Forklift Safety Tip #11 Pallets Must Be Locked Into Racking
Far too many companies have pallets that aren’t locked onto the pallet racking.
What do I mean by locked on?
Basically, when a pallet sits in the rack, both outer boards of the pallet should be locked over the up writes of the racking. When a pallet is on properly, it has to be lifted up vertically until the outer boards of the pallet clear the racking before it can be taken out.
Both the racking and the pallets are designed to lock together so that even when a forklift bumps into the racking and it sways, the pallets can’t move or fall out. The problems come when operators don’t make sure that they’ve put the pallet on squarely and leave one end of the pallet not locked on. Usually, operators leave the highest and most awkward pallets not properly locked on, even though these are at the highest risk of falling out.
Take a quick look at the top level of your racking and I’ll bet you’ll find more than one that’s just waiting to fall out. Another large problem comes when companies use overseas and poor quality pallets that are different sizes to our Australian standard 1200mm by 1200mm pallets. You see, each overseas country has its own size pallet and racking and they don’t sit safely in ours.
Imported pallets (or skids) will be either too small to lock onto our Australian racking or will be flat on the bottom with no way of locking onto any racking. As soon as the racking is knocked or bumped, the imported pallets fall out.
The solution:
The racking has to be altered slightly to accommodate the different size pallets. There are various easy options available for securing odd sized pallets into your racking. If you’d like to discus which option is best for you, call the office or send me an email and we’ll get your pallets locked on ASAP.
For any assistance or for more information regarding this matter, feel free to call our office on 1300 799 112 or email me nathan@ausforklifttraining.com.au
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