Pallet Safety Source: Grocers Safety Tip of the Month, May 2010 Reproduced for Feeding America West Michigan Food Bank Supplemental Agency Training – June 27, 2014

Here are some useful tips on handling pallets in our warehouse and at your own agency:

Wood Pallet Safety Moving Pallets

- Look at the pallet before you pick it up to - Pallets can weigh between 50 and 100 make sure no nails are sticking out. Rusty pounds each, depending on construction. nails, typically found in wood pallets, can puncture the skin causing Tetanus. - Use good posture when manually handling pallets. Maintain the back’s natural “S” - Use gloves when handling and stacking curve while moving and stacking pallets. older, seasoned pallets to prevent cuts and punctures from slivers. - Use a pallet jack to move pallets from one point to the next. If you must move them - Never walk across the top of a wood manually, stand them on edge and slide. pallet. There may be protruding nails, or the boards might collapse. - Do not throw pallets – you might damage the pallet or cause injury to yourself. - Dispose of broken, heavily used pallets.

How to Store Pallets Common Sense Pallet Jack Use

- NEVER store a pallet standing up on its - Always examine pallet before attempting side. Always lay pallets flat on the ground to move it. Determine that load is not or in stacks. A falling pallet can hurt severely shifted or too tall to go through someone walking or working nearby. doorways.

- Lay the first pallet of a stack flat on the - When pulling heavy pallets, on wet floor, ground, and slide the next one to the side or on a grade, have someone assist by of the stack. Using proper lifting motion, pushing or holding back on the pallet. slide the pallet up the side of the stack and onto the top. - Swing wide on corners to avoid hitting door frames or other pallets. - Don’t manually stack more than 7 or 8 pallets – use forklifts for higher stacks. - Lift load about 1” off floor.

Special note from Feeding America West Michigan: Although we do our best to remove pallets with exposed nail and damaged corners from our agency shopping area to minimize customer cuts, please exercise caution while selecting product – look before you step, and be sure to wear sturdy shoes!