In previous blogs, we talked about some of the most dangerous industries, including agriculture and construction. We found that workers in transportation are also more likely to face work incidents. In the following paragraphs we will explain why.
Transportation and warehousing are considered some of the most dangerous industries in the US. They pose the highest injury and illness rates involving days away from work per 10,000 workers. Recent data from the BLS shows that there were 213,100 workplace injuries and 8,300 workplace illnesses in this sector.
Workers in this industry include truck, bus, taxi, and delivery drivers; airline and commercial pilots, flight attendants, railroad workers, among other occupations. Every day, they are exposed to different hazards that can put their safety at risk. For instance, dangerous driving conditions and long hours on the road can lead to experience muscle sprains or in the worst scenario, a transportation incident like vehicle collisions.
In this blog, we will provide you a general overview of some of the most common hazards that transportation and warehouse workers can face.
Overexertion injuries
Overexertion occurs when workers exceed physical strength when lifting, pushing, carrying, or using repetitive movements while performing their job. Other causes are working in awkward postures and unanticipated muscle loading. In the case of transportation workers, they spend prolonged periods on the road, resulting in common injuries such as back pain and stress on muscles and joints. Moreover, many of these workers and in warehousing are required to lift heavy objects like boxes and containers that can result in sprains, strains, tears, and soreness.
Falls from vehicles
Another leading cause of work-related injury for transportation workers falls from trailers, tail-lifts, and truck cabs. Due to some of these work surfaces being far from the ground, it’s common that workers can experience a fall incident resulting in knee and back sprains. They can also face serious injury, like broken bones if they are not properly trained on getting on and off from a vehicle safely.
Getting injured with objects and equipment
Vehicle parts like doors, lift gates, heavy boxes lifted by pallet jacks and forklift trucks represent a hazard to workers of getting hit when loading or unloading a delivery. Other incidents include falling objects such as parts of the vehicle that are damaged or poorly fitted or tools after maintenance checks. In addition to this, workers can also be hit if they are near a moving vehicle.
We have learned that a variety of risk situations can occur to transportation and warehouse workers while they are doing their job and depending on the severity of the incident, some of these incidents can result in loss of life. When it comes to responding during an emergency at work, time is crucial because there is a huge gap between prevention and experiencing a work fatality.
Kwema helps companies make them safer places by providing safety wearables to transportation workers which can mitigate potential risks and hazards they are exposed to. Our safety devices have the capability of activating an emergency protocol, alerting safety supervisors or 911, and are designed to avoid adoption hurdles and training costs.
Watch how Kwema is disrupting workplace safety