Pallet Rack and Installation Secrets…

Pallet rack safety should be a major concern for facility managers.  Damage and abuse happens daily in many facilities and safety inspection should be a priority.  When inspecting pallet rack, it is easy to see visible damage from pallets and forklifts but beam deflection is often over looked.

Beam deflection is when the beam is over loaded and is stressed from the load.  When this happens it is pretty easy to detect.  The beam will literally smile at you.  Happy beams are not good when it comes to pallet rack.

For safety concerns look for smiling beams when inspecting your pallet rack or storage system.  Reduce the stress on the beam by removing some of the weight.

During the installation of Pallet Rack and other storage systems, anchors need to be installed to keep the pallet rack stable and sound.  When anchoring the rack we:

1. Drill the hole
2. Vacuum the dust from hole
3. Hammer anchor into hole
4. Tighten nut on the wedge anchor

Sounds simple, and it is for the most part but after we have drilled several holes the bit dulls down and the holes are just a little bit smaller.  The wedge anchors are hard to pound down or may even get stuck, not achieving the optimal penetration into the concrete.  If this happens, rest the tip of the bit on the top of the wedge anchor; the roto hammer will hammer the anchor into the concrete. 

Here is a tip if you try this:

• Make sure that the nut is spun down a little on the anchor.  You don’t want to mess up the threads on the anchor.

Look for more tips on installing pallet rack in a later post.

The other day I went with a co-worker on an inspection.  We looked at pallet rack that is exposed directly and indirectly to the elements of weather.  We were looking for corrosion or decay in the form of rust.  The rack we were looking at was not galvanized, just painted.  To no ones surprise we found rust on the footplates and lower part of the upright.  We also find rust forming and corroding the beams.

  Pallet rack that is stored outside for just a short time will start to corrode.  On many installation jobs in the past, we would store the material outside until needed.  As we need more rack and beams we would bring it in.  On jobs where the weather was rainy we would find water collecting inside the beams.  This water penetrated the beams at the seams or where the beams were welded to the bracket.  When we would pick up a beam, water would drip or run out of the beam.  The problem was that the water was rusty, very rusty. 

We need to remember that the inside of the beam is not painted and most likely not coated with and corrosion prohibitors.  In the picture above we can clearly see rust and corrosion forming on the outside but what about the inside.  Rust and corrosion is a hidden danger.  If corrosion forms inside of a beam it goes undetected until the beam fails.  If a beam fails it is too late.

If you need storage outside or in the elements, the best thing to use is galvanized pallet rack or cantilever.  It may cost a little more but it will cut the corrosion liability.  Rust and corrosion in ordinary pallet rack and cantilever brings a whole new perspective on buying used pallet rack, especially if it is stored outside.