The Safety Benefits of Pallet Rack Post Protectors

Forklifts can weigh several tons and travel at speeds of up to 18 miles an hour, so if one collides with pallet racking, the damage caused could be devastating.

Impact damage is one of the main causes of racking collapses. Mistakes can happen in every work environment. Pallet racking upright protectors make your pallet racks less likely to collapse and help your employees and business safe from injury and damage.

For a rundown on why you need pallet rack post protectors, keep reading.

What Are Pallet Racking Protectors?

Warehouse racking is sturdy and durable, but impacts can cause a lot of damage, potentially causing the racking to collapse. You can choose all kinds of different ways to set up your pallet racking, but pallet rack post protectors should always be used. 

Here are the three main types of protectors:

• Rack end protectors are ideal for protecting racking from forklifts and other vehicles
• Column guards provide increased support to the racking, reducing the damage from impacts
• Support bars help evenly distribute the load from each warehouse pallet and give the racking more stability.

Risk of Pallet Racks Collapsing

High quality construction of pallet rack shelving is incredibly important. Whatever pallet racking you choose to use should meet all necessary quality and safety standards, both in its construction and the materials used.

Before building any racking ensure the surface it's placed on is level. If it's not, the racking will be unbalanced and the risk of collapse increases.

Even if racking is constructed well, there's still a risk of collapse from vehicle impact. If your business has pallet racking, it almost certainly has one or more forklifts.

While any forklift operator should be fully qualified, mistakes do happen. If a driver makes a misjudgment and collides with the racking it could bring it all down.

Why Do You Need Racking Protectors?

It's obvious that you wouldn't want your pallet racking to collapse, but there is one reason to prevent this that trumps the others: safety.

Pallet racking is generally tall, heavy, and holds a lot of materials, so you want to keep the risk of a collapse to an absolute minimum. It's worth bearing in mind that in most environments these racks are quite close to each other. This means that if one rack comes down the rest may come with it.

The weight of the racking and materials will undoubtedly cause a lot of damage, but more importantly, poses a huge safety risk. Anyone in the vicinity of falling racking is at great risk of serious, and potentially fatal, injury.

Various types of forklifts are available, but typically they are powerful and heavy, so it doesn't take much for them to cause damage. Pallet rack post protectors can be deliberately placed in certain locations to stop any potential impacts and protect the racking.

When selecting pallet rack upright guards, you get what you pay for. Typically, pallet rack post protectors are offered in steel or plastic. Plastic post protectors may cost less, but end up being fragile overtime and do not provide superior protection compared to steel protectors.

There are many different designs and names such as pallet rack post protectors, upright, frame, and column guards.  They are often coated in highly visible yellow to help make people more aware of their presence. This relates to OSHA 1910.144(a)(3) - Safety color code for marking physical hazards 

Finding Pallet Rack Upright Protectors

All elements of your pallet racks must be as safe as possible. Proper assembly, signage, and racking protection are key to maintaining a safe working environment.

SaveMH is dedicated to supplying high-quality storage and material handling equipment with a focus on pallet safety. Contact SaveMH today if you have any questions about what we offer.