An absorbing issue
February 1st 2009 Protecting racking uprights from potential impact is an operator's responsibility, but with many
options available what type of system gives the best results? e-racking thinks it has the answer...
Health and safety in the workplace has
never been as important as it is today,
and the warehouse is one particular area
where the risk of injury is high. Most warehouses
are home to fast moving forklifts, pedestrians and
heavy loads supported high on racking structures.
The HSE makes it clear that the operator has a
responsibility to protect racking uprights against
potential impacts from forklift trucks. The HSE
booklet 'Warehousing and Storage: a guide to
health and safety (HSG76)' states quite
categorically that all racking uprights that could
be hit with a forklift truck should be protected.
Available options
However, with so many options available, what is
the best way to provide this protection? Steel
column guards bolted to the floor have been a
traditional, if somewhat crude, method. Many
rack manufacturers assert that steel is the best
material to provide protection. However, it can be
argued that steel protectors are in the best
interest of the steel fabricators and not the end
user. Rather than absorbing impact, in some cases
steel transfers impact by permanently deforming
at the weakest point until it damages either the
bolts which attach it to the floor, or the concrete
floor to which it is attached. Furthermore, to give
adequate protection a reasonable gap needs to be
left between the protector and the racking
upright, encroaching into the aisle potentially
causing other hazards.
So, what are the alternatives to steel for this
application? There are various plastic, sponge or
rubber protectors on the market. It is sensible to
select a protector covered by test certificate from
a recognised standards body, for example the
Protect-it marketed by e-racking. Protect-it has
been tested against the FEM front and side
impact tests with uprights as thin as 1.6mm. The
test results can be seen at www.eyecatcher.
com.au/protect-it/6.shtml
Fit for building & mezzanine columns
In addition to the rack protector, there is also a
ProTect-it system designed to fit building and
mezzanine columns that are at risk from impact
damage. The design clips together to
accommodate most column sizes. Again, the
product has been well tested and a 2.7t forklift
hitting a 200mm x 2000mm column at 6km/hr is
reported to have caused no damage to the building
column. The protector is also very small, adding
only 150mm to the overall column size.
Furthermore, as the design uses minimum
material, the costs
are said to be low. More articles from E-Racking Ltd (Insolvent FEB 2010): | 
