place and can be easily dislodged,” she explains. “If you’re
mixing components, you need to make sure that the beam
from one manufacturer and the frame from another manufacturer fit together.”
3Don’t overload your racks. Loading more product onto a rack than it’s designed to handle could damage the structure and eventually lead to failure. According to
the RMI and the American National Standards Institute
(ANSI), all racks should display a
plaque showing the rated load capacity of the pallet rack or the maximum
weight it can carry.
DC managers should be particularly
careful when they change the types of
products stored on their racks or even
the type of pallets they use, as these
changes could lead to overloading,
warns Rogers.
4Train your workers in rack safety. “If you were to put in a rack system, load it up, go home, and
never use it, the rack would stand for-
ever,” says Raymond Weber, Eastern
regional manager at rack maker Steel
King. “However, as soon as your fork-
lift trucks start moving pallets in and
out and bumping into the rack, you
are creating more load in rack than the
structure was initially designed for.”
Rampaul-Essue recommends con-
ducting awareness training with employees who work in
the rack system to ensure they are using it properly and are
mindful of the load tolerances. The training should include
how to report any damage to the rack and emphasize how
important such reports are.
Properly training forklift drivers is particularly important, as the majority of rack damage is caused by forklifts
hitting or bumping the structure. In tandem with that
training, Weber recommends making sure your incentive
programs for forklift drivers are reasonable so that they’re
not rushing to hit their numbers, making accidents more
likely.
In addition, warehouse supervisors and/or safety staff
should be trained on how to conduct a proper rack inspection, says Rampaul-Essue.
5Conduct periodic rack inspections. MHI and other industry bodies recommend having an external party inspect a distribution center’s racking at least annually. This external party could be the rack manufacturer or
someone from a third-party inspection company.
Rampaul-Essue takes it a step further. In addition to
the external inspections, she suggests that facilities conduct internal inspections for rack misuse or damage on a
monthly or even weekly basis.
Inspectors should look not only for damage but also for
misuse such as overloading.
6Install “protective guarding” devices. There are many types of safety equipment that can be installed to protect the rack. Guarding and post protectors can
keep forklifts from directly hitting the rack. You can also
reinforce the rack by putting in double columns at the base.
Be careful when installing protective barriers, however, as
some of them can reduce aisle widths,
says Rampaul-Essue. Make sure that
your forklift trucks will still have room
to maneuver when the barriers are in
place.
7When a rack is damaged, have it checked out by a rack expert immediately. The RMI says that
all damaged racks must be repaired
or replaced. “Once a rack is damaged,
it may continue to stand, but that
doesn’t mean that it’s safe,” warns
Weber.
Rampaul-Essue agrees, noting that
rack may stand for years before one
slight bump sends the whole thing
tumbling down. Many manufacturers
will allow you to send them photos of
the damage and will then recommend
the best course of action or come out
to repair or replace the rack.
But rack owners shouldn’t be surprised if repair isn’t one of the options offered. Some manufacturers are wary of repair kits, unsure of how they will
perform in concert with their racking system. According to
Weber of Steel King, there are currently no industry-spec-ified guidelines or policies for rack repair beyond the suggestion by RMI that all repairs be overseen by a rack expert
or professional engineer. “Because of that, Steel King takes
the stance that any rack that is damaged must be replaced,”
he says.
GET PROFESSIONAL HELP
No matter what type of rack alteration you’re contemplating—repairing, replacing, moving, or simply adjusting a
rack—experts agree that it is crucial to consult with a rack
expert. But who should that be? Some advise always using
a professional engineer. Others say simply hiring a professional engineer isn’t enough—what you need is a specialist,
someone who is an expert in the type of racking you use.
“It’s similar to how you think about doctors,” says
Rogers. “If you’re dealing with a 10-foot selective rack,
there are a lot of people out there who can help you. But
if you have a 36-foot-tall dynamic storage system in a high
seismic zone, then you are going to need the equivalent of
a brain surgeon.”
