Posted on 13th February 2017
Pallet Racking is like a car. Yes that does sound like a very unusual comparison, but think of it like this: It is safe and reliable when used correctly, but dangerous is not! Are you with me now?
You need to ensure when using your racking you understand its limits and understand what needs to be done in order to keep it safe.
Firstly you need to ask yourself ?What is the Capacity?. You need to know this before you load onto the racking system. Your rack is designed to support a specific load in a specific way so storing something different may affect the safety of the load. If you think that you ordered your system to store a pallet full of cardboard boxes, you would not be able to store a pallet full of crates of beer in the same place as it would be significantly heavier. Your system is designed for you and you need to make sure you are using it right. If you do now know your loading capacities or they are not displayed you need to find out!
Secondly you need to understand that weight is not just weight. Okay now you have the specs, but do you understand them? You need to know how the capacities are calculated! For example your racking may be calculated so that it can hold 1000kg of weight. You should not put light things on the bottom which may calculate to 100kg and then heavier items on the top which would calculate to 900kg. This would make the system extremely top heavy and would increase the risk of the racking falling. You need to make sure that you completely understand the capacities of what can be stored.
The next important thing to remember is DON?T SMACK THE RACK! The biggest reason that pallet racking can be dangerous is when people hit them! This is something that can easily be avoided though. You can use column protectors on the uprights in the aisle facing columns and rack end barriers facing the gangway at the end of the racking. This helps to deflect the impact from forklifts etc.
Another thing to remember is that the space between the aisles must be suitable for the machinery used! You do not want to struggle getting pallets in and out of the spaces or have to be careful. You want to leave enough space to make the job easier and to reduce risk.
The final thing that I will discuss is making sure that you load it right! You need to ensure that you are giving enough clearance so it is not overly tight. People cannot be 100% accurate so giving enough room for human error is key. If things are too tight it can easily cause collisions. It can also be a fire risk and cause rack damage.
Here at Advanced we supply a large range of safety equipment to ensure you are kept safe and to help prevent any injuries or accidents. We are proud suppliers of the A-Safe range and will be happy to give you a no obligation quote.
If you want to speak to us about keeping your racking safe, please don?t hesitate to give our friendly sales team a call on 0800 345 7088. Alternatively please email sales@advanced-handling.co.uk
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