Once you have selected the perfect pallet racking solution for your site and for your needs, it is time to get started with installation. Here is our practical guide to making sure that your pallet racking is installed safely and securely.
Read the instructions
Maybe you are an old pro when it comes to assembling things – you might even have put together pallet racking before. That experience you have can actually be a bad thing, as you can be tempted to do things out of order, take short cuts or disregard the instructions altogether. Make sure that you read, understand and follow all of the instructions that came with your new pallet racking system – remember, it’s not just about getting shelves into position, it’s about making sure that the environment is as safe as can be for your employees.
Prepare your space
You presumably measured up where your racking would be going before you purchased it. Now is the time to prepare the area more fully – clear everything out from where the racking will be installed, and make sure that you have enough space available to conduct the actual build.
Use levellers
Levellers, or levelling plates, are essential if there are any deviations in your floor surface. This is crucial to making sure that your racking is perfectly stable – the smallest bump, divot or incline at the base level can be exaggerated when you get to the top of your racking, and you could end up with toppling goods or other safety hazards.
Install your uprights
These are the posts that will support the frame, and will need to be bolted to the ground to ensure that they do not move around when operations resume. Follow your instructions and make sure that you have measured everything at least twice, or you could end up having to remove an upright and start again.
Frames, beams, shelves
Once your uprights are in place, you can start to build the frame. Connect the beams (these are the horizontal parts that connect your uprights) and once you have everything in place and secured, you can put your shelves into position.
Warnings
Once you have built your pallet racking and it is all safely installed and secured, be sure to post warnings along the length that clearly outline the maximum weight capacity that both an individual shelf/level, and the overall unit, can support. These need to be at a height that is easily seen by any loaders/unloaders, so mistakes aren’t made.
Other considerations
If you are using back-to-back racking, you can make sure that they are evenly spaced and provide support to each other with rack spacers. These are installed between your racks, keeping them at an even, fixed distance from each other all along the length.
Finally, consider installing barriers at the corners/end of your racking – these will provide a physical shield against impacts from forklift trucks, pallets in motion, pallet trucks and other possible accidents.
