Your storage facility can easily get cluttered by goods, equipment, and people, causing unnecessary inefficiency.
Inherently, inefficiency in a warehouse can occur as a result of limited storage space. Furthermore, this congestion could also cause accidents and goods damages.
Most of the time, you will install pallet shelving and racking systems to maximize space utilization in your storage facility. Your employees will come into contact with the pallet racks when they are handling goods in the warehouse, and accidents are bound to occur if the pallet racking systems are not properly arranged. Hence, it would help to formulate safety regulations to govern the worker’s interactions with the goods and the pallet racking systems in your storage facility.
Therefore, in this article, we will discuss some of the safety tips you should observe in your storage facility when dealing with pallet racking systems.
Observe the Loading Capacity
The most common cause of accidents in a storage facility is exceeding the specified loads on your shelving and racking systems.
Essentially, different storage solutions have weight specifications that best suit a particular warehouse. The quantity of goods you want to store in your warehouse determines the kind of shelving and racking system you will install.
Once a manufacturer produces a storage unit, they will vividly indicate the loading specifications—the maximum amount of load the storage unit can carry without failing.
Nevertheless, most warehouse owners exceed the specified loads with the attempt of saving costs (by buying additional pallet racks) and accommodating more goods in the storage facility.
Arrange Your Pallets Racks Properly
Most storage facilities place their pallet racks on pallet beams. As such, it calls for great accuracy to properly place the pallet racks and the goods on the beams.
To avoid accidents in your warehouse, always ensure to hire highly-skilled forklift operators who can place the pallet piles on the beams evenly.
Furthermore, the forklift operator should ensure that the pallet racks are not overlapping the rear or the front edges.
Train Your Employees
Your employees will be interacting with the pallet racks most of the time. As a rule of thumb, the workers should have sufficient knowledge and proper understanding of the racking’s features. Indeed, it would be best for your workers to know how the storage solutions work.
It is advisable to provide your workers with adequate training before they can start handling goods on and off the pallet racks.
Additionally, it would help to train your workers on how to load the racking system properly as uneven loading often leads to accidents in the storage facility.
Regular Maintenance
The regular loading and unloading activities in a warehouse subject the pallet racking system to significant wear and tear. Essentially, you are looking at significant losses if you continue using worn-out pallet racks.
Failure to replace overused pallet beams and pallet racks in time is a hazard you must address promptly. It is economical to spend money replacing the worn-out pallet racks and beams rather than spending significant amounts of money settling personal injury claims that your workers file against you in case of an accident.
Install Protective Guards
Storage facilities have forklifts that handle the loaded pallet racks. Unfortunately, the forklifts can knock over the piled-up pallet racks and cause significant damage to goods and injuries to your workers. Even worse, the pallet racks can break as they fall over.
As such, you need to install protective guards on your pallet racks, especially around areas most prone to collision.
The protective guards act as shock absorbers to help protect the pallet racks and their contents in case a forklift hits the pallet beam or the pallets racks.
Additionally, you can employ thicker steel columns and beams and reinforced corners to increase the pallet rack’s durability.
Conclusion
Accidents in a storage facility can cause significant injuries and losses. Thus, the safety tips discussed above will help keep your pallet racking systems fully functional and ensure a safe working space for your employees.
