What Are the Safety Considerations for Longspan Shelving?

One of your main concerns when maintaining or installing longspan shelving systems warehouses is safety. Ensuring that you are well informed about how to provide a secure and safe work environment is essential, both for the health of your employees and to lower the risk of damage to stock and equipment. 

The blog post below will explore all the vital safety tips business owners need to know when using longspan shelves in their storage facilities. 

With a complete understanding of what to look for and how to maintain your warehouse shelves, you can lower the risk of injury and reduce costs by lengthening the lifespan of your storage solutions. 

Load Capacity and Weight Distribution

One of the most important aspects of shelving safety is to ensure you know your shelves’ load capacities. Overloading can lead to damage and increase the risk of accidents.  

a. Prioritising Weight Management

You need to ensure that staff members understand the load capacity of the long span shelves they will be working with. It includes training your staff on properly loading and unloading stock on shelves and ensuring that load capacity signs are visible in the warehouse.  

Overloading shelves with too much stock must be avoided to ensure the long-term integrity of your storage solution and prevent the risk of heavy items dropping to the floor.

b. Weight Distribution

Inventory should also be evenly distributed across the shelves to ensure that the weight on the stacks is even and balanced. It is to prevent damage and warping, which increase the risk of collapse and injury to warehouse workers. 

Ensuring that you and your staff know the loading and storage restrictions for your long span shelves benefits your company operations in various ways. But it is not the only safety consideration you must remember when you have longspan shelving installed in your warehouse. 

Proper Installation and Assembly

Your longspan shelving will need to be strong enough to hold heavy weights over a prolonged period securely. To ensure this, you must ensure they have been installed and constructed correctly. 

a. Building a Strong Foundation

When installing your longspan shelving, following the manufacturer’s instructions is important. Each type of shelving unit will have its requirements and specific instructions to ensure the structure is secure. 

It would be best if you also ensured that the correct equipment and tools are being used during installation. It will ensure that all components are constructed securely and connections tightened adequately. 

b. Securing Fittings and Connections

While longspan shelves are being installed, extra care must be taken to ensure that all fittings and connections are secure. These points will be under considerable strain throughout the years and can become the point of damage or collapse when weakened. 

Ensuring that your longspan warehouse shelves are installed correctly will improve your storage system’s overall integrity and lifespan. So, proper installation is an essential safety tip for your shelving racks. 

Regular Inspection and Maintenance

Along with proper installation, regular maintenance and inspections are vital to keeping your staff safe and stock protected. Inspection and maintenance will help you and your team spot and repair little problems before they become bigger issues. 

a. Ensuring Long-Term Safety

As part of your warehouse safety strategy, you should schedule regular maintenance and inspections of your longspan shelving.

Scheduled inspections will allow your staff to spot any potential problems, such as missing connection parts, warping, or dents, soon after they occur. Allowing less time for these problems to affect the overall structural integrity of the storage system. 

b. Regular Maintenance

Maintaining and cleaning your longspan shelves often will also help to prevent problems related to rust, mould, and other issues which could weaken longspan shelves. Lubrication maintenance of moving parts of the shelves will also improve the shelves’ lifespan and can be another opportunity to spot problems quickly after they occur. 

Clear Aisles and Walkways

Maintaining a safe and clear longspan shelving system doesn’t just concern the storage system itself. To keep your staff safe and inventory organised, ensure the aisles are clear and free of safety hazards. 

a. Creating Safe Pathways

Organised, clutter-free aisles will allow a clear passage around the warehouse and reduce the risk of damage to equipment or your shelves. Staff will also need to be able to move around the workplace without risking potential injury due to boxes and inventory being in their path. 

b. Visible Signage and Markings

Staff training should include awareness of the importance of keeping your warehouse organised and clear of obstructions. You should also ensure that the warehouse features visible signage and floor markings to allow a safe and efficient workflow through the storage space. 

Training and Education for Employees

As we discussed in the previous sections, adequate training is vital to keeping your longspan shelves safe. You need to ensure that warehouse staff are aware of the safety requirements for this storage solution and how important they are. 

Staff training should include training on all elements of safe shelving practices. It should consist of an awareness of the load capacities of shelving, how to load and unload inventory properly, and what to do in an emergency. 

Properly trained staff will lower the risk of damage to your longspan shelving in Melbourne and safety risks to your staff. Ensuring warehouse staff are informed and aware will lead to secure, safer, and better-conditioned storage, which will last longer for your business. 

Conclusion

There are several safety factors to consider regarding longspan shelving in Melbourne. From ensuring your warehouse shelving is professionally installed to scheduling regular inspections and maintenance. You need to ensure that both you and your staff know load capacities and how to spot potential hazards quickly. 

With a clear understanding of how to use and care for your longspan shelves, your business can benefit from a long-term storage solution which will improve operational efficiency and space optimisation for your inventory. 

Contact the Multiple Storage Solutions team today if you need assistance in safely installing longspan shelving. Our expert and experienced staff are dedicated to helping you find the right longspan storage solution for your space and ensuring a safe and secure installation of your longspan shelving. Call us on 03 8390 4483 for more information.