Safety in warehouses tends to be greatly about the interactions between forklifts, pallet racks, people and stored products. This list of rack safety tips is part of our ongoing efforts to help warehouses operate safely and efficiently.
More Pallet Rack Safety Tips
September 9, 2008
by Scott Stone
Tags: Material Handling, Pallet Rack, warehouse safety, storage, industrial accident prevention
Posted in Pallet & Warehouse Racks|
How to Minimize Forklift Impacts on Pallet Racks
July 3, 2008
by Scott Stone
Pallet racks take a beating over time. They get loaded with exceptionally heavy pallets, by exceptionally powerful lift trucks over and over throughout the course of years. Chances are that if you have pallet rack in your warehouse, it’ll get hit at some point. When it does, inspecting (and generally replacing) it is your best course of action. But what about avoiding that hit, or its dangerous aftermaths in the first place?
Tags: Material Handling, Pallet Rack, OSHA, warehouse safety, facilities maintenance
Posted in Pallet & Warehouse Racks|
Comparing Gravity Flow Rack Types
June 15, 2008
by Scott Stone
Walk into any order fulfillment operation, and you will see gravity flow rack.
The reason is obvious–it’s one of the best ways to pick orders utilizing first-in, first-out principles. It used to be that there was one kind of the stuff, the plastic-wheel tracks, but these days the choices are more diverse than ever. For the most part, these flow rack types act the same; they decline toward the picker and boxes or totes or even larger components flow toward him. They’re restocked from the rear and picked from the front onto a takeaway conveyor line, a cart, workstation, or another step in the process.
Tags: Keneco, Conveyor, picking systems, warehousing, Material Handling, Hytrol, order fulfillment, Supply Chain, carton flow, gravity flow rack, distribution center, Unex
Posted in Order Picking & Fulfillment|
Comparing Pallet Rack Guards: Flexible Netting vs. Wire Mesh Panels
May 19, 2008
by Scott Stone
Unguarded rack is dangerous if there are people working in the aisles below. Safety managers know this, insurance companies know it, and if you have rack in your facility, you probably know it too. You have probably seen pallets break. You’ve seen drivers make mistakes when loading & unloading. We’ve seen things fall. If you’ve been in the business any length of time, you may have walked into your warehouse in the morning to find a case of something from the fourth level split open on the floor.
Tags: industrial accident prevention, Material Handling, Pallet Rack, warehouse safety, storage
Posted in Pallet & Warehouse Racks|
Why Static Walls are a Data Center’s Biggest Risk
March 26, 2026
In the data center world, everyone obsesses over virtual agility. Millions are spent on scalable architectures, software-defined networking, and high-spec power strips. But for some reason, when it is time to carve out the physical floor, people revert to nostalgic construction methods.
If you are running a facility, you know the drill: the only thing you can count on is that things will change. You’ll get a request for more space, more power, or more isolation. If your physical footprint is built with permanent solutions like drywall or heavy sheet metal, then you are building future bottlenecks.
Posted in Security|
Insights March 2026: Strategic Planning for Industrial Operations
March 3, 2026
by Scott Stone
While the landscape has never been less certain, warehousing and manufacturing professionals must still plan for 2026 and beyond. This post rounds up authorities on what to expect the next few years and how experts advise you to factor in these trends in trade, technology, artificial intelligence and more.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Industry Insights|
The Golden Zone Is a Moving Target: Slotting for High-SKU Warehouses
February 19, 2026
by Scott Stone
Warehouse efficiency doesn’t fail all at once. Instead, operations slow down quietly. A few extra steps per order. A little more reaching. More waiting. Congestion forms up when you’re not thinking about it. Over time, the operation becomes heavier, less fluid, and more expensive without anyone noticing exactly when it happened.
In many cases, the cause isn’t labor, effort or faulty equipment. It’s geography.
Posted in Order Picking & Fulfillment|
Why the Best Warehouse Designs Balance Density and Access
February 5, 2026
by Scott Stone
Warehouse buildings have been getting taller: what was once a 16 to 18 foot clear-height facility is now commonly 32 to 40 feet. The logic is straightforward: taller buildings unlock more vertical storage, allowing operators to store more product without expanding the footprint. If you’re in an expensive, landlocked area and need more storage, you need to unlock every vertical inch. High bay pallet rack systems let you use all that air space and can massively increase storage density.
This is a good thing. Until it isn’t.
Posted in Pallet & Warehouse Racks|
OSHA’s Top Violations for 2025
December 19, 2025
Ensuring workplace safety is an ongoing challenge, especially in fast-paced manufacturing and warehousing operations. Every year, the OSHA publishes its list of the most frequently cited workplace safety violations, providing a snapshot of the most pressing hazards that can lead to injuries and serious fines.
While the list results do not have many changes from year to year, it is important to review annually. Comparing your safety processes and training to what is included can help to create a more robust system that can save lives and protect what matters.
Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|
So You Want to Buy (or Lease) a Building
November 20, 2025
Before you commit to a new lease or purchase, you need to think like an engineer. While optimizing your current facility often makes the most sense, a necessary move can quickly become a massive headache if the new space fights your operation.
Posted in Space Optimization & Planning|