5 Pallet Rack Safety Tips for Your Warehouse

Whether it’s the equipment, the labor, or the downtime needed to complete the work, pallet rack damage can be costly—not to mention dangerous. In today’s blog, the pallet specialists at Voss Equipment discuss 5 pallet rack safety tips that can prevent damage before it happens, keeping your warehouse safer and more productive.

Utilize Pallet Rack Protection

There are many inexpensive pallet rack protectors you can install that can withstand impact without damaging your shelving. Brightly colored steel pallet rack guard rails, for example, can be bolted to the floor to create a strong, attention-catching barrier. Column protectors, either the plastic snap-on type or the steel anchor type, will further protect the columns from forklift damage. Because pallet rack damage often happens when forklift operators take turns too quickly, you might consider racking uprights for protection at the end of aisles.

Prioritize Wide, Clear Aisles

There’s a delicate balance between making sure your aisles are narrow enough for maximum storage and wide enough for optimal warehouse safety. If pallet rack safety is as important to your warehouse as it should be, you’ll want aisles wide enough to prevent forklift damage. If you have narrow aisles where lift equipment travels, you might also consider a wire guidance system. But pallet rack safety isn’t just about safe warehouse design, it’s also about keeping aisles clear of clutter and other obstacles that can lead to dangerous, damaging collisions.

Don’t Overload Storage Racks

All storage racks have a weight limit, but not all warehouses follow these important guidelines. The first step to making sure your storage racks aren’t overloaded is to make sure the weight limits are clearly notated for the workers regularly using the racks. You’ll also want to emphasize the dangers of overloaded racks in your warehouse training materials. Not only are overloaded storage racks at an increased risk for costly rack damage, but any collision with an overloaded rack can cause a collapse, which can injure or even kill workers, in addition to damaging your product.

Set Strict Speed Limits

Speed is a factor in many forklift accidents, so it makes sense that setting lower speed limits and enforcing them can prevent collisions. By preventing the collisions, you’re also preventing the ensuing rack damage.

Inspect Racks Regularly

In a perfect world, each time a forklift struck your racking, you would have the damage evaluated by a pallet rack specialist. That said, not every collision is reported and not every type of damage is noticed. That’s why it’s incredibly important to implement regular storage rack system inspections. This can help catch damage before it becomes a major problem. Rack specialists at Voss Equipment in Chicagoland, for example, have experience both understanding the severity of the damage and in providing the highest-quality rack repairs with the least inconvenience to your operation.

Rack Repair, Replacement, and Damage Prevention at Voss Equipment

Not sure where to start? Contact a rack specialist at Voss Equipment today. Not only can we assess, repair, or replace damaged racks, but we can also help you design, install, protect, and maintain a huge variety of pallet racks and other warehouse storage solutions throughout the greater Chicago area. We even offer a wide variety of rack protection, as well as forklifts with Yale Reliant technology, which can help prevent collisions from happening in the first place. In the meantime, check out our material handling blog where we cover everything from how to choose the right pallet racking system to common types of forklift accidents and how Yale Reliant helps prevent them.