Pallet Supports Increase Capacity and Safety in Your Carolina Warehouse

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You’re Supported Carolinas! Pallet Supports for Safer Warehouse Racking

Could your North or South Carolina warehouse use some support? We’ve got you! Pallet supports are a pallet rack accessory that you want to know to improve warehouse safety. The supports are steel bars that mount from the front to rear beams within your selective and double-deep racking system storage bays. They have a multitude of benefits, including preventing misaligned pallets from falling and shoring up weak or poor-quality pallets. 

In high-elevation pallet rack systems, forklift operators find pallet supports particularly beneficial due to the challenge of having a clear line of sight to both the front and rear beams for accurate pallet placement. Pallet supports are available in a range of sizes and for both roll-formed and structural systems.

Pallet Supports Advantages

  • Provide a safer work area around the racking system
  • Give a reference point for forklift operators loading pallets in deep bays or high elevations
  • Allow operators a chance to fix misaligned pallets
  • Shore up poor-quality pallets

Read on to see if they might be useful in your warehouse.

7 PALLET SUPPORT FACTS AND MISCONCEPTIONS 

  1. Misconception: Additional support always increases load capacity.

If you’re working with a roll-formed system, there’s no way to increase load capacity using pallet supports. However, heavy-duty structural supports can increase beam capacity in a structural rack system by preventing beam twisting. Note even the heavy-duty supports are NOT designed to support the full weight of the pallet. Pallet supports simply add a measure of rack safety. 

  1. Fact: Increasing rack safety decreases inventory damage. 

The main function of pallet supports is to hold misaligned pallets long enough to be repositioned by the forklift operator before they fall. This protects your employees from injury, your inventory from damage, and your operation from costly disruption.

  1. Misconception: All supports do the same thing, so there’s no need to do additional research

All supports are NOT created equal. Choose your supports based on your system specs, such as beam design, step depth, and slot punching. Feeling stuck? Apex PRO can help you decide which type of beam support is needed for your individual rack type. 

  1. Fact: There’s a rule of thumb for choosing how many supports your system needs

This rule is usually two supports per pallet position, but if you’re using odd-sized pallets, you may need an engineered pallet support that doesn’t carry the load through the beams. 

  1. Misconception: Pallet supports can be used for any type of load. 

Traditional supports can NOT be used for point loads. That said, a structural engineer can help you design a support that can be used for a point load. 

  1. Fact: Pallet supports allow forklift operators to place their loads easily and efficiently

Forklift operators are master maneuvers, but pallet supports can decrease the amount of time they spend attempting to place pallets in sections that are too high or too deep to see into. They also allow the operator to reposition a misaligned pallet. 

  1. Fact: Supports extend the life of your pallets. 

Without support, your pallet’s only touchpoints are under the front and rear beams. This adds downward pressure to the middle area of the pallet, causing stress that leads to a shorter lifespan. By adding pallet supports to your system, this middle stress is eliminated, and your pallets live longer (and happier) lives!

Finding the Best Support for Structural & Roll-Formed Pallet Rack

What Type of Support Does Your System Need?

ROLL-FORMED SUPPORTS

Pallet supports for roll-formed racking can be broken down into two categories: flush and flange.

Flush supports – Instead of overhanging the beam face, these supports are set in the beam step. There are two choices of support in this category: 

  • Snap-in supports fit on the beam step and snap into the slotted holes
  • Top-hat supports have a pre-drilled hole on the tab of the support that allows easy installation with a tek screw into the step of the beam

Double flange supports – Fit overtop of the face of the step beams in the front and rear. Some of these supports can come pre-drilled for tek screws, allowing them to be secured into place to stop shifting. 

2x pallet supports

STRUCTURAL SUPPORTS

Structural supports are often referred to as bolt-in supports or safety angles. These supports are characterized by a welded flange at both ends, which securely straddle the upper section of the beams. Many of these supports come with pre-drilled holes, allowing them to be securely fastened to prevent any unintended movement. Typically, this occurs through the web of the beam.

Structural Pallet Supports x2

If your pallet racking system could use a boost with minimal investment, pallet supports are the option for you. Apex has experts located conveniently in North and South Carolina to help; you decide on the features and accessories that will maximize the efficiency of your rack, no matter if it’s structural or roll-formed. Shop from a wide variety of quality new and used pallet supports, or give us a call to discuss your pallet racking storage needs.