrated: a small number of hazards account for most of the serious harm. Vehicles and pedestrians sharing space, racking that has been struck and not reported, working at height on mezzanines and during picking, and the cumulative toll of repetitive manual handling. Get those under control and you have addressed most of your risk.
The Risks That Matter Here
- Forklift and pedestrian segregation, the sector's defining risk
- Loading bay and yard traffic management
- Racking damage, inspection and the SEMA rating system
- Falls from mezzanines, order pickers and vehicle beds
- Repetitive manual handling and musculoskeletal disorders
- Vehicle loading, load security and unloading arrangements
- Fire risk and sprinkler design in high-bay storage
- Agency and seasonal staff induction and competence
- Noise from handling equipment and conveyors
Your Legal Duties
The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 require traffic routes to be organised so pedestrians and vehicles can circulate safely, which is the legal basis for segregation. PUWER covers forklifts and handling equipment, including inspection and driver competence, and LOLER 1998 requires thorough examination of lifting equipment, which includes forklift forks and attachments. Racking is work equipment under PUWER, so damaged racking is a legal issue and not merely a maintenance one.
How We Help
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Accreditations & Memberships
Our consultants are Chartered (CMIOSH) and Technical (TechIOSH) members of IOSH, holding Level 6 qualifications in Applied Health & Safety.
Warehousing & Logistics: Common Questions
How often should racking be inspected?
Good practice, following SEMA guidance, is a formal inspection by a technically competent person at least annually, supported by regular visual checks by a nominated person, often weekly. Just as important is a no-blame damage reporting route, because the racking damage that hurts people is usually the impact nobody reported.
Is full segregation of forklifts and pedestrians always required?
Full physical separation is the ideal and should be the starting point. Where the layout genuinely will not allow it, you need a combination of controls: marked walkways, barriers at pinch points, clear crossing places, high-visibility clothing, speed limits and sightline management. What is not acceptable is relying on people simply being careful.
What are the duties around agency and seasonal staff?
As the host employer you are responsible for their health and safety while they work for you, including induction, site-specific information and any training needed for the tasks they will do. Peak season pressure is exactly when induction gets shortened, and it is also when injury rates rise.
Do you cover the Castle Donington and Bardon distribution parks?
Yes. We are based in Coalville, which puts us within a few minutes of most of the North West Leicestershire logistics estates, and we work throughout the M1 and A42 corridor.
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