5 Ways to Improve Pallet Racking Safety in Your Warehouse

Warehouses are dangerous places to work. From forklift accidents and collisions to falls and collapses from damaged racks, every employee's safety remains a significant concern in the work environment.

In light of that, we've compiled a list of the top five things you can do to improve safety in your warehouse.

1. Conduct Periodic Inspections and Audit

Assessments are essential in such a working environment. Your industrial storage specialist has to inspect your current racking system regularly to ensure safe operations.

Your specialist should inspect your specific racking system manual checklist. The list requires that you check for beam overloads, damage on beams or welds, missing safety clips or bolts, damaged trolleys, bent steel supports, or loose anchor bolts.

A certified rack inspector should conduct a rack audit regularly, but the actual frequency depends on traffic and operation conditions in your warehouse.

2. Record and Maintain Warehouse Reports  

After your inspection, you should write up a report for accountability. These reports should clearly outline all safety risks related to the operation and maintenance of your current system. After this, you should do the necessary repairs and replacements.

Furthermore, these reports should also be updated if and when employees raise a safety issue at work. Supervisors should then assess the situation and color tag the location and level of damage, as per OSHA regulations.

3. Install Safety Tools

The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 states that work environments should not put the health and safety of workers at risk, and you must remove such risks as far as is reasonably practicable. To manage the multiple risks employees are subject to daily, you should install safety tools such as column guards, guardrails, pedestrian and forklift barriers, bollards, anti-collapse meshes, and safety bars.

These accessories will ensure staff protection from falling objects, forklift accidents, and collisions.

4. Offer Rack Training to Your Employees

Training shouldn't just be to enhance productivity at work; it should also include safety measures for your workers. Proper training may reduce accidents, which is why it's essential to regularly educate your staff on the proper use of materials handling equipment (MHE).

Get an operator to train your employees on the principles of safe operations and the hazards of their work, especially working with the forklift. Other things to mention during training include:

• How to operate mobile plants.
• How to load and unload pallets.
• How to position the pallets.
• How to read signage.

5. Create a Safe Culture in Your Warehouse

The last piece of the puzzle is instilling the importance of a safe environment in your employees. Make safety a priority in the warehouse by having visible marking systems on the floor, safe load and traffic signage, and designated walkways for pedestrians.

Safe load signage contains vital information about the handling of the equipment in your warehouse and should be taken seriously by all employees. These types of signage include the unit load, level load, bay load, beam positioning, and manufacturer contact information.

Ensure all your racking systems have safe load signage to keep everyone alert about operation instructions. Since you trained your personnel, they can efficiently work with such information, allowing for a safe working environment.

Finally, empower employees to report any sign of damage that could resort in an accident.

Safety risks are inevitable, but you can do what's reasonably practicable to ensure your employees work in a secure environment. Implement these five safety measures to mitigate the risk of injuries to your workers and the risk of equipment damage.

For more information about pallet rack systems and how to increase safety when working with them, contact us now.