Wooden pallets may seem harmless enough, but if not handled
correctly they can cause goods to become damaged or people to become injured. Here are our top tips on using wooden pallets
safely:
1. Ensure your pallets are constructed
correctly
It may sound obvious, but a poorly constructed pallet can
cause a fair amount of damage – just imagine a forklift truck loaded up with a
large consignment, only for the bottle of the wooden pallet to fall out due to
shoddy workmanship. The goods could fall
onto the floor and become unfit for use, causing unnecessary waste and expense.
2. Avoid stacking the pallets too high
Pallets will have an optimum number to which they can be
stacked – and if you go over this then you stand a good chance of causing the
stack to topple over. Whilst pallets
have been designed to stack easily so as to reduce the amount of floor space
needed to store them, take care not to stack the pile too high.
3. Don’t stack different types of pallets
together
European and UK pallets are not the same size, so avoid
stacking them in the same pile. Instead,
separate the different types of pallets so that they stack evenly and safely.
4. Maintain your pallets
Wooden pallets take a lot of knocking about from fork lift
trucks when being moved from warehouse to lorries to ferries. They are therefore at risk from being damaged
or broken – but provided they are checked on a regular basis, most pallets can
be repaired fairly easily meaning they can be re-used time after time. Inspect each
pallet carefully to look for cracks in the wood or any nails showing and repair
appropriately.
5. Be aware of weight limits
Most pallets will have a maximum weight which they can bear –
if you place goods on the pallet which exceeds this weight then be prepared for
the pallets to break! Pallets have a
weight limit to ensure safety so it is important these rules are followed
closely.
If you need bespoke wooden pallets for your organisation or
if you need any additional advice regarding using wooden pallets, feel free to
visit the Nicklin website.
