Even though the wheeled carts in industrial pushback racking storage systems are designed to travel smoothly backward and forward from the point of pallet insertion and removal, jams can sometimes occur. Common causes of hang-ups include improper loading of pallets, broken pallet boards, or overhanging items in the load (slip sheets, carton flaps, loose stretch wrap, improperly stacked cartons, or boxes that have been jarred out of position). To safely un-stick a pallet in a pushback lane, there are several approaches—and none of them involve an operator climbing in front of a live, loaded pushback system, which has a high potential of injury.

First, there are several preventive measures that minimize the risk of hang-ups, such as:

If, after following all the aforementioned best practices in preventing hang-ups, a jam still occurs, these are the recommended steps for clearing the lane.

  1. Operators should never climb into a live pushback lane to attempt to clear a stuck pallet, as the risk of a serious injury is high. Instead, all pallets from an adjacent pushback lane should be removed first.
  2. A forklift should be positioned to hold the jammed lane in position. The adjacent—now empty—lane must be secured with tie-offs, after which an operator can enter it on a man-lift to ascertain the cause of the hang-up.
  3. From the adjacent empty lane, the stuck load can be freed from the side. If it is not possible to easily clear the obstruction, unload the pallet from the side to remove the weight of the load before releasing the blockage and removing the pallet.
  4. Once the hang-up has been resolved, unload the jammed lane with a forklift. Then, inspect the lane’s pushback rails and cart wheels for damage and/or debris. Clean as necessary prior to reloading. (More tips on the safe use of pushback rack systems can be found here.)

Looking for more storage rack safety guidelines? RMI will be presenting a free educational seminar, “Storage Rack Safety 101,” on Wednesday, April 10 at ProMat 2019 in Theater F at 11:15 a.m.