If you are in the process of building a new warehouse for your business, and you plan on installing multiple pallet racks in your new warehouse, make sure you follow the tips below to keep your pallet racks safe.
#1 Take Weight & Size Into Account With Your Design
In order to avoid issues down the road, you need to know what you want when you are building your warehouse. One of the best ways to ensure that your pallet racks are safe is by making sure the initial design fits your needs and will not collapse under the weight of your belongings.
You need to map out the items that you want to be stored in your warehouse. You need to figure out how much your average pallet is going to weight, and how tall it will be. You need to use those figures when you work with your contractor to design a pallet rack system that will support the goods you need to store in a safe manner.
#2 Reinforce The Corners & Ends Of Your Pallet Racks
Next, you need to make sure that the corners and ends of your pallet racks are reinforced. These are generally the weakest part of a rack aisle. Lift trucks can easily run into the corners and ends while navigating through your warehouse.
You should reinforce them with steel guardrails and post protectors. This will help shield your pallets if and when a lift truck hits them.
#3 Make Sure Your Racks Are Bolted Down
Make sure that your contractor bolts all racks down to the ground during the installation process. Have your contractor walk through your pallet racks after they are installed and have them check all the rivets and bolts with you. They should be nice and tight.
Once you get your warehouse up and running, have your warehouse manager complete an inspection of the bolts and rivets every month to ensure that your racks are still secure.
#4 Post The Capacity
Finally, you should make sure that the load capacity for each of your pallet racks is clearly printed on the racks or posted nearby. Posting this information will help to ensure that none of your employees ever accidentally overloads the racks. Educate your warehouse workers on load capacity. Many accidents concerning pallet racks happen when they are loaded past their limits.
Make sure you know what you want to use your warehouse for before you start drawing out pallet rack plans with your contractor. This will help you more accurately design a system of pallet racks that will be able to handle the loads that you want to put on them.
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