While it’s true to say that accidents involving pallet racking are rare, they do occur. What’s more, they tend to occur primarily in facilities where health and safety have been approached passively, rather than proactively.

So for those who’d rather stick with the latter and avoid mishaps where possible, here’s a quick overview of six essential pallet racking safety tips:

1. Choose Products with Care

First of all, be aware of the fact that there are plenty of different pallet racking types on the market – all with their own benefits and limitations. From carton-flow rack to drive-in rack to high-density rack and so on, you need to establish exactly what you need before setting out to buy it and install it. If in doubt, talk to the experts.

2. Beware DIY Installation and Maintenance

Unless you know exactly what you are doing and have plenty of experience, you might want to be wary of DIY racking installations and adjustments. Simple as the job may appear, even the slightest of oversights or errors can lead to catastrophic failure without warning. It’s always better to proceed under advisement, or better yet call in the experts to do the job for you.

3. Be Careful with Load Limits

Evidence suggests that the overwhelming majority of accidents involving pallet racking are caused simply by overloading the racking beyond its limits. This includes both the total weight the racking can support and the type odd items/materials is can store. If you overstep the mark by even a fraction of a percent, you could be rolling the dice with fate.

4. Ensure All Employees Are Health and Safety Trained

Your racking will only ever be as safe as those using it. Long-story short, every member of the workforce needs to know exactly what to do and what not to do to stay safe and keep everyone else safe at the same time. Even in instances where it’s simply a case of common sense, you cannot just assume that they will know what to do and how to do it. Minimise the likelihood of unfortunate incidents with comprehensive and on-going training.

5. Perform Regular Inspections

Rather than simply waiting for the worst to happen, it makes far more sense to carry out regular inspections to see just how safe or otherwise your pallet racking is. Take the time to inspect all key areas on a regular basis, or perhaps consider asking an external engineer to take a look on your behalf. If there are any signs of damage or wear of a significant nature, you might want to address them before it’s too late.

6. Use Protective Accessories

Last but not least, there are dozens of different devices and add-ons available right now that can help further minimise the likelihood of an accident with your pallet racking. From post protectors to guarding to reinforcements and so on, there’s plenty you can do to make your pallet racking more effective and safe than it already is.