Pallet racking can play a huge role in many a warehouse, fulfilment centre, and industrial workplace. However, in such workplaces, you want to make sure that you’re always using the most well-suited and safe equipment for the job. As such, you want to know exactly what your equipment is able to withstand, such as how much weight it can take. Here, we’re going to take a closer look at the strength and versatility of pallet racking and whether it might be the right option for your needs.
How strong is pallet racking?
The strength of your pallet racking is going to depend on the load capacity that you choose for it. Different manufacturers are going to provide pallets made from different types of material, not to mention the qualities of the material, which is going to dictate exactly how strong they are. The manufacturer should always provide a good idea of exactly how strong their pallet racking is with a weight capacity label on their products, so this is the first place that you should check before you try to use them.
How much weight can a pallet rack hold in Australia?
Again, this is largely going to depend on the manufacturer of the pallet rack, as well as the type that you choose. However, Australian standard pallets are able to carry between 500kg – 1,800kg. Other manufacturers may be able to carry somewhat less, and others can carry more. There are also options like steel pallets that can hold roughly 2,000kg, for instance.
How much your pallet racking can hold in real terms always comes down to the specifics of the operation as well. The type of products you’re storing, how much of it you’re storing, and how it needs to be accessed should all be kept in mind, too.
How strong are pallet rack beams?
The load capacity of pallet racks is talking about the capacity of the entire racking, which means with the weight across all of its beams, or as close as you can get to that kind of setup. The individual beams of pallet racks are able to take on some weight, themselves, but you should avoid putting too much weight on individual beams. Pallet racks are so effective because of their ability to spread the weight across a wide surface area with multiple beams supporting the load at once. If you have more weight on one side or one beam or the rack than the others, then it’s more likely to fail.
What is the load capacity of heavy-duty racks?
There are some pallet racks that are going to be labelled as “heavy duty” by their manufacturers. It is worth noting that this label is usually specific to the manufacturer. While it might refer to the higher end of pallet racking weight capacity that they have, there’s no industry standard load capacity that has to be met before they are called “heavy-duty”. Given that the Australian Standard is 500kg – 1,800kg, you can assume that heavy-duty products are going to be towards the higher end of this scale. However, every manufacturer should outline exactly how much their pallets are able to carry, so always check the product descriptions and labels, first.
Australian standards for pallet racking
Every workplace has to follow certain regulations for how they work with pallet racking to ensure the greatest possible safety within the workplace. For instance, there is AS 4084:2012, which is the Australian Standards document for steel storage racking. This outlines how to ensure the correct application and use of racks, how to keep safe workloads, how to make sure that installed racking has not been altered, and how to inspect racks to make sure that they are as safe as possible. Services like PRQ Australia can help ensure that you are keeping your workplace as compliant as possible with safety inspections, as well as repairs and maintenance.
Whether or not pallet racking is the best solution for your workplace is going to depend on your needs as well as the way in which you intend to use them. Hopefully, the information above helps you get the answers that you need.
Otherwise, if you want to make sure that your workspace is using its pallet racking as best as possible, then you should get in touch with PRQ Australia today. We can help you remain compliant, with safety as our number one priority and friendly service every step of the way.
