When to Repair and Replace Warehouse Shelving

Warehouse managers know how to organize warehouse shelving systems. They often take their storage racks for granted. Most storage steel sheet racks are designed and installed to serve a long life cycle with minimal maintenance or attention. That is, until they are damaged. This damage can easily go unnoticed or unreported until it leads to catastrophic failure and complete load collapse.

The warehouse shelving ideas: the easiest way to prevent accidents caused by rack failure is to perform regular warehouse rack inspections. Rack inspections not only help protect workers, but also help prevent damage to expensive equipment and inventory. Of course, it's one thing to spot potential problems with damaged storage rack systems. It's another thing to know when to repair versus when to replace damaged warehouse racks.

Identifying Warehouse Rack Damage

Sheet metal storage rack damage is usually obvious. It's hard to miss when one or more structural components are bent, twisted or completely damaged. However, some damage can sometimes be more difficult to spot, and what appears to be a minor or insignificant problem is actually a serious one. Damage like this is an accident waiting to happen.

The following are the key points for identifying damage to a rack.

Loose base plates

The legs of a rack are critical to its load capacity and stability. All racks should be secured to the floor with anchor bolts. Any base plates with loose, bent or missing plates and bolts should be removed from service until you can repair or replace them.

General appearance

Does the rack look vertical and horizontal, or twisted and tilted? Bent rows or incorrect alignment clearly indicate a problem with the rack. This could be a problem with floor support, usually caused by vertical, horizontal or diagonal support issues.

Connectors

Check the fit and finish of all joints. Any loose or improper fit will need to be addressed. However, when dealing with these issues, don't forget to investigate why the problem occurred. A faulty connection is almost always caused by a pre-existing problem throughout the rack system.

Bent vertical columns

These are difficult to detect without careful inspection. It only takes a slight bend or flex to seriously reduce the column's ability to stand under heavy loads. Use a straightedge like a three-foot level and hold it against a vertical surface. If there is a gap, then this is a definite weak point.

Evidence of impact

The impact of a forklift or other material handling equipment is usually obvious. Paint scratches and frame dents are prominent. The degree of damage is a key indicator of the severity of damage to the frame. However, it does not affect other components as much and can lead to problems such as loose beams, brackets or connectors.

Deflected horizontal beam

The beam must also be tested for deflection. If the eye is visibly sagging or bent, this is a serious problem. The load should be lifted immediately and steps taken to repair or replace the structural member.

Rust stains

Blistering paint or rust stains are sure signs that something is wrong. Once metal corrodes so much that the corrosion becomes visible, it is usually too weak to continue to be used. Surface rust stains are often evidence of weak and unreliable materials. Repairs may be useless and the rack should be replaced.

These are the warehouse shelving ideas we share today, if you find some of these problems on your sheet metal shelving ,you need to do pallet racking repair, to keep people safe and improve your storage efficiency. Please follow MAXRAC to find more about warehouse storage racks and systems.