In 2008, a worker was fatally struck by falling material that had been stored on a damaged pallet. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the wood pallet was so severely compromised that it split and broke loose, causing the load to collapse. What began as a deteriorated pallet ended in a preventable tragedy.
Pallets are the foundation of nearly every warehouse operation. They support thousands of pounds of products, interface directly with forklifts and pallet racking, and are relied upon daily to move and store inventory safely. Yet pallet conditions are often overlooked until a failure occurs.
When a pallet fails at elevation, the consequences extend far beyond product damage. Compromised pallets can destabilize loads, increase stress on rack beams, create falling-object hazards, and expose facilities to serious safety and liability risks. Treating pallet safety as a structured inspection and handling practice—rather than an afterthought—is essential to protecting workers, inventory, and warehouse infrastructure.
1. Conduct Regular Pallet Inspections
Before considering the use of pallets, conducting a thorough inspection is an essential step to reduce the risk of workplace injury. However, this is only effective if you can recognize the different types of damage a pallet, like a wooden pallet, may develop over time.
There are many nuances to pallet inspection, but they can generally be grouped into three main factors: the pallet’s structural integrity, uneven surfaces, and the risk of damaging merchandise. Cracks, splits, or signs of rot in wooden pallets can significantly compromise structural integrity, increasing the likelihood of collapse under load. Similarly, loose or missing boards create uneven surfaces, increasing the risk of injury during handling.
In addition, mold growth on wood pallets—often caused by moisture exposure—can weaken the pallets, contaminate stored goods, and pose health risks to workers. When inspecting pallets, it is also important to watch for protruding nails or screws, which can damage products or tear packaging during handling. If there is ever uncertainty about the condition of a pallet, the safest course of action is to remove it from the workplace entirely rather than risk a preventable incident.
OSHA requires that stored materials not create a hazard (29 CFR 1910.176). To maintain stable storage conditions, damaged pallets should be removed from service or repaired before reuse.
How Pallet Condition Affects Rack Safety
Beyond the immediate risk of product damage or worker injury, pallet condition directly affects rack safety. Damaged or uneven pallets can create unstable load distribution on rack beams, increase localized stress, and contribute to excessive beam deflection. In elevated storage, a compromised pallet is not just a handling issue—it becomes a structural and falling-object hazard that can impact the integrity of the entire storage system.
ANSI MH16.1 (Section 4) assigns responsibility to the owner to maintain rack systems in a safe operating condition. Because pallets directly influence how loads are transferred to rack components, their condition must be considered part of maintaining a safe storage system.
2. Choose the Right Pallet and Verify Markings
When selecting pallets for your operation, it’s important to recognize that not all pallets are created equal or designed for the same applications. Several factors influence pallet selection, including load requirements and the operating environment. In many warehouses, wood pallets are the most common choice due to their availability and suitability for dry environments, while metal pallets may be preferred in wet or sterile settings. Regardless of the material used, verifying pallet markings is a critical step in ensuring pallet safety and compliance.
Pallet markings provide essential information about the pallet quality and whether it is appropriate for use in your operation. One of the most common identifiers is the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) stamp, which indicates the treatment method used during international transport. Common markings include:
- HT (Heat Treated): The most widely used treatment today. Heat-treated wood pallets are heated to a minimum core temperature to eliminate insects and parasites.
- MB (Methyl Bromide): An older treatment method in which pallets were fumigated using a highly toxic pesticide. Due to health and environmental concerns, MB-treated pallets are far less common and are being phased out globally. These pallets should never be burned.
- DB (Debarked): Debarked wood refers to the removal of the tree’s bark from the pallet so heat treatments can be applied effectively.
- KD (Kiln Dried): Refers to wood that has been dried in a kiln to reduce moisture content, helping prevent warping, fungal growth, and pest activity.
Heat-treated stamp on a wooden pallet. Credit: PalletOne.
Understanding these markings helps ensure that the pallets you use are suitable for your environment, compliant with regulations, and safe for both employees and stored goods.
3. Handle Damaged Pallets with Caution
To ensure workplace safety and maintain operational efficiency, taking immediate action when locating damaged pallets is essential, as their continued use can lead to accidents or product loss.
