Annually, the Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index publishes the Top 10 causes of serious, disabling workplace injuries. Three—falls to a lower level, falling items, and entrapment in equipment—were the focus of a MODEX 2024 educational session presented by the Protective Guarding Manufacturers Association (ProGMA). The 30-minute presentation highlighted multiple ways protective guarding for storage systems keeps employees and equipment safe in industrial settings.

Ray Niemeyer, Vice President of Sales at ProGMA member SpaceGuard Products, walked session attendees through “Ensuring Operational Safety and Efficiency: Strategies for Safeguarding Industrial Storage Systems.” The presentation examined the safety risks surrounding pallet racks, work platforms, rack-supported mezzanines, and automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS).

“There’s a wide range of protective guarding for storage systems. There are solutions available that prevent injury to personnel, and damage to equipment and inventory,” he said.

Not only does protective guarding for storage systems enhance safety of an operation, but it can also make a significant impact on the bottom line. Niemeyer explained that the costs associated with an accident, injury, equipment damage, and downtime vastly exceed the costs of the guarding.

Mitigating Dangers Associated with Pallet Rack

Niemeyer pointed out several common hazards associated with pallet rack and pick modules, including:

• Falling objects from pallets
• Flue space blockages
• Damaged uprights and beams
• Employee falls from upper levels
• Injuries caused by moving pallets

“One of the biggest safety risks in pedestrian walking and traffic aisles: The backside of rack is seldom secure,” he noted. “Also, every facility we’ve ever visited has damaged pallet rack uprights and beams.”

Protective guarding for rack storage systems includes netting or steel mesh containment panels, column guards, industrial guardrails, and more. For damaged rack uprights, rack repair kits can help reinforce the columns, preventing a system collapse.

To shield against impacts from vehicles, Niemeyer pointed to bollards, guardrail, and other upright protection devices made of steel or a polymer. “It’s important to keep an appropriate distance between the guarding and the rack. That way, if it’s hit, the guarding doesn’t then impact the rack behind it,” he noted.

Secure Openings in Elevated Work Platforms

Operations utilizing mezzanines or elevated work platforms often fail to secure the perimeters of openings through which associates could fall.

“Other high-risk areas on rack supported mezzanines is the pallet or product drop zones, or edge of the platforms,” observed Niemeyer. “Because where employees are picking totes, containers, and boxes, a little chain isn’t really going to provide a lot of safety for the employee.”

Additionally, he highlighted doorways on elevated platforms, missing or manually operated gates, storage against open handrail, and ladders used to pick product as areas of high safety risk.

“Dual-gate systems and self-closing gates are good protective guarding for these storage systems. So are wire partitions or netting to prevent items from falling through guardrail openings,” he said.

“Also, sometimes people have to get up on a three-foot step ladder to pick at the higher level of a storage system. But if it’s close to the edge of the handrail and the associate trips and falls off that stepladder, they’re going over the top of the handrail,” Niemeyer cautioned. “Or, if they have boxes or tools in their hands, those could fall through the handrail and potentially hit someone below. This is another storage system area that’s ideal for protective guarding.”

Protective Guarding for Storage Systems with Automation

ASRS may have unguarded aisles that personnel could enter but shouldn’t.

“For example, maintenance stepladder access with no barrier guarding. There’s nothing to prevent people from getting access into places they shouldn’t be,” Niemeyer noted. “Also, shuttle runs often don’t have guarding to prevent people from getting unnecessary access to those important areas.”

Frequently, protective guarding for automated storage systems includes physical barriers, as well as light curtains and photo eyes. When triggered, these safety interlocks prompt the system to stop, thereby reducing accident risks.

“Often, in bigger automated systems, they’ll put full enclosures—whether it’s wire partition or sheet metal or other guarding—around it,” he continued. “That ensures stored items don’t fall out and to the ground below.”

Learn More About Protective Guarding for Storage Systems

Looking for more insights into the different types of protective guarding for storage systems? The members of the Protective Guarding Manufacturers Association (ProGMA) offer a variety of resources and educational information about safety solutions. These include a Protective Guarding Search Tool, a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs), case studies, and more.