With economic experts predicting a steady recovery for the UK economy, fears are growing that the uptick could be derailed by a lack of available warehousing space – making efficient operations all the more vital in goods loading and unloading. Stretched warehouses must also prioritise worker safety and make it a top priority in the months ahead, the materials handling retailer Midland Pallet Trucks has warned.

Warehousing space availability and the growing land and space needs of supply chain and logistics industries could have a serious impact on the economic revival. Even pre-pandemic, Savills warned that the country was significantly ‘under-warehoused’ something that has only been exacerbated Brexit, Covid-19 and the resulting shift towards e-commerce.

While some UK retailers have set up warehousing space and distribution operations in central Europe due to a lack of availability at home, others are unable or unwilling to take their logistics and warehousing operations into the EU.

With the government seemingly choosing to ignore the plight of retailers and warehousing managers alike, the additional pressure on an already stretched workforce currently working in the warehousing sector cannot be ignored.

West Midlands-based Midlands Pallet Truck says that safety should always take priority over productivity, but with the sector stretched to full capacity and beyond many are expected to meet increasingly tough productivity targets. This makes having the right equipment to safeguard staff against injury more important than ever.

Midland Pallet Trucks, which stocks a vast range of high-quality materials handling and lifting equipment including pallet trucks, manual stacker trucks and lift tables, has been supporting the industry throughout the pandemic and is urging those struggling to meet higher than normal productivity targets to consider the health and wellbeing of their staff.

Managing Director Phil Chesworth said, “As warehousing managers are feeling the pressure to make every single inch of warehousing space as productive and profitable as possible, keeping the people that help keep those business wheels turning safe is critical.”

“Reducing workplace injuries should be a priority in order to stay productive, so we are urging warehousing managers to reassess their current lift equipment stocks and check for damage as these vital pieces of equipment can not only save staff from painful injuries but can help businesses reach productivity targets too.”

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