It’s not a question of IF, it’s a matter of WHEN. Fork trucks are very heavy mobile objects with long pointy metal things sticking out in front. People drive them and people make mistakes. I equate navigating a warehouse to driving a car because there are many similarities. You have a lane (aisle) and you are supposed to stay in it. You park in a slot (pallet location) and you perform K-Turns (a lot). And just like driving a car on the road, there are accidents. Some are minor fender benders and others can make your warehouse look like an overturned chicken transport. Bottom line is no matter how good your drivers are, eventually there will be an impact. How severe it is can be mitigated with protective measures like column protectors and end of aisle guarding. One of the first things I notice when I step into a warehouse is whether the racking is protected and what condition the rack and protective equipment is in. I often get pushback when discussing column protectors and end of aisle guarding because of the perceived additional cost. Guarding does have a cost. But it typically only takes one injured employee or one rack incident to justify the initial cost to properly guard your equipment. I also get people that say, “My guarding keeps getting damaged!” To those I say your guarding is doing its job! Think about it this way, if the guarding is damaged, the rack is not. Guarding is easily replaced for minimal cost. Pallet rack and personnel are not. So avoid the rubberneckers and evaluate whether it makes sense to add some safety guarding to your warehouse. No one wants an overturned chicken truck in their warehouse.
