Protecting your wood pallets is vital in terms of obtaining your best ROI
The pallet market is continuing to experience an unprecedented amount of demand for wood pallets that outweighs the industry’s overall supply, so business leaders everywhere are now being forced into going above and beyond to protect their pallet supplies from harm.
Reducing damages to your pallet supply is incredibly important when it comes to ensuring your greatest ROI on your pallet purchases, and your company’s forklift operators can help you in these ongoing pallet protection efforts. When forklifts are operated properly, they’re one of the safest and most efficient ways to handle wood pallets. But when one tiny mistake occurs, it can result in serious damages!
Below we’ll be going over 5 tips to help you and your business take good care of your wood pallets and avoid unnecessary repair and replacement costs:
1. Take it slow
There’s no denying that we all live within a very fast-paced world, particularly when we’re at work. It’s always tempting to move around your warehouse or business facility as efficiently as possible (and at a high speed).
But when it comes to maneuvering wood pallets, both forklift operators and warehouse workers alike will benefit from taking it slow. Taking it slow while handling your pallets will protect the lead boards of your pallets, as well as the all-important products that are on top of your pallets!
2. Avoiding contact
There will always be serious risks of pallet/product damage when a forklift operator doesn’t completely lower a pallet when placing it down next to a different unit load. Splintering is also another serious issue associated with wood pallets that should be avoided at all costs.
This is why you should make sure that your forklift operators and warehouse workers are always fully lowering your pallets as much as possible prior to placing them down on the ground, and that each unit load is properly separated.
3. Accuracy is vital
Whether you’re utilizing a forklift or pallet jack, you’ll need to cleanly and completely enter a pallet. Forklift and pallet jack tips can easily damage the blocks and stringers of a wood pallet when they’re carelessly inserted.
When a forklift’s tips are improperly inserted, it can also lead to an uneven weight distribution that puts your pallets and products at a much higher risk of incurring damages.
4. Keep everything level
Any kind of unevenness can lead to serious issues when lifting pallets and unit loads, and sometimes a forklift’s tips will be slightly angled and result in damages.
That’s why it’s critical to ensure that your forks are completely horizontal, which will go a long way in preventing broken boards and product issues of all types.
5. Go one at a time
Moving multiple unit loads or stacks of pallets all at once through the use of a forklift may seem like an efficient idea because it’ll save you time, but you should be very cautious and avoid this situation at all costs.
This practice is discouraged because it can damage your expensive forklift equipment, your pallets, your products and even other parts of your facility like your equipment and workers. Your forklift operator should always have a clear path of vision while they’re moving around, because when something or someone is out of an operator’s line of sight it can lead to problems.
So the safest thing to do is move just one unit load or pallet at a time.
The Pallet Guys Are Here To Help You With All Of Your Pallet Needs!
The Pallet Guys have become a leader throughout the pallet industry due to our commitment towards high-quality products and affordable prices for everyone. Our pallet specialists will also be there for you and your business as you look to protect your investments for the long-term future.
Contact us online or call us at 832-895-7555 to get in touch with our team today and learn more about how you can better protect your pallet investments!