In the normal course of a working day, pallet racking can sustain damage from access equipment such as forklift trucks. Unfortunately, the occasional accidental knock during normal working operations is normal, however the damage sustained can lead to a major incident if not repaired or replaced.
Collisions from machinery will be reported and addressed as a normal part of Health and Safety procedures. Keeping these records and collating the data from them fully can help identify if there are regular collisions within certain areas of the warehouse. In which case, it may be worth considering protection for those areas to prevent more costly replacements of the actual pallet racking.
There are many pallet racking accessories but we have identified five which will help protect your pallet racking from machinery collision damage:
- Steel Floor Mounted Column Guards
Steel floor mounted column guards provide protection for the posts and columns in your pallet racking system. They are bolted to the floor in front of each post and will take any knocks from working warehouse machinery, protecting the pallet racking verticals behind.
- Foam Filled Column Guards
Foam filled pallet racking guards are either bolted to the front of each vertical and are a steel half box with foam filler which help take the impact if a collision occurs. Alternatively, they can be a form of foam cushioning which wraps around the vertical, again taking the impact of any accidents.
- Rack End Protection Barriers
To protect the ends of pallet racks, fitting rack end barriers in front of vulnerable areas can help prevent more serious damage when accidents occur. If a collision happens, a dent may be the maximum damage incurred preventing what could be a catastrophic incident.
- Warehouse Safety Bollards
Using brightly coloured bollards in strategic positions will help protect the warehouse structure. Positioned next to walls, offices or loading bay doors, they can help prevent impact from a glancing blow or even from a head on collision.
- Warehouse Lighting
Increasing the lighting levels may seem obvious but it can be the cheapest way of preventing warehouse damage from machinery collision. The better your warehouse operatives can see, the better they can perform. Moving to LED lighting can be a brighter and cheaper way of illuminating your warehouse and could even increase productivity too.
So, to conclude, to help reduce the amount of damage around your warehouse, firstly create a culture of reporting damage and then use that information to learn where the problem areas are. Then invest in inexpensive protective measures before more costly damage occurs.
Call us now to find out more about our pallet racking and safety accessories or how we can help you design your extra space on 0800 085 8117 or contact us.