Pallet Racking Protection – what should I do about it ?

Setting up a warehouse is not a cheap enterprise, as you will appreciate when you consider some of the major factors that go into it:

• The length of time you will have spent researching the best possible options for your particular setup.
• the cost of the materials that make up your pallet racking.
• the installation costs that you will have incurred.

Having gone to all that trouble and expense, you will want to protect your investment to the best of your ability, and to avoid unnecessary damage to your warehouse racking. Damaged warehouse components need replacement or repair, and apart from the direct cost of either of these options you also need to consider the not inconsiderable cost of possibly not being able to use the equipment for a period of time. All in all, you need to give very serious consideration to pallet racking protection.

The most frequent cause of damage to warehouse racking is collision, usually by a fork truck, but sometimes by a lorry. You may be surprised by how much damage can be caused by a fork truck that is travelling at a very slow speed!

Of course, in the interests of safety it is vital that you have established strict rules to govern the use of plant and vehicles in your warehouse, which lay down the maximum speed at which vehicles can move, as well as the areas in which they can be used. Maybe you will need to impose a one way traffic system, as well. The imposition of these rules should help to ensure that vehicles and plant in use in your warehouse are driven with care and in a consistent manner, but even with these rules in place it is inevitable that accidents will happen, and you need to do your best to guard against the damage that may be caused to your warehouse pallet racking by collision.

There are some very effective pallet racking protection products available that can help you to protect your investment without impairing the efficiency of your operation, and we will briefly mention a couple of these.

Although the upright supports of your warehouse pallet racking are made from very strong materials, and are designed for hard wear and tear, these are probably the most likely components to suffer damage. As such, as a priority you will need to consider how you may be able to protect them. Racking upright protectors are anchored to the floor, and form a metal shield around the lower portions of the upright, which will take the impact if a fork truck collides with it. The idea of this is that whilst you may need to replace the damaged protector, that is very much cheaper than replacing a damaged upright. These protectors come in a variety of designs and the best ones are adjustable, so that they can be fitted in a variety of different situations.

The end sections of your pallet racking are also very vulnerable to damage caused by fork truck or vehicle collision. These can be protected by steel barriers, which are fitted just above ground level, and give protection across the length of the end sections of the racking, rather than just to the uprights.

The best thing to do when you are thinking about pallet racking protection is to talk to the experts! Pallet Racking Systems Ltd are based in Willenhall, West Midlands, and their team of experts has many years of experience in the supply, installation, protection and repair of warehouse pallet racking. Why not contact us today? They will be delighted to help you.