Fall Protection in Rack Supported Pick Modules
Many facilities utilize rack to support storage and operations; in fact, we’ve been in many facilities in which the rack systems seem to go on forever. Pick modules and rack systems go hand in hand in material handling operations, and when that is the case, employees working in the rack supported modules must be protected from falls.
A rack manufacturer got in touch with our team when one of its customers was starting to build a large new distribution center. Employees were going to be picking from full pallets within the pick module, and to ensure fall protection, the rack manufacturer knew safety gates should be built into the structure. They asked us to provide safety gates for several pick modules that were going to be built in the distribution center.
After reviewing the building plans and discussing the way the pick module and bays were going to be set up, we realized that we’d need to customize the gates, no matter the model. The bays in which employees would be working were 156 feet wide to accommodate three pallet positions. We knew that any safety gate made that wide would also still need to be ergonomic for easy operation. In addition, space in the bay was tight, so the gates had to take up minimal space while providing fall protection.
Given space was a precious commodity, and the pick modules were being built into a large rack system, we determined that the safety gates provided must be in a rack supported design. In this configuration, the gates would directly attach to the rack uprights instead of taking up space in the bay.
To accommodate the material in the three pallets positions in the bays, we determined the best rack supported safety gate model for the client’s system was the High Pallet Pivot safety gate. This model uses dual, counterbalanced gates that are interconnected with multiple pivot points to maintain a safe environment for employees at all times. The High Pallet Pivot gate can handle pallet loads up to 80 inches tall, and takes up a minimum amount of space on the platform, especially in the rack supported design. The support structure of the safety gate attaches directly to the rack uprights, allowing the rear-side gate to close behind the pallet and to open up and out of the way when the ledge gate is closed. This maintains a safe environment at all times without any of the gate structure protruding into the picking aisle.
The gates were constructed to be wide enough for the pallet positions while maintaining a safe environment for the workers in the bay at all times. Although the gates were made 13 feet wide and out of heavy square steel tubing, we ensured they would be ergonomic by including our hydraulic gas assist mechanism to help make the operation of the safety gate effortless.
At our factory, we assembled a test model of the custom Rack Supported High Pallet Pivot safety gate to test the operation and ensure that the safety gate was up to standards before manufacturing the gates and shipping it to the facility. At the facility, the rack manufacturer installed the safety gates prior to the opening of the distribution center, ensuring fall protection for employees working in the pick modules and rack bays.