Stacking and Storage Guidelines

Safety Rules for People

• Do not let people climb on stacks and racks.
• If you work with stacks and racks, make sure you protect yourself against any machinery that could cause injury; the work area must be identified as a mandatory hardhat area.
• The stacking machinery operator must be protected and kept safe from falling articles. Ideally, the stacking machinery should have a solid canopy above the driver and the driver must wear a hardhat.

Pest Control

When stacking, leave enough space next to walls and underneath racks to prevent moisture accumulation and to assist with pest control services.

Ensure that a pest control plan is in place to prevent pest problems.

Basic Rules for Fire Prevention

Fire is always a potential risk when storing hazardous chemical substances. Here are some basic rules for preventing fires when storing these chemicals:

• Do not store combustible items near anything that could act as a source of fuel, such as wood shavings, material, oily rags, etc.
• Do not stack items too close to electrical lighting. The increase in heat from the continuous burning light in a small area could start a fire.
• Do not stack too close to a sprinkler system. If a fire breaks out, it will prevent the sprinklers from doing their work properly. Such stacking eliminates all fire-safety preventative measures
• Make sure there are enough fire extinguishers and other equipment of the correct type in the storage area. Ask the enterprise health and safety officer to do an evaluation of your firefighting requirements.

Rules for Stacking

Here are some of the basic rules:

• Always put the heaviest weight at the bottom.
• The stack weight must not exceed the weight limit of the rack.
• Stacking must be done in the same size, shape, and weight manner on any single level.
• Storage items must not protrude (stick out) from the individual stack at the same level.
• All pallets must be in good condition, not damaged, and with no broken slats or protruding nails. They must be capable of sustaining the weight exerted by the storage items.
• Compliance with the rule of removal from the top first must be adhered to; stored items must not be removed from the middle of a single stack.
• Once removed, the rest of the stack must be checked to ensure compliance with the stacking regulations.
• If a stack is in danger of collapsing, it must be dismantled at once, in a safe manner, and the risk of other stacks collapsing must be evaluated.
• Make sure that loose materials, sacks, cases, cartons, tins, and other related items are secured in a header-and-stretcher fashion (like brickworks) and the corners are securely bonded.
• Where similar-sized square-shaped boxes/containers are stacked, header-and-stretcher bonding is not possible, so interleaving materials must be used to ensure bonding between the layer levels.
• The stacks of loose items, mentioned above, must be moved back half the depth of a single container, at least at every fifth level, or, successive levels must be moved back by a lesser amount, provided that at least the same average angle of inclination to the vertical is achieved.
• The freestanding stacks must be stable, and not overhung.
• When breaking down storage stacks, ensure that the process is ‘top to bottom’. Do not break down from the middle or bottom.