Pallet racking poor engineering

[fizzy]

Well I doubt the elf and safety people care but I do!
Inspecting the racking today before assembly tomorrow.
The uprights are bolt together. The cross ties etc bolt in for easy adjustment. Fair play they use nylock nuts but the bolts are in fact machine screws threaded their whole length.
I don't like to see sharp threads in contact with the pressed steel uprights especially when they carry so much weight.
Even worse there are no spacers to stop you over tightening and collapsing the channel.

Why is this allowed? As they are mass produced you would think they would have proper bolts threaded in the correct places?

Obviously no health and safety inspector has picked up on it.

Not dangerous in itself but bad practice I think.

 

[gaz1]

until it comes down no inspector inspects it

then it might become an issue

wheres your pics fizzy ?

as it does help to see what you mean

 

[8ob]

Turn a blind eye @fizzy, none of it is pretty. All the weight bares straight down to the floor, the cross braces etc only add a bit of stability while its being assembled. None of it will move once its all together.

Bob

 

[rtbcomp]

The load isn't borne by the bolts, they clamp the parts together and friction takes the load.

 

[skotl]

Obviously no health and safety inspector has picked up on it.

Not dangerous in itself but bad practice I think.

...which would be why no health and safety inspector has picked up on it?

 

[fizzy]

The load isn't borne by the bolts, they clamp the parts together and friction takes the load.

It is because they have been extended.
Will take some pics tomorrow.
My biggest concern though is well meaning people tightening the bolts because they are a bit loose and crushing the uprights which will definitely weaken them.

 

[WorkshopChris]

My biggest concern though is well meaning people tightening the bolts because they are a bit loose and crushing the uprights which will definitely weaken them.

Its half a dozen of one and half a dozen of the other, Without a spacer you can instantly see the bolt is in good condition and not over tightened as the upright profile is straight. With a spacer fitted you can not see the fixing or have any idea if it was tightened to just off of shearing point.

 

[fizzy]

Its half a dozen of one and half a dozen of the other, Without a spacer you can instantly see the bolt is in good condition and not over tightened as the upright profile is straight. With a spacer fitted you can not see the fixing or have any idea if it was tightened to just off of shearing point.

True but if they had used bolts of the correct thread length in the first place then there would be no problem. Just looks poor to me. Plenty of people on this forum have criticised Chinese engine cranes for this very reason!

 

[grim_d]

As long as the forklift doesn't gently nudge against it...

 

[fizzy]

As long as the forklift doesn't gently nudge against it...

The stuff terrifies me!
I am only putting up 10 bays though.
Not exactly over engineered is it.....

 

[WorkshopChris]

As long as the forklift doesn't gently nudge against it...

The stuff terrifies me!
I am only putting up 10 bays though.
Not exactly over engineered is it.....

I have a customer who has just fitted out a complete new warehouse fully racked out, max capacity no wasted space.
I am sure it will only be a matter of time before some needs changing.
When driving the Reach truck you need to remember to look to see where the two driven legs are at the bottom while looking at what the pallet and forks are doing 8 Meters above.
Its tight turning in and out especially when high up.

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

As long as the forklift doesn't gently nudge against it...

I was just about to hunt that clip down.

 

[Rig Pig]

Strange, the old Dexion racking I built my workbench out of had folded steel anti crush fitting where the bolts passed through the legs, perhaps the bits are missing? Maybe worth contacting the supplier.

 

[Welderpaul]

Only one course of action - speak to the manufacturer and see what they say. They are the authority on their system.

 

[Spark plug]

Usually the extension pices are bolted with short bolts in either side, not 1 long bolt through both sides iirc.

 

[Turbo]

It is because they have been extended.
Will take some pics tomorrow.
My biggest concern though is well meaning people tightening the bolts because they are a bit loose and crushing the uprights which will definitely weaken them.

Have they been extended using manufacturers approve methods? You are not allowed to modify those racks in any way. Where I worked if any got damaged in any way we couldn't repair them & a complete new one was fitted. They were 8m high & there was usually a fight for the old ones as they were decent 4x4" channel. My main workbench is made from them plus 2 sets of heavy shelving!

 

[owas]

I was at a place a few weeks ago, and a lot of the cross braces were bashed in by forklifts, some were just hanging off, the gaurds to stop forklifts hitting them weren't even bolted to the ground.

Asked the superviser there why none of it's being fixed 'they said I'm not allowed to replace the braces as I'm not trained' just wait for it to fall down then

 

[Turbo]

As long as the forklift doesn't gently nudge against it...

A similar thing happen in the cold store of the place I worked. A forklift operator said they fell by themselves but she was known for being careless & probably hit one of the uprights! She got lucky as most of the stuff fell beside the forklift, the roll cage protecting her from the rest.

In this case only 4 bays in one row fell but it was a hellish job fitting the new stuff as the cold store was a baltic -25 deg c.

The same driver nearly killed me one day. I was replacing the tubes on a row of lights & she was driving the forklift with me in a work cage. I was finished one light & shouted to her that I wanted to go to the next one. Instead of lowering the basket to the ground she went tearing up the floor with me still at ceiling height, totally forgetting about the cooler hanging from the roof!
BANG!! as the cage hit the cooler, luckily I saw it coming, too late to shout but I ducked down & held on. Luckily I had fitted the safety bolts locking the cage to the forks, otherwise the cage & me would have fell 4m to the floor!
Once I stopped shaking the anger kicked in & I gave her a real bo77ocking. Made no difference, she was thick as pig sh7t & it rolled off her like water.