RMH Systems provides rack repair to warehouses. Some warehouses end up calling us time and again for repair services, having experienced costly damage to uprights, shelves, and other elements of their racking setup. While we’re always happy to help a company get the repairs they need to be done on their racks at a fair price and with the best final results, if you find yourself calling us a lot, it may be a training issue that’s causing the problems. Address these issues and you shouldn’t require repairs nearly as often, freeing up money in your budget for other areas of your warehouse.

Is Your Warehouse Spending Too Much on Repairs?

Repair costs can add up quickly in your warehouse. While it’s always going to be a line item on your budget, it shouldn’t be one that continues to grow over time. It’s a drain on your budget and your resources and something that can end up doing a lot of long-term damage to the health of your business. When you can keep those repair costs in check, it’s a sign that your warehouse is thriving.

The cost of repairs adds up, and not just in the physical repairs. So how do these accidents end up costing your warehouse so much money?

  • Repair costs. Even minor accidents can end up requiring repair work on your pallet racking. Avoiding these repairs can end up compromising the structural integrity of your equipment and putting your warehouse at risk.
  • Replacement costs. If the damage is severe enough or has happened too many times, then you’ll have to replace the equipment. Some of this is expected, but the costs are more frequent and higher when it’s happening more often.
  • Damaged merchandise. Damaged racking often equals damaged inventory, as well. That means you’ll be losing money not only on equipment costs but inventory.
  • Lost productivity. When equipment is damaged, it usually leads to a disruption in the workflow of the warehouse. That means fewer orders being fulfilled and sent out the door.
  • Worker injuries. Damaged pallet racking is at risk of collapse, putting workers in serious danger. The costs from a worker who is injured or worse cannot be calculated.

The longer repairs take to make, the more they are going to cost you over the long term. It’s best to address repairs right away.

Is It Time for Retaining?

If you’ve seen your repair costs creeping up over the last several weeks or months, then it might be time to retrain your team. Accidents happen. It’s inevitable that the occasional bump between a forklift and your pallet racking is going to occur. You just have to anticipate that some amount of damage will occur over the lifetime of your pallet racking; a simple human error is tough to avoid. While human error is inevitable, it’s even tougher when those humans don’t know what or how to avoid it. Training can help refresh best practices in the minds of your team and help them avoid costly mistakes. Retaining should include:

  • Best practices for material handling. This includes lifting and moving inventory within the warehouse, working to avoid damage to warehouse equipment as well as avoiding injury.
  • Retraining on forklift safety. This will need to be done by a professional trainer, but there are many who can come provide the training on-site and go over best practices with your team.
  • Reporting accidents within the warehouse. Reporting accidents should be an automatic response. The sooner accidents are reported, the sooner the damage can be repaired. That prevents issues from becoming worse within the warehouse.
  • Working with teammates to make the warehouse safer. Teamwork is vital in the warehouse. Training as a group can help reinforce that it’s everyone’s job to keep the warehouse safe!

Training shouldn’t be something that happens once. It should be happening on a regular basis, especially with your forklift drivers. Don’t assume that employees who have been with the company for a long time have received “enough” training, either. They are often at the highest risk of making a mistake due to complacency. Training should be on-going, consistent, and include every member of your team. When you do this, you’ll see the rate of damage happening in your warehouse plummet.

RMH Can Help With Your Rack Repair Needs

In the meantime, if you need rack repair call RMH Systems. We’ll send our team out to fix the damage and get your shelving in perfect working order again. There is no amount of damage we can’t handle! We also provide inspection, replacement, and installation services so you have high-quality racking in place when and where you need it. Get in touch with us at 800-851-4995 and we’ll set up an appointment with you to send a RMH rack repair team right away.