There’s a lot of reasons you may need to move pallet racking. Maybe your business is moving and the pallet racking needs to be relocated to your new premises. Maybe the layout of your warehouse is changing and the pallet racking needs to be moved. Maybe you’re getting more pallet racking; you want to continue to use the old pallet racking, but now in the location it’s currently in.
Whatever your reason for moving pallet racking, there are a few considerations to be made before undertaking the project. Although it’s not complicated to relocated pallet racking, it’s not a matter of just reassembling it somewhere else and considering the job done.
Relocated Pallet Racking Is Considered A New Installation
Even if a warehouse’s pallet racking has been in the same place for years and is only move a couple metres, it’s still considered a new installation. This means its prior certifications are no longer valid.
What this means is that now only does the relocated pallet racking need to be professionally certified again, it also needs to adhere to new Australian Standards. Because of this, we always suggest to clients that they use professional pallet racking installers, even if they’re just moving their pallet racking a short distance.
While this may seem strange and even unnecessary, consider what can happen when pallet racking is moved.
First of all, the pallet racking needs to be disassembled. The pallet racking then has to be moved and reassembled, with new attachments made to the ground. At its most basic, there’s no guarantee that any of this was done correctly, so it’s important that the newly assembled pallet racking is re-certified for safety. Going further, it’s also possible that the pallet racking was damaged during the take down process or during transportation. Again, it’s important it’s assesses for safety.
This is why it’s important that professionals take apart the pallet racking and put it back together again. Not only are you ensured that it will get certified, but if anything goes wrong it can be rectified at the installer’s expense.
As mentioned, the re-assembled pallet racking also needs to conform to the more recent Australian Standard, AS4084:23. Although some pallet racking installed prior to the new standard only needs to adhere to the older standard (AS4084:12), the standard specifies that anything newly erected needs to conform to the new standard. Since the racking was taken down, putting it back up, even a couple of metres away, means it’s newly erected pallet racking.
This rule is designed to balance safety, practicality, and fairness. While we don’t know what future regulations will hold, for now the Standard says that most pallet racking installed prior AS4084:23 taking effect only needs to conform to the old standard. However, there needs to be a point where pallet racking needs to conform to the newer standard, and that’s when it’s assembled. That’s why relocated pallet racking needs to be built for the new standard.
The good news is that in many cases, there’s not much that needs to be done for the relocated pallet racking to adhere to AS4084:23. In cases where the pallet racking being moved won’t adhere to AS4084:23, a professional pallet racking company like Colby Dandenong can advise you on what needs to be done for it to meet the standard. The goal for us and how we work with clients is to ensure they don’t need to buy all new pallet racking, and instead find innovative solutions to make their older pallet racking work, while also being safe for workers.
Speak To Us Before You Move Your Pallet Racking
Although there are a number of solutions to make sure that pallet racking is moved safely, certified, and meets AS4084:23, it’s always best to leave it to professionals. Professionals, like us here at Colby Dandenong, know the pallet racking regulations and can make sure the project is done quickly and without any fuss.
If you try to move pallet racking yourself, you risk that it’s not able to be certified. This may mean that the pallet racking needs to be re-assembled or repaired, costing more time and money. Just get it right the first time.
