4
Warehousing
Warehousing was selected to be in this book because its function was to store
materials and goods that made the exposures of the workforce very similar to
those faced by workers in wholesale and retail trades. It is usually housed in the
same grouping as the transportation sector. The North American Industrial Classifi-
cation System (NAICS) lists it as follows:
Warehousing and storage (493000)
Warehousing and storage (493100)
Warehousing and storage facilities comprised 13,000 establishments in 2004.
These firms are engaged primarily in operating warehousing and storage facilities for
general merchandise and refrigerated goods (Figure 4.1). They provide facilities to
store goods; self-storage mini-warehouses that rent to the general public are also
included in this segment of the industry.
The deregulation of interstate trucking in 1980 encouraged many firms to add a
wide range of customer-oriented services to complement trucking and warehousing
services and led to innovations in the distribution process. Increasingly, trucking and
warehousing firms are providing logistical services encompassing the entire trans-
portation process. Firms that offer these services are called third-party logistics
providers. Logistical services manage all aspects of the movement of goods between
producers and consumers. Among their value-added services are sorting bulk goods
into customized lots, packaging and repackaging goods, controlling and managing
Warehouses are containers for the transfer and storage of goods and materials.
ß 2008 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
inventory, order entering and fulfillment, labeling, performing light assembly, and
marking prices. Some full-service companies even perform war ranty repair work
and serve as local parts distributors for manufacturers. Some of these services, such
as maintaining and retrieving computerized inventory information on the location,
age, and quantity of goods available, have helped to improve the efficiency of
relationships between manufacturers and customers.
Many firms are relying on new technologies and the coordination of processes

indicates the danger involved in the warehousing sector. The distribution for the
nature, body part, source, and exposure (accident type) for the 14,620 injuries are
presented in Tables 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, and 4.5, respectively.
4.1.3 ILLNESSES
In the warehousing sector, 1900 cases of occupational illness were reported; this is
1% of the total reported illnesses for the service industry. Table 4.6 provides the
breakdown of the illnesses.
4.2 HAZARDS FACED BY WAREHOUSING WORKERS
The fatal injury rate for warehousi ng is higher than the national average for all
industries. Warehousing is often viewed as not being a very complex operation, but
traffic patterns, fast pace, constant motion, and a myriad of various materials being
handled and stored lead to exposure to many hazards. Some of the most c ommon
hazards faced by warehouse workers are as follows:
.
Unsafe forklifts
.
Unsafe docks
.
Improper stacking or storage of materials
.
Failure to wear proper personal protective equipment
.
Conveyor hazards
.
Hazardous substances, materials, and chemicals
.
Manual lifting and handling task
.
Improper fueling and charging batteries
.

for the Warehousing Sector
Nature of Injury Number Percent
Sprains=strains
a
6300 43
Fractures
a
940 6
Cuts=punctures
a
630 4
Bruises 1170 12
Heat burns ——
Chemical burns ——
Amputations ——
Carpal tunnel syndrome 230 1.5
Tendonitis 290 1.9
Multiple trauma
a
470 3
Back pain (only)
a
360 2
Source: From Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor.
Workplace Injuries and Illnesses in 2004. Available at http:==bls.gov.
a
Five most frequently occurring conditions.
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TABLE 4.3
Body Part Injured by Number and Percent

Five most frequently injured body parts.
TABLE 4.4
Source of Injury by Number and Percent
for the Warehousing Sector
Sources of Injuries Number Percent
Parts and materials
a
720 5
Worker motion=position
a
1810 12
Floor, walkways, or ground surfaces
a
1410 10
Hand tools 230 1.5
Vehicles
a
2390 16
Health care patient ——
Chemicals and chemical products ——
Containers
a
5030 34
Furniture and fixtures 730 5
Machinery 520 4
Source: From Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor.
Workplace Injuries and Illnesses in 2004. Available at http:==bls.gov.
a
Five most frequent sources of injury.
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1170 12
Fires and explosions ——
Assaults=violent acts 80 0.5
Source: From Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor.
Workplace Injuries and Illnesses in 2004. Available at http:==
bls.gov.
a
Five most frequent exposures or type of accidents that led to an
injury.
TABLE 4.6
Occupational Illnesses by Number of Cases and Percent
for the Warehousing Sector
Illness Type Number Percent
Skin diseases and disorders 100 5
Respiratory conditions 0 0
Poisoning 0 0
Hearing loss 100 5
All others 1700 90
Source: From Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor.
Workplace Injuries and Illnesses in 2004. Available at http:==bls.gov.
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Dispatchers frequently receive new shipping orders on short notice and must juggle
drivers’ assignments and schedules to accommodate a client. Shipping, receiving,
and traffic clerks keep records of shipments arriving and leaving. They verify the
contents of trucks’ cargo against shipping records. They also pack and move stock.
Billing and posting clerks and machine operators maintain company records of the
shipping rates negotiated with customers and shipping charges incurred; they also
prepare customer invoices.
Sales and related workers sell warehousing services to shippers of goods. They
meet with prospective buyers, discuss the customers’ needs, and suggest appropr iate

5A1 45 General duty clause
1910.134 44 Respiratory protection
1910.151 44 Medical services and first aid
1910.1030 44 Bloodborne pathogens
1904.41 39 Annual OSHA injury and illness survey of 10 or more employees
1910.215 39 Abrasive wheel machinery
1910.22 37 General requirements
1910.212 35 General requirements for all machines
1910.176 34 Handling materials, general
1910.304 29 Wiring design and protection
1910.36 26 Design and construction requirements for exit routes
1910.146 24 Permit-required confined spaces
1904.32 20 Annual summary
1910.253 20 Oxygen-fuel welding and cutting
1910.119 19 Process safety management of highly hazardous chemical
1910.106 18 Flammable and combustible liquids
1910.110 17 Storage and handling of liquefied petroleum gases
1910.219 16 Mechanical power-transmission apparatus
1910.133 15 Eye and face protection
1910.141 14 Sanitation
Source: From Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor. Available at
http:==www.osha.gov.
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associations, unions, and vocational schools. Many companies have specific curri-
cula on safety and procedural issues, as well as on occupational duties.
4.4 APPLICABLE OSHA REGULATIONS
One of the best ways to understand the hazards faced by utility workers is to see the
types of violations that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
has found during their inspections of the workplace. These violations provide another
way of targeting hazards that have the potential to cause injury, illness, and death of

Foot protection
With the hazards faced by this sector, it is imperative that safety and health be
an integral part of doing business and with the specific purpose of protecting its
employees.
REFERENCES
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. National Census of Fatal Occupational
Injuries in 2005. Available at http:==bls.gov.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. Workplace Injuries and Illnesses in
2004. Available at http:==bls.gov.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor. Available at
http:==www.osha.gov.
ß 2008 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
ß 2008 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.