With nearly 20% of all retail sales in America happening during the holiday season, Nevada SCATS has tips for employers to keep their worksites safe through busy times.
RENO, Nev. (Nov. 4, 2025) — Packages at the door bring joy to Nevadans every holiday season, with everything from toys to technology working their way through warehouses and delivery vehicles across the country. Behind each parcel are Nevadans working to fulfill orders, move goods and complete deliveries in time for families to experience the joy of the holidays—and the Nevada Safety Consultation and Training Section (SCATS) is reminding businesses that they’re here to provide free, tailored safety consultation and training services to help employees work safely during this busy time of year.
According to the Department of Labor, postal workers, messengers and local delivery industries suffer higher rates of injuries and hospitalizations during the holidays. Additionally, workers in transportation and material moving roles experienced 1,495 fatalities in 2023 and represented the occupational group with the most fatalities according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“The busy holiday season often leads to businesses hiring seasonal and temporary workers, which creates a great opportunity to revisit safety training,” said Bobby Albright, Training Supervisor at Nevada SCATS. “Safety goes beyond meeting legal standards. Nevada’s workforce is putting in the hours to meet higher demand, and ensuring they can return home safely to enjoy this time with their loved ones should be a top priority.”
One way employers can approach safety training, especially in warehouses, is by “training it forward.” This involves experienced employees teaching safety skills gained from training programs to other team members, giving everyone a chance to review plans together. Training it forward encourages peer-to-peer education and reinforcement of safety standards across all shifts, and fosters an environment of mutual accountability.
“A safe working environment involves employers who take responsibility, and employees who are trained to stay safe,” said Albright. “During the hectic holiday rush, paying special attention to icy or slippery conditions, properly stacked materials and material handling techniques can help prevent injuries in the workplace.”
Warehouse safety procedures during busy seasons are crucial to avoid injury, and a safety-aware workforce helps keep everyone safe. Employees should be especially mindful to utilize proper material handling techniques, watch for correctly installed machine guards and follow proper lockout or tagout procedures. Proper lifting and carrying techniques can also prevent injuries from repeated or sustained actions.
“Partnering with SCATS for over 10 years has been crucial to the quality of our safety culture in our distribution center,” said Cole Atwood, General Manager at Do it Best Corp., a hardware cooperative and retailer in Mesquite, Nevada. “This partnership provides my team access to best practices from some of the largest companies in the state, and allows us to remain proactive about the safety of our team. The work we do together with SCATS pays off in the most important way possible: it means my team members go home safe to their families each day.”
As Nevada’s workforce puts in the hours to meet higher demand during the holiday season, employers, business owners and employees can work together to make sure everyone can stay safe. Nevada SCATS offers free, confidential worksite safety consultation, education and training programs, including comprehensive inspections of warehouse facilities to help them find any gaps in their safety measures. For more information or speak to a health and safety consultation expert, businesses can call 1-877-4SAFENV or visit scatsnv.org.
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Photo Caption: Nevada SCATS provides free, tailored safety consultation and training services to help employers during the busy holiday season.
Media Note: A SCATS expert is available for interviews. Interested media can contact Olive Giner, KPS3, olive.giner@kps3.com, 702-301-6031 for more information.
About Nevada SCATS
The Safety Consultation and Training Section (SCATS), part of Nevada’s Division of Industrial Relations, provides free and confidential consultation and safety services to assist businesses in Nevada to be in compliance with OSHA standards. SCATS helps Nevada businesses keep their employees safe and offers on-site consultation services designed to help employers recognize and control potential safety and health hazards at their workplaces, improve their safety and health programs, and assist in training employees. SCATS also offers Workplace Safety and Health Training classes in Northern and Southern Nevada. Bilingual services are also available. Visit 4safenv.state.nv.us.
Funding Statement:
The Nevada On-Site Consultation program (SCATS), at the time of initial publication of this document (10/2025), is funded by a cooperative agreement for $852,404 federal funds, which constitutes 17.3% percent of the program budget. 0% percent, or $ 0.00 of the program budget, is financed through non-governmental sources.