Is it
necessary to add end of aisle rack protection to help protect your pallet rack
in your warehouse? You bet it is!! Most rack uprights are damaged
at the end of aisles. Why? Because you have forklifts making turns
and coming in and out of the rack rows at different angles making these high traffic
areas and more likely to be hit by the forklift. Also the entire frame of the upright is exposed at the end of the row including the front and back column and the horizontal and diagonal bracing.
There are different
forms of end of aisle rack protection on the market and most of these work
well. Any protection is better than no protection.
After many years of
looking at and replacing damaged pallet rack, I think I have come up with a
very simple yet effective end of aisle pallet rack protection system. In
the majority of damaged uprights we have replaced over the years it seems most
of the damage occurs 12" down at the bottom of the upright. This
usually is a case of the counterweight of the forklift hitting the upright.
The counterweight sticks out the most at the bottom of the forklift and
when the operator turns or backs up that is usually what hits the upright
frame. Also I have seen forks or pallets hit the uprights and cause
damage. Therefore I designed a fairly standard post protector with some unique features.
12" high, 18" high & 24" high are standard stock models.
The post protectors are the style that have a base plate that we anchor
to the concrete in front and around the upright column. The plate will
accept (4) 1/2" x 3.75" long anchors. We use a longer footplate
on the post protector to help disperse the impact on the concrete anchors.
Once the post protectors and anchored in place we use a C4 channel
structural beam mounted between the post protectors. One bolt holds the
structural beam (we call it a Rack End Rub Rail) on each end that you impact
directly to the post protectors. We have bolt holes on the post protector
on each side to accept the rack end rub rail no matter if it is left hand or
right hand side. This creates a solid end protection of the entire
exposed side of the upright frame from being hit by the forklift. We can
do the rack end rub rail in 42", 48", and 96" as standards but
we can make it to any dimension needed.
96" end of aisle rack protection rack end rub rail.
This makes the end of your
uprights less likely to be damaged by a forklift hit.
Our system is quick,
easy, effective, and less expensive than most other end of aisle pallet rack
protection systems. As always I am available for questions or design to
help protector your rack investment. www.pstrouth.com
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