A pallet racking system can be a large part of a company’s facility. Once installed, your warehouse storage system is used daily by many employees. No matter the warehouse size or pallet racking system, one thing remains the same: they all rely on employees to work in them. Since employees around the nation work in and around these structures daily, employee safety is paramount. Here are four simple steps to ensure your employees’ safety in the workplace. Â
Proper Anchoring
The first step a company should always take to ensure pallet racking safety is properly anchoring the pallet racking system into the ground. Whether your pallet racking system is a few sections or a few hundred sections, anchoring your system is the first step to preventing failure or collapse. Many shorter systems across the country are not anchored, but being shorter does not mean anchoring your pallet racking is not required. A good rule of thumb is that if a forklift will be in the warehouse, your pallet racks should be anchored.Â
Wire DeckingÂ
Our next step in ensuring the safety of your pallet racking systems was the highlight of our last blog! Wire decking is a great way to protect your employees and your inventory. Many companies see wire decking as an unnecessary cost. While it may be true that wire decks are not required to build a pallet racking system, that does not mean that you should skip over them. Wire decking is essential to preventing inventory stored overhead from falling through your racks and risking the safety of the workforce.Â
Proper Labeling Â
Now that we have limited all falling hazards from our pallet racking system let us think about some things that could further increase safety in your warehouse. The first thing that comes to mind is clearly labeling the capacity of your racks for your forklift operators. Once your shelves are labeled for maximum load capacity, you have removed all the guesswork from your operation. Forklift operators must no longer guess or assume what that shelf can hold. Labeling can sometimes seem redundant, but sometimes it is the difference in preventing a rack failure or collapse.Â
Post Protectors and Aisle Guards Â
Let us turn our attention to the bottoms of your uprights. Do you have anything in place to protect the uprights from operator errors? Floor mount post protectors and end of aisle guards are some of the most effective tools to decrease system damage and maintain a high level of safety throughout the warehouse. By fixing these devices into the floor, we have also created a safe space for forklift operators to maneuver in the system without damaging the uprights in the process. While these devices seem like an expense up front, the protection they will provide over time will save you tons in system maintenance and repairs. Â
What can we do to help you improve the overall safety of your pallet racking system? Feel free to contact us today to help improve the safety of your systems! Â
