Code of the Road: 4 Facility Rules for Pedestrian Safety

With June being National Safety Month and also Father’s Day, it’s got me thinking about something many of us have experienced before. Do you remember bringing home your first kid from the hospital? You were probably young, inexperienced, and felt overwhelmed with everything you had to learn. Now, on top of all that, you had to put your new baby in a car and travel home with all the crazy drivers out there on the road!

This new little responsibility sleeping in the back seat made you brake sooner, observe the speed limit a little better, and look both ways before crossing an intersection. Do you remember arriving home after that first drive? Ahhh, the feeling of accomplishment and calm when you arrived at your destination safely.

Now, try to remember something else with me. Remember stepping out onto the warehouse or manufacturing floor for the first time? Just like being a new parent, you were probably young, inexperienced, and felt overwhelmed with everything going on around you. Forklifts flying by, audible alarms sounding off all around, lights flashing, cranes moving overhead, and blind corners everywhere you looked! Just like being a new parent, you felt a responsibility to get home safely. But this time, it’s not someone else you’re responsible for, it’s YOU that needs to make it home safe and sound. How do you come to work every day and ensure you and the others you’re responsible for get home safely? I’m here to tell you that there is a “code of the road” that can be observed in every industrial facility that can help ensure everyone makes it home safely.

Follow these “4 Rules of the Road” in your facility to ensure pedestrians and forklifts are working safely around one another. Observe these pedestrian safety rules, and you can work with peace of mind knowing you’ll arrive safely at your destination… both work and home.

RULE 1: Guard Wherever Possible!

Have a mechanical control like guarding wherever you can. Wherever you can put up a hard boundary, and establish a guarded walk path, do it. Pedestrians should have a guarded pathway to walk within wherever possible.

RULE 2: Safety Gates Are Your Friend!

When you leave a guarded pathway to cross an aisle, or walk in front of a doorway, pedestrians should always have to stop and open a swing gate before proceeding. If not, people will just walk right out into an unguarded area without looking. Safety Gates make people pause and stop before proceeding.

RULE 3: Engineering Controls & Safety Devices Are Your BEST FRIEND!

Not everywhere in your facility can be guarded, it’s just a fact. Wherever you can’t guard pedestrians physically, implement an engineering control to help protect people. This might be as simple as painting the designated walk path, signage, mirrors, LED projected pathways, Safe-T-Signals, etc.

RULE 4: Stay In Your Lane

Make it a part of your company culture to stay in your lane until you safely reach your destination. Call each other out, encourage one another to be responsible, and set the expectation for pedestrian safety. Whether it be employees, contractors, or visitors, everyone should stay on the safe walking path. It should be non-negotiable!