Umbrella Bagger Publishes Retail Safety Checklist for Holiday Season
Miami, FL (PRWEB) November 26, 2013 -- Umbrella Bagger spreads awareness for retail safety preparedness during the 2013 holiday shopping season, urging retailers to heed warnings from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to prepare for dangerous crowds.
Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor at OSHA, issued an important statement to American retailers regarding safety preparedness for Black Friday and the rest of the 2013 holiday shopping season. In a press release published last Monday, Dr. Michaels states, "OSHA urges retailers to take the time to adopt a crowd management plan and follow a few simple guidelines to prevent unnecessary harm to retail employees."
Drawing from OSHA's recommendations for effective crowd management and safety, Umbrella Bagger has published a Holiday Season Retail Safety Checklist to spread awareness for safety preparedness among retailers during the busy holiday season. In it, retailers are urged to consider time-specific safety challenges that occur in any 1 of 3 phases leading up to the sales event: The planning phase, the set-up phase, and the durations of the event itself.
The planning phase: Leading up to the event, retailers have the opportunity to visualize how crowds will enter the building, shop, check-out, and exit. Using this information, retailers can then identify where extra employees are needed to facilitate optimal customer flow. Additionally, the planning phase is a good time to verify that the storefront is up to date with important safety codes and requirements.
The set-up phase: Next, retailers are encouraged to set up rope, stanchion, and retractable belt crowd control systems to safely organize shoppers into manageable line queues. It is also recommended that Greeters be used to direct shoppers safely into line. Inside, retailers are urged to display popular sales items in accessible areas that are well marked to prevent overcrowding and aggression amongst shoppers.
During the event: With proper planning and strategy in place, retailers are free to focus on specific safety challenges during the big day. This includes monitoring building occupancy and staying alert to the development of potential emergencies, among other critical responsibilities.
For more on preparing for busy shopping days this holiday season, readers are invited to visit the Holiday Season Retail Safety Checklist on the Umbrella Bagger Blog. For specific tips on crowd management, OSHA has published Crowd Management Safety Guidelines for Retailers.
Steven Blumberg, Umbrella Bagger, http://www.umbrellabagger.com, +1 855-328-8100, [email protected]
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