It's tempting to look at pallet rack as a simple construction project. Lift the uprights, attach the load beams, and you're done. Presto. Just like an erector set. But while the new rack you've installed in your warehouse may look pretty, it sure isn't sitting pretty. Because aside from the framework itself, there are a half dozen other little bits you've ignored, and which are necessary to the safe construction of your pallet rack, not to mention for full compliance with Rack Manufacturers Institute (RMI) standards.

Whenever you're installing new or used pallet rack, we highly recommend consulting material handling experts like us at Speedrack Midwest before beginning work. The following is a list of components that should come standard with every pallet rack project you undertake, and which you should seriously consider whenever you're installing rack in a new building you're unfamiliar with. These components are meant to save lives, prevent injury, and avoid damage to your rack and inventory.

Workers in many industries are exposed to heat on a regular basis all year round, and the heat stroke is a prevalent, if not exceptionally risky threat. That's just to be expected when we're working alongside machines that dispel heat whenever they're turned on. Once summer comes along, higher temperatures and increasing humidity can exacerbate the situation in any work environment, and companies need to be well aware of the risks posed to their workers.

Warehouses and distribution centers are particularly susceptible to overheating. Thanks to their spaciousness, it's easy to trap heat and difficult to move it out. Proper air circulation is necessary to keep a comfortable work environment. In addition to that, here are a number of ways you can protect your workers from overworking themselves and putting themselves at risk of developing heat stroke.

A warehouse teeming with workers over its hundreds of thousands of square feet may not experience downtime in the traditional sense, but there are plenty of ways in which time is wasted on the sly while people appear to be working their tails off. Unscheduled maintenance, long transit times, and communication hang-ups are among the most popular ways that we waste time on the job. Whether we're too lazy to fix them or too stubborn to entertain new methods, there's no denying that we're often wasting time when a little forethought and preparation will go a long way to increase productivity and reduce effort.

Very few places in North America are free from humidity and rapid temperature fluctuations, and out of those places, even fewer make sense for a distribution center. Issues of humidity and temperature can be the bane of a warehouse safety manager's existence, leading to sweating slab syndrome on concrete floors that leave dangerous standing water for employees and forklifts alike.

While concern over slippery surfaces spurs on efforts to fight sweating slab syndrome, there is even more at stake than your workers taking a fall when fighting for control of your indoor climate: your pallet rack. You may think we're only talking about rust, and you're partially correct. Rust is still a problem, particularly where your pallet rack is scratched or paint is chipped, but a greater threat rises straight out of the floor. One that will threaten your workers' safety just as much as standing water.

Cross your fingers all you like, but coming off the back of two blisteringly cold, overwhelmingly snowy winters, you might be alone in your hopes for a mild start to 2016. Some had it worse than others, but even the hardy denizens of Michigan and the Midwest were ready to cry uncle when the mercury froze in place for weeks on end. We didn't forget how to have fun in the cold. We were just sick and tired of the havoc it wreaked on our infrastructure, closing roads, cutting power, freezing engines, and damaging our property. There isn't a warehouse manager out there who isn't afraid of the toll another winter could take on operations. With the right amount of preparation, however, it is possible to get through a bad winter largely unscathed.

Loading docks are locations ripe for accident. The transition point between your building and the outdoor world is the spot where you're forced to cede control of things, whether you like it or not. Here you're dealing with trucks and drivers you don't know, bad weather, outdoor noise and distractions, and deterioration to your property. Any combination of factors can lead to accidents happening at the loading dock, and we're not just talking about those videos on YouTube of fully loaded pallet jacks tilting into truck bays and launching workers into the sky.