It's bound to happen one way or another. No matter how many safety protocols you have in place, it's only a matter of time before a fork truck butts heads with your pallet rack, crumpling an upright column to leave whole stacks of inventory hanging precariously over your workers' heads. No matter what protocol was broken for this to happen, you better have another one ready for what happens next. When your pallet rack is damaged, you need to make sure you take the right steps to keep workers safe and fix your rack before using it again.
Stop the Blame Game
As much as anyone should be held accountable for their actions, damaged pallet rack is one scenario in which you need to be forgiving. Make it a policy, and remind workers again and again, that no one will be punished for reporting an accident. You should be focused on fixing the problem at hand rather than fighting to make someone fess up to the crime. And remember, accidents happen. Your workers aren't deliberately damaging your rack.
Cordon the Danger Zone
Cone off the area where the pallet rack is damaged so that no one goes near it. The damage probably occurred during a shift while your workers are busy, and some may need to get close to the area. Work fast to get this are blocked off and tell your workers where the damage has occurred. As for the section of rack itself, you want to make sure it's free of any load before taping that up.
Unload Your Burdens
Take care to unload the affected pallet rack from top to bottom so that you're decreasing the weight and lowering its center of gravity as you go. Once you've safely removed all of the inventory stored on the damaged rack, tape it up and keep the area coned off until you're able to get someone to remove and replaced the damaged rack.
Contact the Experts
If the rack is only in need of a repair, you may not need to completely remove the damaged parts, or to unload everything in the area. For damaged upright columns, pallet rack replacement kits may be the only answer you need. In that case, the pallet rack replacement pros at Speedrack Midwest are able to salvage the rest of your uprights by replacing the damaged section. While this still requires that inventory be unloaded above the damaged rack, it doesn't mean the entire upright has to go. Instead, we're able to hold up the rack while we install the kit below. In instances of more severe damage, we're able to replace full uprights, too.
If you're in need of pallet rack repair kits or you have damaged rack throughout your warehouse that has been ignored long enough, contact Speedrack Midwest at their Sparta, Michigan office by calling 616-887-8886 or contacting us online. We're dedicated to helping you maintain a safe work environment around your pallet rack so that you can get things done without worrying about the safety of your workers.