General Industry

OSHA requirements for warehouse & distribution

Forklifts, racking, loading docks, and pedestrian traffic drive most warehouse injuries.

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Standards that typically apply (13)

Personal Protective Equipment

29 CFR 1910 Subpart I

Emergency Action Plan

29 CFR 1910.38

Fire Prevention & Extinguishers

29 CFR 1910.39 / 1910.157

Walking-Working Surfaces

29 CFR 1910 Subpart D

Required Workplace Postings

29 CFR 1903.2

Lockout/Tagout (Control of Hazardous Energy)

29 CFR 1910.147

Machine Guarding

29 CFR 1910 Subpart O

Powered Industrial Trucks (Forklifts)

29 CFR 1910.178

Fall Protection

29 CFR 1910.28 / 1926 Subpart M

Ladder Safety

29 CFR 1910.23

Driver & Fleet Safety

General Duty Clause; DOT where applicable

Heavy Equipment & Struck-By Hazards

29 CFR 1926 Subpart O / General Duty Clause

Contractor & Temporary Worker Safety

OSHA multi-employer citation policy; TWI guidance

Typical, not automatic. Your actual list depends on the hazards present in your workplace.

OSHA training requirements for warehouse & distribution

Training obligations follow the standards above. For a typical warehouse & distribution, that usually means the following courses, delivered before employees are exposed to the hazard and repeated on each standard's own cycle.

Standard	Training typically required
Personal Protective Equipment29 CFR 1910 Subpart I	PPE selection and limitations, Fit, care, and inspection, Eye, face, hand, foot, and head protection, Hearing protection basics
Emergency Action Plan29 CFR 1910.38	Evacuation routes and assembly points, Alarm recognition and reporting, Roles during an emergency
Fire Prevention & Extinguishers29 CFR 1910.39 / 1910.157	Fire hazards in your workplace, Extinguisher use (PASS) if employees are expected to fight fires, Reporting and evacuation
Walking-Working Surfaces29 CFR 1910 Subpart D	Slip, trip, and fall prevention, Housekeeping expectations, Reporting damaged surfaces
Required Workplace Postings29 CFR 1903.2	Where to find postings, How to report a hazard or injury
Lockout/Tagout (Control of Hazardous Energy)29 CFR 1910.147	Authorized employee lockout procedures, Affected employee awareness, Group lockout and shift change
Machine Guarding29 CFR 1910 Subpart O	Guard purpose and inspection, Never bypass a guard, Reporting damaged guards
Powered Industrial Trucks (Forklifts)29 CFR 1910.178	Formal instruction by truck type, Practical hands-on evaluation, Site-specific hazards and pedestrian safety
Fall Protection29 CFR 1910.28 / 1926 Subpart M	Fall hazard recognition, Harness inspection and donning, Anchorage, tie-off, and rescue
Ladder Safety29 CFR 1910.23	Ladder selection and inspection, Setup, angle, and securing, Safe climbing practices
Driver & Fleet SafetyGeneral Duty Clause; DOT where applicable	Defensive driving, Distracted driving policy, Vehicle inspection and incident reporting
Heavy Equipment & Struck-By Hazards29 CFR 1926 Subpart O / General Duty Clause	Blind spots and spotter signals, High-visibility requirements, Ground worker positioning
Contractor & Temporary Worker SafetyOSHA multi-employer citation policy; TWI guidance	Contractor site orientation, Hazard communication to non-employees, Host/staffing responsibilities

Written programs and records for warehouse & distribution

Training alone is not compliance. Each standard below also expects a document an inspector can read and a record that proves the training happened.