A common strategy is to mark or segregate these pallets to prevent workers from accidentally reusing them. If repair is possible, wooden pallets with missing or loose boards can often be repaired and safely reintegrated into the workflow. However, a safer, less labor-intensive option is to simply remove these pallets from the work area.
4. Ensure Safe Stacking Practices
Understanding the importance of safe pallet stacking is a fundamental part of ensuring not only the stability of the material but also the integrity of goods throughout storage and transport.
Adopting safe stacking practices has also proven to reduce the risk of injury, especially when damaged pallets are involved. Overly tall stacks should be avoided, as they increase the chance of collapse, particularly if the pallets are unstable or compromised. Ensuring that pallets are stacked evenly is key to maintaining stability and preventing tipping hazards.
Following these two simple rules alone will reduce the risk of worker injury while still providing an efficient workflow. To take it one step further, whenever pallet transportation is involved, securing the load with shrink wrap or straps is essential to keep goods in place and reduce the risk of shifting or falling.
5. Offer Proper Training on Pallet Safety
To ensure long-term workplace safety and efficiency, comprehensive training for employees who handle these pallets is necessary. Emphasizing proper lifting techniques and encouraging workers to avoid manual handling whenever possible is a good starting point, as it will significantly reduce the risk of injury. Learning to recognize pallet damage and the risk associated with it should be a worker’s number one priority. Additionally, establishing clear emergency procedures that outline how effectively employees can respond is beneficial.
Using the proper equipment is just as important as choosing the right pallets, as it plays a critical role in creating a safe working environment. Understanding the importance of aligning pallets with pallet jacks and/or forklifts will help prevent accidental damage or product mishandling. Equally important is ensuring the pallet load is evenly distributed to prevent tipping or instability during lifting and transport.
Conclusion: Why Pallet Safety Cannot Be Overlooked
Pallet safety is not just about preventing broken boards or damaged goods — it is about controlling risk within the entire storage system. A compromised pallet can destabilize loads, increase stress on rack beams, create falling-object hazards, and expose facilities to preventable incidents and liability.
Establishing clear inspection protocols, removing damaged pallets from circulation, enforcing safe stacking practices, and training employees to recognize pallet hazards are essential components of a responsible warehouse safety program. When pallet condition is managed proactively, facilities reduce injuries, protect inventory, and preserve the structural integrity of their racking systems.
In warehouse environments where loads are stored at height and moved constantly, small oversights can have serious consequences. A disciplined approach to pallet safety helps ensure that the foundation of your storage system remains reliable — and that your people go home safely at the end of every shift.
If you’re unsure whether pallet condition or load stability may be introducing risk in your facility, consulting a qualified rack safety professional can help ensure your storage system remains compliant and secure.
Frequently Asked Questions About Pallet Safety
Why is pallet condition important for warehouse safety?
What should you look for during a pallet inspection?
Does OSHA require damaged pallets to be removed from service?
How does pallet condition affect rack safety?
What pallet markings should warehouses verify?
References
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). (n.d.). Employee Is Killed by Fallen Stacks of Bags. https://www.osha.gov/ords/imis/accidentsearch.accident_detail?id=201353620
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). (n.d.). 29 CFR 1910.176 – Handling materials – general. U.S. Department of Labor.
- Rack Manufacturers Institute (RMI). (2023). ANSI MH16.1 – Design, Testing and Utilization of Industrial Steel Storage Racks.
- Cross Country Carriers. (2019, February 10). Pallet Safety - Things to look for when working with pallets. https://www.crosscountrycarriers.com/2019/02/pallet-safety-working-pallets/
- Angelo. (2020). Plastic pallets or wood pallets: Which is better? Polymer Solutions International. https://prostack.com/2020/07/28/use-wood-plastic-pallets/
- indiamart.com. (n.d.). Heat treated pallets. https://www.indiamart.com/proddetail/heat-treated-pallets-3979390688.html
- Industrial Polythene. (n.d.). How to secure a pallet the right way to reduce costs. https://www.ipoly.uk.com/news/how-to-wrap-a-pallet
