When investing in a new pallet racking system for a warehouse, it can be tempting to skip additions like pallet racking protection. Is it really needed or is pallet racking protection just an add on to warehouse equipment?
We here at Colby Dandenong always recommend our clients purchase pallet racking protection. Although pallet racking can be a large purchase for a lot of industrial businesses, the expense of the pallet racking is the reason why we encourage all of our clients to get protection as well. At the end of the day, pallet racking protection works, it protects that expensive investment and makes it last longer.
If you’re still not sure about whether pallet racking protection is the right way to go, let’s explore in depth why we always tell clients to get pallet racking protection.
Pallet Racking Protection Lessens Damage To Pallet Racking
The whole point of pallet racking protection is to minimise any damage to the pallet racking itself. This is something most readers will already know! We want to reinforce this though, because many warehouse managers and owners underestimate how prone their pallet racking is to accidental damage.
Most damage to pallet racking comes from forklifts. In any warehouse environment, it’s inevitable that a forklift will, at some point, run into pallet racking. If it’s not the forklift backing into the racking, it’s the fork hitting the racking when turning. It’s also not uncommon for a pallet to slide across the floor and hit pallet racking. Depending on what’s being stored in the warehouse, goods being dropped or moved can also cause damage to pallet racking.
Basically speaking, there are a lot of ways pallet racking and something else can collide together.
And that’s why pallet racking protection is important. When a collision inevitably happens, it will be the pallet racking protection taking the damage, not an important structural component of the pallet racking. From there, the pallet racking protection may have some damage, but that can be replaced quickly and relatively cheaply.
In this way, pallet racking protection is actually able to help warehouse based businesses save money. If something on the pallet racking is going to be hit and damaged, it’s probably better that it’s something that’s inexpensive to buy and easy to replace. Since it’s just the protection that’s usually damaged, it also means that the pallet racking is still safe to use while the repair is happening, rather than having to unload the racking and not use it until fixed.
It’s Also An Important Safety Issue
While a lot of pallet racking damage may only lead to pallet racking being at risk of collapse, a larger collision could have pallet racking collapsing almost immediately. At a minimum, a sudden collapse like this would likely cause multiple injuries. At a maximum there could be multiple deaths.
So beyond preventing small amounts of pallet racking damage that will likely need to be fixed at your next pallet racking inspection, pallet racking protection is also there to prevent larger disasters. These larger accidents don’t happen very often, but that’s because there are safety mechanisms in place to prevent them, and pallet racking protection is one of those safety mechanisms.
Get Your Pallet Racking, And Its Protection, Professionally Installed
Pallet racking is a big investment for a lot of businesses, that’s why we always suggest professional pallet racking installation and pallet racking protection. For any business that’s going to invest the money into high quality pallet racking also needs to invest the money in prolonging its life for as long as possible. It’s also important that any business with a commitment to safety recognises that pallet racking protection isn’t just there to protect the pallet racking, but also the people that work in the warehouse.
If you’re installing pallet racking into your new warehouse, speak to us. We’d be happy to help select the best pallet racking protection for your system.
