Eight Pallet Racking Mistakes to Avoid

An optimized pallet racking system is crucial to the efficiency of your warehouse. Here are eight common mistakes you need to avoid.

1. Poor design

Working with your supplier to design the right solution for your needs is key. The wrong design can tank your efficiency and having to rework the whole layout will cost you a lot of money.

2. Lack of foresight

Remember to factor expansion into your design. While you may be wary of spending money for space you won’t immediately use, it’ll be less expensive than having to find temporary storage while you upgrade your racking down the line.

3. Estimating your needs

Don’t select a racking system based on estimations. If you overestimate your load requirements, you’ll spend more money than you need to. If you underestimate it, you’ll put your employees and your merchandise at risk. Always get precise measurements.

4. Poor integration

While you don’t need to replace all of your equipment when you get new racks, make sure what you have now will work with the new system. If, for instance, your current forklifts can’t safely reach the top shelves of your new racking, you’ll need to replace them.

5. Overloading

Make sure load limits are clearly understood and that your staff is trained to respect them. Failing to do so could be disastrous.

6. Poor maintenance

Make sure you have a comprehensive maintenance and inspection plan in place. Employees should know how to spot issues and how to report them. This should be supplemented with regular inspections and prompt repairs. Even a small problem can cause serious structural issues and lead to much more expensive repairs down the line as well as jeopardize the safety of your workers.

7. Lack of protection

When forklifts and personnel carriers are zipping around narrow aisles and turning at busy intersections, collisions are very likely. Operator training only goes so far, and even experienced operators can’t anticipate every contingency. Making sure your racking is protected will reduce the likelihood of a collision causing a collapse.

8. Installing it yourself

Pallet racking and shelving installation should always be performed by experienced professionals. Remember that these systems need to support heavy loads, and that a failure could spell disaster, causing thousands of dollars in lost merchandise and damages, not to mention injuries.

In addition to a wide range of warehouse equipment, ARPAC provides racking installation and maintenance. We serve businesses all over the Vancouver area, so don’t hesitate to give us a call to find out more about our services.