US Department of Labor establishes a Georgia-wide alliance to improve ergonomic safety in state’s warehouses

Participants: U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Material Handling Institute’s Ergonomics Assist Systems and Equipment Council

What:             Alliance agreement

Background: On Feb. 22, 2023, OSHA and the Material Handling Institute’s Ergonomics Assist Systems and Equipment Council agreed to form the Georgia Warehouse Alliance to promote best safety and health practices through programs at warehouse workplaces in the state. The alliance focuses on the industry’s ergonomic safety and health concerns for the council’s members, and owners of other public and third-party warehouses. The participants will work together to promote training, sharing information, developing workplace plans and tracking results.

The OSHA-Ergonomics Assist Systems and Equipment partnership seeks to reduce musculoskeletal disorders in the workplace among warehouse industry workers.

Members of the public interested in more information should contact OSHA’s Atlanta-West Area Office at (678) 903-7301, the Atlanta-East Area Office at (770) 493-6644, or the agency’s Savannah Area Office at (912) 652-4393. Additionally, more information is available on OSHA’s website for protecting workers and improving work practices with ergonomics in mind.

Quote: “Warehouse workers are often exposed to ergonomic risks by repeatedly lifting and lowering heavy items, bending, reaching overhead, pushing and pulling heavy loads and working in awkward body postures,” said OSHA Regional Administrator Kurt Petermeyer in Atlanta. “The goal of this alliance is to encourage industry leaders to be proactive in addressing these matters.”