Preventing Falling Pallets in Warehouses and Factories

Falling pallets can be a major hazard in warehouses and factories, causing injuries and damage to equipment and inventory. In fact, a study found that pallet-related accidents account for a significant percentage of workplace injuries.

Improper pallet stacking is a common cause of falling pallets. According to the article, most pallet-related accidents occur when pallets are stacked more than three high. This is because the weight and instability of the top pallet can cause the entire stack to come crashing down.

Regular inspections can help prevent falling pallets. By checking pallets for damage and wear, warehouse and factory workers can identify potential hazards before they become major problems.

Consider reading: Pallet Truck En Español

Five different types of rack accessories can reduce the risk of falling pallets or merchandise, including rack enclosures, barriers or netting, and proper load containment techniques.

Rack enclosures are a smart warehouse safety tool that can protect your employees from injury or death from falling pallets and inventory. They maximize storage space, prevent product loss, and provide safer storage.

To prevent loose products from sliding, overturning, or toppling off a rack, use frame accessories like flexible woven netting or rigid steel mesh barriers attached to the rack frame or beams.

Proper load containment techniques, such as stretch-wrapping, shrink-wrapping, banding, or integral-box pallets, can significantly reduce the risk of an item falling from overhead when stored vertically in racking.

In high seismic areas, wrap loads so that a forklift can tilt the pallet to 20 degrees without any product falling off.

Rack enclosures can help prevent product loss, including damage and theft, which can benefit your business financially by reducing product shrinkage.

Wire or net pallet rack enclosures create a safe environment for employees to work in, giving them the confidence they need to work efficiently around your product.

Incorrect stacking of items is a major reason why they fall off pallet racks. This can be due to poorly stacked items, which can lead to a domino effect and cause items to fall.

Collisions with order pickers or forklifts can also cause items to fall off pallet racks. This is a common issue in warehouses where heavy machinery is used.

Old or broken pallets can also contribute to falling items. They may not be stable or secure, making it easy for items to fall off.

Seismic activity can also cause items to fall off pallet racks. This is a rare but possible occurrence.

Mistakes, whether intentional or not, can also lead to items falling off pallet racks. This can include mistakes made during the stacking process or during the use of machinery.

Here are some common causes of falling items:

Items may fall off pallet racks due to incorrect stacking, which can lead to a domino effect of accidents and lost productivity.

Collisions with order pickers or forklifts are another common cause of pallet rack failures.

Old or broken pallets are a recipe for disaster, as they can't withstand the weight of the items on top.

Seismic activity can also cause pallet racks to fail, especially if they're not properly secured.

Mistakes, whether it's a simple error or a more complex issue, can lead to pallet rack failures.

Here are some of the most prominent causes of pallet rack failures:

A serious injury from a pallet stack can have devastating consequences for an individual and their family. The subdistrict court ruled that the employer was liable in a case where an employee was injured when a stack of pallets fell on them.

The employee's own expertise or fault does not relieve the employer of its duty of care. In fact, the employer's failure to instruct or prohibit employees from transporting pallets stacked was a breach of their duty of care.

A pallet stack can fall due to a pallet breaking, which is a breach of the employer's duty of care. The employer should have ensured that the materials used were sound and conducted quality control checks.

Even if the pallets fell over because the employee moved two pallets on top of each other at the same time, the employer failed in its duty of care. They should have clearly instructed their employees not to transport pallets stacked.

The employer's defence that "even a child can figure out that this is dangerous" fails. The subdistrict court ruled that this plea of own fault can only come into play if there is intent or conscious recklessness on the part of the employee, which was not the case.

The employee was awarded EUR 15,000 as an advance on the damages to be awarded eventually. This highlights the importance of prioritizing workplace safety and taking responsibility for employee well-being.

To prevent product falls, use rack accessories like flexible woven netting or rigid steel mesh barriers attached to the rack frame or beams. These barriers are particularly critical for racks near walking aisles, work areas, or in public warehouses.

Frame accessories can be made of netting or steel mesh and are designed to prevent loose products from sliding, overturning, or toppling off a rack. They provide a safe environment for employees to work around products.

Warehouse managers can maximize space, create an organizational flow, and protect employees by using a set of Do’s & Don’ts. Proper pallet rack accessories and training are essential to prevent stored items from falling on warehouse workers.

Warehouse racking is a critical aspect of warehouse management, and it's essential to have the right safety measures in place to prevent accidents. Proper pallet rack accessories can significantly reduce the risk of falling product, including flexible woven netting or rigid steel mesh barriers attached to the rack frame or beams.

Loose products can easily slide, overturn, or topple off a rack, which is why barriers or netting are particularly critical for racks located adjacent to walking aisles, loads stored over work areas or aisles, or in warehouse stores open to the public.

Applying products such as stretch-wrapping, shrink-wrapping, banding, or integral-box pallets to secure cartons or items on pallets will significantly reduce the risk of an item falling from overhead when stored vertically in racking. This technique is especially important in high seismic areas, where loads should be wrapped so that a forklift can tilt the pallet to 20 degrees without any product falling off.

Warehouse managers need to have a set of Do’s & Don’ts handy to maximize warehouse space, create an organizational flow, and protect the safety of the employees they are in charge of. Without proper pallet rack accessories and training on how to operate and use them properly, the chances of stored items falling down on a warehouse worker are increased.

Rack enclosures, also known as pallet rack enclosures, are panels that attach to the backs, ends, and tops of your racks. Optional doors on the front provide easy access to your inventory, and these enclosures are essential for protecting your employees from injury or death from falling pallets and inventory.

Placement Guides are a crucial safety measure to prevent pallet loads from falling off the sides of the rack during placement of the load into the storage system.

Use single or double side entry guides and skid channels to achieve this.

These guides and channels help to keep the pallet loads stable and secure, reducing the risk of accidents and damage.

By incorporating placement guides into your storage system, you can ensure a safe and efficient loading process.

Gaps in safety policies can be devastating.

GLBC's process of creating a bundle was found to be "inherently unstable" by WorkSafeBC.

The agency noted that the process was missing features such as straps around the bundle and slats on the pallets, which could have helped stabilize them.

A company-wide stacking policy was also missing.

GLBC had a hazard reporting system since 2012, but it was not consistently used.

Not all incidents of falling objects were being reported, and it was unclear to workers if they needed to notify the system.

Six documented incidents, including one where a fallen pallet "clipped" a forklift operator, occurred within three years prior to the worker's death in 2022.

A forklift hazard identification document was created just a month before the fatality, but it noted that verifying corrective actions were completed was not applicable to this risk.

Rack enclosures can be a smart warehouse safety tool.

They can help prevent product loss and protect employees from injury or death from falling pallets and inventory.