All too often operatives attempt to move pallets manually by pushing or pulling them across uneven floors. This can cause injury not only to themselves but also to colleagues in their workplace. These enhanced risks have been highlighted by HSE in their Guidance Note PM15, we provide a summary below:
Pallets are often awkward and heavy, so potential accidents can result in serious injury. Most accidents can be prevented by developing and following safe working practices. Accidents tend to be caused by poor design, construction or repair, using inferior materials, bad handling techniques or when pallets are being used in an unsuitable environment.
The user should examine pallets for damage; damaged pallets should be marked accordingly, isolated and withdrawn for repair or disposal.
When pallets are stacked, operatives need to be aware of the load on the bottom of the pallet and the capacity of the baseboards of each pallet to spread the load thus reducing the risk of spillage.
Also, take into consideration pallet transportation, look at the dimensions of the vehicles or containers that will carry the pallets compared to the size of the pallets. Where possible, pallet sizes should follow those recommended in BS ISO 6780: 2003.
Problems can be caused when a user selects a pallet from the pallet store on the premises, without taking into consideration the load it will be used for. Pallets should be loaded to an established pattern design to achieve maximum stability; safety and the height of the load should not exceed the longest base dimension of the pallet.
When pallet trucks are used, make sure that the small wheels do not damage the baseboards. The forks of a handling device should extend into the pallet at least 75% of the dimension parallel to the forks.
Best practice is to fully train operatives in the safe use of pallet trucks to ensure that only authorized and trained personnel operate the trucks.
Redhill provides a wide range of pallet trucks including, heavy duty, mini pallet trucks, hand pulling trucks, weighing trucks, rough terrain and pallet stackers.
To view our range, please go to page 120 of our catalogue here. To view the full HSE guidelines please click here.
