Each year, companies spend about $38,000 on average to pay for worker injuries. Storing warehouse pallets the wrong way causes some of these injuries.
Are you concerned about your current warehouse storage setup? With a few tips for storing and sorting pallets, you can easily improve warehouse safety.
The following guide will explore many pallet safety practices to help keep your employees safe. Read on to prevent your warehouse inventory from becoming a hazard.
Table of Contents
Quality of Warehouse Pallets
First, create an inbound pallet policy for your facility to follow. Enforcing the policy can prevent different safety problems connected to the condition of your pallets.
For example, some companies have a policy that requires inbound pallets to have an A grade. They might also require 48×40” pallet dimensions for their products to sit on.
Other companies might need pallets certified for the chemical industry for shipments to different partners. Make sure to enforce any policy consistently and find a good pallet rack manufacturer for a way to store them.
Identify Damage Pallets
Make sure that you never try to reuse damaged pallets to save money. If they cause an injury, you’ll end up spending much more money anyway.
If a pallet gets pulled because of damage, you might still have a chance to repair it. Sometimes you can reuse portions of multiple damaged pallets to form a new pallet.
Always keep your damaged pallets and empty pallets separated so they don’t get mixed together. If they’re organized together you might risk reusing a damaged pallet for future products.
Reduce Clutter
You want to maximize space in your warehouse so never leave pallets and debris sitting in walkways. Keep your pedestrian walkways clear so that you don’t create workplace hazards for your employees.
It might seem convenient to move pallets to a walkway for a few moments, but an employee might trip and fall in that time. You should keep the entire warehouse floor clear of pallets to prevent pests and fire hazards as well.
Personal Protective Equipment
Supply your employees with gloves and shoes that make handling pallets safer. It’s an easy way to limit risks around pallets and prevent common injuries.
The gloves help protect your employees from cuts and punctures caused by the pallets. If a pallet falls, protective footwear protects your employees’ feet. They also protect feet from stepping on pallets with exposed nails protruding out.
Prioritize Stability
Never lean your pallets against walls or polls even if it seems convenient at the time. Leaning pallets makes them unstable and they might fall and injure the lower body of an employee.
Also, make sure to stack empty pallets so that they’re stable and tiered correctly. Use your best judgment and don’t try to stack them too high just to save space.
Safely Storing Warehouse Pallets
Now you know several important rules to follow so that your warehouse pallets get stored safely. Always inspect your pallets for damage and stability. Never leave your pallets in walkways and invest in PPE gear for your warehouse employees.
Take a look at our site’s business section for more helpful tips to keep employees safe and your expenses low.