Safety of staff is paramount so it’s important to consider what safety systems you have in place when it comes to warehouse and workplace safety surrounding your racking and storage systems. With this in mind, we have developed a wide range of racking protection products so to ensure your business can complying with the SEMA code of practice. It is essential to have racking protection in place in order to avoid potential rack collapse and to ensure the safety of your staff. ​  

What is rack protection?

Warehouse racking system protection consists of products used to prevent damage being caused to pallet racking systems. Racking protection is necessary in environments where lifting machinery such as forklift trucks, reach trucks and electric stackers are used. Having rack protection physically stops the machinery causing damage to your racking but most importantly, provides a safe working environment for your employees. In addition to rack collapse being caused by lack of, or too little, racking protection, it is important to recognise two other main causes; poor rack design and bad installation. To ensure your racking is safe. All our pallet racking is of the highest quality, and for peace of mind Rapid Racking offer annual Rack Inspections – call us on 01285 686868 for more details.

Why should I use racking protection?

In addition to staff safety, one main advantage Racking protection has to offer is far fewer damages to framework. The collapse of a Pallet racking section can pose severe threat to personal injury and compromise your business. “Racking protection, although not necessary, is a wise investment. In the long run, it’ll save you time and money which would otherwise be spent on costly repairs or replacements.

What are the different types of racking protection?

Our racking protection is suitable for all systems, drive in racking, carton flow storage, cantilever and vertical storage racks. We recognise different racking systems require individual racking protection. With this in mind, we have developed a wide selection of racking protection products to help you comply with health and safety best practice guidelines. Each product fulfils a different role, from essential pot protectors that are required at the end of pallet racking runs, to frame protectors that provide full width protection of your pallet racking frames where forklift are turning. It is essential these racking protection products are in place in order to avoid potential rack collapse.

Warning, cordoning off, guiding: where should signs and stickers be affixed?

An often neglected element of an effective health and safety system is sufficient racking labelling or signage. Not only can racking identification enhance your picking efficiencies, general warehouse signage can help to guide pedestrian and vehicle traffic around your workplace safely, and most importantly, keep your staff members and customers safe.

Racking labels and label holders are perfect for efficient picking and identification and are available with a self-adhesive of magnetic backing. Alternatively, magnetic letters and numbers are suitable for steel surfaces, such as racking beams, so when your inventory changes, they can too. Where should the signs and stickers be affixed? Everywhere that customers, employees or visitors might stray from the safe path, or to direct them to a specific area or product quickly. Not only will this improve safety of your staff and customers but this is will also improve productivity in your warehouse.

For safety, weight loading notices are crucial when using a pallet racking or shelving system in your warehouse as it indicates the maximum shelf capacity and loading safety of each rack.

Steel V’s reinforced plastic protection.

You may also be debating whether to choose steel or reinforced plastic protection, so here are the key differences to consider when making your choice.

•Plastic guards are made of Injection Moulded High Impact Polyethylene (HDPE), the alternative is fabricated steel.

•HDPE can absorb the energy from every day knocks and bumps, meaning the protection product will convert to it’s original shape upon impact.

•Unlike steel guards, when impacted by force HDPE won’t transfer impact hits to the concrete floor – therefore, stress won’t be placed on floor anchors and the floor will remain undamaged.

•With high impact collision the crumple zones with HDPE protection products will absorb the energy, reducing damage to the rack uprights (whereas steel has limited crumple capabilities, usually resulting in the floor damage mentioned above, and serious damage to the rack upright)

•Installation time is usually quicker with HDPE, whereas steel is often time consuming and requires bolting/drilling to the floor.

•With protect – it guards, they’re easy to unclip (or slide off) to facilitate rack inspections. In comparison, steel guards cannot be easily removed making a rack inspection more difficult.

We help thousands of business every month with various objectives and we have the experience and knowledge to provide you with the best solution.

We strongly recommend you carry out routine rack maintenance checks, in order to comply with legislation, and to hold an indexed audit trail. Good-To-Go safety systems allow you to self-assess each rack in your warehouse and display a visible status of condition to operatives (‘safe’ or ‘‘do not use’). For faulty racks, the safety system indicates the recommended actions to take in accordance with SEMA recommendations.

Talk to our storage experts today on 01285 686868 for help and advice on selecting the right rack protection for you or visit Racking Protection & Identification Labels – Rapid Racking for our wide range of racking protection products.