It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that their employees can do their jobs in a risk-free setting. Due to the fact that it is located away from the actual structure, a company’s parking lot is frequently neglected, both in terms of its upkeep and its level of safety.
However, it may have a significant effect on the health and safety of your employees as well as the happiness they feel in their jobs and comes under the health and safety at work act. Here, we look at some tips to keep your employee car park safe.
Speed
Due to the high volume of activity, particularly during peak hours, car parks can be risky environments. Because of the presence of both automobiles and pedestrians in the same area, it may be difficult to come to a complete stop if you are moving too quickly. Because of this, parking areas need to have a speed restriction that is strictly enforced or, at the very least, signs warning drivers to slow down.
One of the advantages of having a dedicated staff parking lot is the ability to communicate with employees about any issues with speeding in the parking lot. If you are unable to enforce a speed restriction in the parking lot effectively, one option for imposing a slower pace is to post signs informing drivers that they should slow down as a means of doing so.
Directionality and Orientation
Parking lots that lack accurate directional signage pose a danger to both motorists and pedestrians. In the absence of unambiguous signposting, vehicles will go in every direction, unclear where to go, leading to increased congestion at peak periods.
Having pedestrian walkways and arrows on how vehicles should move around the parking lot can help with safety and congestion concerns and make the parking lot a safer and more manageable place overall. Clear signposting on entrances and exits to the parking lot as well as pedestrian walkways are also helpful.
Visibility
Both motorists and pedestrians must have enough visibility in a parking garage. When it is dark in the mornings and nights or when workers are working late, it is especially vital to ensure adequate lighting in the parking lot and that it is installed in the appropriate locations. Poor visibility poses a significant threat to public safety because it makes it more difficult for motorists to spot pedestrians and other potential dangers in their immediate vicinity.
When we talk about visibility, we do not just mean illumination; we also include the positioning of signs, poles, or pillars. It is essential to check that people’s vision is unimpaired before they enter or exit the parking lot to reduce the likelihood of potential dangers and accidents.
Congestion
Congestion can be alleviated in a few different ways. These are: To begin, it may be helpful to ensure a predetermined path around the parking area using Armco barriers. This will prevent individuals from cutting off other drivers or creating needless traffic. One-way systems have a propensity to perform pretty well in parking garages and effectively reduce congestion.
If traffic congestion is a significant issue for your company, it may be useful to think about implementing staggered working hours wherever feasible. This would be a big help in reducing the amount of congestion in the parking lot.
Make sure there is enough space
It is very uncommon for rapidly expanding companies to run into problems like not having enough parking spots accessible for their employees and customers’ vehicles. The simplest and most obvious answer to this problem is to build more spaces; but, in the majority of cases, this cannot be done. Consider operating on a reservation system instead, as this is one of the ways that the available parking spaces may be managed.
If there is dedicated parking for cars, there is less of a chance that individuals will not be able to find a spot when they go to work; those who do not have a spot will already be aware of this fact and will have made other plans. It is possible that using a deposit system and operating on a “first come, first served” basis is the most effective method to handle this situation.
