Poorly chosen pallets can compromise safety in the
warehouse and lead to unnecessary costs, says Jim
Hardisty
In the UK materials handling and
logistics sector, there is an average
of 43 injuries per week, 11 of themPoorly chosen pallets can compromise safety in the
warehouse and lead to unnecessary costs, says Jim
Hardisty
In the UK materials handling and
logistics sector, there is an average
of 43 injuries per week, 11 of them
serious. There are lots of safety hazards
employees need to be aware of in the
warehouse - handling and storing
pallets being one of them.
Despite all the time and huge financial
investment that goes into selecting the
safest and most efficient racking,
computer systems and handling
equipment to run a successful logistics
operation, some companies are
compromising all their effort by using
second-hand wooden pallets.
These second-hand wooden pallets,
which are likely to have been used several
times before, could be carrying any
number of contaminants. But,
contamination aside, how can you be sure
that your second-hand wooden pallet is
capable of bearing the weight of your
goods? We believe you can't.
Spare a thought for pallet
selection
If you ask a technical operative in any
modern warehouse what the capacity of
the racking system is, he'll be able to
define it based on the position of the
pallet, the span of the beams and the
drive-in bays; he'll know that the beams
are designed to support a specific number
of kilograms on so many pallets per bay,
and that the end supports have been
bolted down using a particular bolt with a
defined length and thread. Ask the same
technical operative what the capacity of
the wooden pallet being used on the
racking system is, and he won't be able to
tell you as, whether new or reused,
wooden pallets do not have guaranteed
loading capacities.
The reason for this is that the strength
of timber varies. Make 100 wooden
pallets one month and test them and
they might all have the same loading
capacity, but make another 100 pallets a
few months later and there is
no telling how the
capacity of
these pallets
might differ.
Know your pallet loading
capacities
Choosing pallets that have stated loading
capacities, like plastic pallets, not only
offers companies the reassurance that
their products are being stored and
handled in the safest possible way, but can
also avoid costly incidents.
A major UK supermarket chain
recently trialled plastic pallets in their
automated storage system after a wooden
pallet racked 10-racks high broke causing
a pyramid effect that destroyed a huge
volume of product and cost £2.5m to
resolve. Thankfully, no one was injured
but, had staff been present in the
warehouse at the time, the incident could
have been life-threatening.
Pallet safety
The Health & Safety Executive's Guide to
Health and Safety in Warehousing and
Storage (HSG76) was written to help
reduce injuries and ill health in
warehouses in order to achieve the
Government's injury reduction targets for
UK workplaces. In defining the safe use of
pallets, the guide states:
"Flat timber pallets form an essential
part of many mechanical handling systems
in warehouses. Accidents directly
attributable to these type of pallets usually
arise from six main sources: poor design;
poor construction; the use of a pallet which
is unsuitable for a particular load; the
continued use of a damaged pallet; bad
handling; or the use of a pallet which is
unsuitable for a particular racking system."
By using plastic pallets, companies can
eliminate virtually all of these safety
hazards. Firstly, they are moulded under
extreme pressure which produces a high
quality product and ensures the consistent
dimensional accuracy and loading
capacity of each plastic pallet -
particularly beneficial in automated
systems, as they won't twist or get stuck.
Secondly, plastic pallets have three
stated loading capacities - static, dynamic
and racking. These capacities help
operatives choose the right plastic pallet
for a particular load so there is little risk
of getting it wrong, unlike with wooden
pallets.
Thirdly, plastic pallets are strong and
durable and less vulnerable to damage
than wooden pallets. In fact a standard
plastic pallet has a lifespan of up to ten
years, offering an excellent return on
investment. Once a plastic pallet reaches
the end of its working life, the plastic still
lives on, as the pallet can be recycled and
the plastic can be reground to produce
new plastic products.
Finally, as plastic pallets have no nails,
sharp edges or splinters and there is no
risk of loose component parts breaking
free under manual lifting conditions, they
are far less likely to damage product
packaging or cause injury to operatives.
Jim Hardisty is the managing director of
Goplasticpallets.com
