A lot of warehouse managers tend to consider their pallet racks to be a ‘set-it-and-forget-it’ kind of shelving solution; set up some racks, make sure everything is bolted correctly, and you’re good to go, right?

While this is a tempting way of thinking, considering your pallet racks to be a one-time finished product can cause bigger problems down the road. Modifications can always be made to your pallet racks to make them more useful, more practical, and safer for your workers, and taking a second look at your pallet racks and doing a little extra work as the storage needs of your office change can do a lot of good for everyone you work with and everything you store. Here’s a few of the more common pallet rack modifications and repair tips, and what they can do for you:

Safety panels

Safety panels are a feature that should be considered for every pallet rack in every warehouse, no matter what you store. Pallet rack safety panels are designed to allow easy access to any products stored on a pallet rack while still adding an extra layer of security to protect your workers and inventory from falls, damage, or worse. They’re compatible with most types of pallet rack and can provide a great long-term strategy to reduce item shrink and provide a more productive, safe workplace for your staff.

Labels

Strange as it sounds, we’ve seen more than our fair share of unlabeled pallet racks. Granted, there’s usually other ways to know what products are stored on what rack, but keeping your pallet racks properly (and visibly) labeled can save a lot of time when your workers need to locate product, or put something away. Use pallet rack label holders to hold onto these labels or barcodes to keep them right up front where they’ll be the most help.

Correct decking

Most pallet racks we see tend to stick with the decking they were shipped with – after all, if everything sits safely, why fix it if it isn’t broke, right? There are, however, many different kinds of pallet rack decking, and knowing the differences can help you find the best storage solution for your inventory. Commonly seen types include pallet rack wire decking to enhance visibility and improve sprinkler effectiveness, pallet rack steel decking to improve durability and weight loads, and more.

Post protectors

No matter how careful your workers are, accidents can happen, and a common source of accident and collision is when forklifts and other equipment bump into the posts around a pallet rack. Repeated collisions with the posts on a pallet rack can begin to reduce the effectiveness of your racks and create a safety hazard for your workers. Use pallet rack post protectors to reduce the risk of damage to your pallet racks and prevent injury and/or the need for replacement.

Got any other tips for making your pallet racks work harder for you? Leave a comment below!