Protecting Your Pallet Shelving
Your pallet shelves are some of the most important structures in you company's warehouse. Whether made of wood or steel, these shelves are important for keeping your products in order, and if they should break or become damaged, that could mean damage to all the items stacked on them and injuries to the people working in the area. That's why it's important to heed the following suggestions.
Respect Limits
Many of your employees might not have been around when the pallet shelving was put up in the first place and likely are not aware of any load limits in place. In fact, you might have bought the warehouse from another business owner and not paid attention to limits either. Most shelving should have small plaques which indicate how much weight it can bear. If not, contacting a local retailer should give you some idea of what limits should be in place. Putting more weight on the shelves than indicated could lead to buckling, cracking, or bending of the shelves, which could make them more likely to fail.
Make Room for Machines
The forklifts and other machines that need to navigate around the space in your company's warehouse also need to be able to fit easily between pallet shelves. If you ever find that you've got a need for additional shelves and want to space them together closely so that you can fit more of them, remember that the machines need to be able to get in there without hitting the shelving. Bangs and dings from the machines can lead to problems. For instance, if you have steel shelves, they can become corroded and that can make the entire structure less stable. Be sure that forklifts and other machines will have no problem negotiating the space between your shelves by making markings on the floor beforehand. That way, the people erecting the new shelves will understand how much space is needed.
Buy Post Protectors and Use Double Columns
To stop machines from banging into the shelves and damaging them, you can invest in a number of post protectors that can be attached to each of the shelves on the floor level. The machines might hit the protectors, but they won't be able to touch the shelves themselves. Double columns on the lowest shelves can also help.
Ensuring that the shelving is in good condition periodically is a good way to avoid trouble. Speaking more with local shelving retailers like U.S. Lift & Warehouse Equipment Inc and fabricators can give you more guidance.