5 Ways You Can Prevent Damage To Your Pallet Racking Systems
How To Protect Your Pallet Racking
5 Ways You Can Prevent Damage To Your Pallet Racking Systems
Recently we wrote a blog covering why you should not get your pallet racking repaired, the point of this post was to highlight the fact that in some cases, attempting to repair pallet racking that is in need of a replacement can make it even more dangerous to your employees and inventory.
The most effective way to save money on pallet racking repairs and replacements is to put measures in place to prevent them becoming damaged in the first place.
Find out more about how you can prevent damage to your pallet racking to avoid costly and potentially dangerous damage to your racking system.
Train Your Staff
Training is key to preventing any accidents or damage in the warehouse, here are a few topics you should cover when providing training to your employees in order to prevent damage to your pallet racking:
- Enrol your employees on a rack safety awareness training course, this course ensures that your warehouse operatives understand the basics of pallet racking and taking care of it.
- Unreported damage is dangerous. Encourage anyone who damages pallet racking to report it immediately, avoiding disciplinary measures increases the chances of employees informing management when they make a mistake.
- Brief employees on max weight loads of all pallet racking shelving they will be working with. You can purchase shelving weight load notices to remind them.
- Ensure proper forklift training is given to those who require it.
- Provide your employees with relevant PPE (personal protective equipment) when on the job.
- Maximum speed limits should be set and enforced whilst in the warehouse.
- Implement adequate rack loading and unloading procedures.
Protect Your Racking From Vehicle Damage
Vehicles such as forklifts are the kryptonite to the structural integrity of pallet racking. When the pressure is on and time is of the essence, operatives may collide with pallet racking accidentally – whilst it may only look like a dent, it can be the start of an entire pallet racking collapse.
Assess Your Warehouse Layout
Assessing your warehouse layout in order to widen your aisles is an effective way to reduce damage to racking, but can require a large amount of time and planning, with a complete reconfiguration of your warehouse sometimes being necessary.
If you aren’t in a position to redesign your warehouse layout, along with clear notices, coloured tape can be used to discourage drivers from getting too close to the racking.
Protect Your Racking
Investing in guards and frame protectors for your pallet racking is one of the most cost effective ways to prevent damage to your racking. These guards start from as little as £20 and provide robust protection from forklifts and other moving vehicles.
Don’t Overload Your Racking
Overloading pallet racking is a leading cause of racking failure and collapse, and yet it is one of the most preventable. The capacity of your racking depends on a number of factors, if you’re unsure about the weight limit of your racking, we can calculate it for you.
Keep shelving weight load notices present where possible and be considerate of these limits when changing the load of the racking, if you think your pallet racking has been overloaded we recommend having an inspection carried out, whilst it may seem to be in good condition there could be unseen damage to the structure.
Have Your Racking Inspected
Not only are racking inspections a legal requirement under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, they also help in identifying any damage to pallet racking that you may not have been aware of. As well as annually, rack safety inspections are recommended where visual or structural damage to pallet racking has been observed.
If you are having your racking inspected by a third party company, it is your responsibility to ensure that they are competent and working safely throughout the inspection. For this reason, we always recommend using a SEMA approved inspector to carry out inspections.
Increase Visibility In Your Warehouse
The more your warehouse operatives can see, the better they can perform. Implementing effective warehouse lighting throughout your premises allows drivers to see clearly what they are doing and reduces the number of accidental damage to racking.
Additionally, implementing speed limits throughout the warehouse and convex mirrors can cut down the number of vehicle collisions in your warehouse.
Talk To The Experts
Faulty and damaged pallet racking is not an issue to ignore, not only can a racking collapse cause loss of revenue, but it can also lead to serious accidents and injury to your workforce.
If you’re concerned about the condition of your pallet racking, or want to book in for a racking inspection, give one of our expert team a call on 0117 955 5211.
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