Question

You are a shift manager at Home Depot. The General Manager tasks you with a huge job. She wants you to create an action plan for the most dangerous department within the store. Specifically, she is looking for you to identify the part of the store where it is most likely that a customer may injure themselves.

Please identify that area, explain the risk, and create a solution.

Answer 1

The area would be the warehouse designed with high shelves stacked with heavy stock and merchandise.

The risk involved is that there is a possibility that the customer may injure themselves, for example, when landscape timbers or kitchen countertops fell from shelves of about 10 and 20 feet height, as has happened in the past.

As a manager, it is a matter of highest priority to ensure customer safety, as this can also affect the profits of the company in the long run. And also ensure employee safety though they are trained to work in such an environment.

Solutions:

1. Initiate new safety measures like use netting to contain stocks in high shelves.

2. Ensure every store has a safety inspection before and after closing.

3. Appoint a manager to ensure safety measures in each store.

4. Weekly safety audits may also help to reduce the risks.

5. Ensure that customers are aware about the risks involved and that they take extra care while shopping.