Current state and improvement prospects of warehouse workers health and safety practices in Bulgarian manufacturing and trading organizations

Abstract

Occupational health and safety (OHS) of warehouse workers is a crucial issue for warehouse managers. The importance of OHS practices has increased over recent years due both to high levels of fatal accidents in the logistics industry, and chronic shortage of labor in the sector, which requires systematic efforts to reduce absenteeism and increase warehouse employee motivation. This article aims to address the current state of some fundamental OHS practices of warehouse workers in Bulgarian manufacturing and trading organizations, and to outline some recommendations for their future improvements. The data were collected using the questionnaire survey method among 91 manufacturing and trading organizations in Bulgaria, which operate warehouses, and were processed using Chi-square analysis. The results show that the share of trading organizations, which implement OHS practices is lower, in comparison with surveyed manufacturing organizations. In addition, small organizations lag behind medium and large regarding the use of fundamental measures to protect warehouse workers. The main research findings indicate that there is a need to expand the frequency of OHS practices applied in trading organizations through a wider implementation of joint firefighting drills with fire and emergency safety authorities, adaptation of warehouse infrastructure, clear designation of emergency exits and placement of signs/work instructions for safe work at workplaces. Furthermore, it is critical to increase the use of appropriate work clothing and personal protective equipment (PPE), as well as to provide regular safety briefings in trading warehouses and small organizations.