In a warehouse environment, heavy pallets can be the cause of many injuries and even fatalities – because of this, it’s vital to ensure the right levels of pallet protection are in place.
Warehouses move heavy goods around on pallets on a regular basis and the presence of large moving vehicles, such as lorries and forklifts, within this environment is common. Injuries in the workplace can be catastrophic and life changing, not to mention costly, so it’s important to prevent accidents and collisions from occurring.
When it comes to pallet protection, warehouse managers and those in charge of workplace safety can help to maximise the safety of their workforce with a series of measures designed to protect staff against the injuries that come about from handling pallets in an unsafe manner.
Fully laden pallets can be extremely heavy, which is why they have the potential to cause such severe injury when they fall. Less serious injuries can also come from the wooden pallets when handled carelessly and they are caused to splinter or break.
Tips for pallet protection
Here are five essential tips for pallet protection that are useful to consider when handling pallets safely:
- Train staff correctly
- Don’t overload or stack unevenly
- Have a clean and clutter free factory
- Always wear protective equipment when handling pallets
- Install pallet protection barriers using Armco Barriers
When it comes to training staff correctly, here we’re talking about raising awareness of the dangers present and the potential for serious injury to occur when not handling pallets safely. Rules must be put in place surrounding the safe use of pallets and the forklifts which move around them – this will hopefully prevent accidents from happening in the first place. These rules must also cover the use of proper protective equipment which will minimise the injury caused.
It goes without saying that pallets must be stacked properly – properly stacked pallets are a lot less likely to fall, so again, rules should be in place surrounding this. Additionally, having a warehouse which is clear and clutter free will make it more apparent where the hazards are and allow for them to be avoided.
Installing pallet protection
There are additional ways to ensure pallet protection within a warehouse environment through the installation of heavy duty steel pallet protection barriers which will provide a simple, yet solid, highly visible, solution.
When these kinds of barriers are in place, they can prevent accidents caused by collision with a moving vehicle and stop the pallets and stock from being exposed to scuffs, scrapes, wear and tear. If pallets do fall, their presence will also help to ensure that workers will not be directly close by when they do. Learn more about pallet protection here.
Armco Barrier Calculator
At Armco Direct, our pallet protection barriers are galvanised to BS EN 1461 and made from 100% recyclable steel. They are constructed specifically to deflect wayward vehicles, staying firmly in place to protect the pallets that sit behind them.
Use our free Armco Barrier Calculator to get a calculation of your requirements for pallet protection. Or, for further information, get in touch with a member of the team.