Warehouse safety is often overlooked until an accident occurs. The warehousing industry has the highest rate of non-fatal workplace injuries of any sector at 220 per 10,000 workers, highlighting the critical need for effective safety measures. Properly designed and installed warehouse safety netting serves as a crucial barrier, protecting workers from injuries due to falls and falling objects.
However, the effectiveness of safety netting can sometimes be compromised by design and installation errors. Explore the common warehouse safety netting mistakes to avoid, tips to reduce the risk of accidents, and how to create a safer working environment.
Inadequate Load Capacity
A frequent and potentially devastating error occurs when facility managers underestimate the maximum load capacity their safety netting needs to withstand. For example, generic netting rated for 1-2 tons may be installed without carefully calculating expected dynamic impact forces, leading to disastrous consequences when the overloaded netting fails.
Perform a detailed risk analysis to determine the accurate load requirements of your warehouse. Identify the heaviest objects stored at height, factoring in fully loaded pallets, racks, machinery, or other items that might fall.
Also, consider the impact of fall distance. For instance, a 500-pound object falling from 40 feet can generate more than 20,000 foot-pounds of force. Conduct a short load drop test to accurately determine the total impact energy your netting needs to withstand.
Once you have calculated the maximum foreseeable falling weights and dynamic impact forces, select a safety netting solution rated for at least twice the maximum load for additional security. Insist on third-party testing data verifying the netting’s load capacity.
Improper Netting Material Selection
Safety netting is available in various natural and synthetic materials, such as polyethylene, nylon, and polypropylene, each with varying durability, corrosion resistance, UV tolerance, and flame resistance properties.
Select the appropriate material that matches your warehouse’s specific environmental conditions. Consider factors like exposure to sunlight, humidity, temperature fluctuations, chemical contact, oils, or greases. Use technical spec sheets from manufacturers to select materials resistant to the specific conditions in each area of your facility and bring in samples for on-site testing if needed.
Selecting incorrect material may lead to premature UV degradation, unexpected corrosion, or brittleness that can cause failure when the netting is loaded.
Ignoring Industry Standards
Complying with applicable warehouse netting codes and industrial standards is critical for regulatory compliance, reliability, and liability protection. However, some facilities mistakenly assume generic netting meets these requirements, which can lead to inadequate protection.
OSHA 1926.105 requires safety nets to protect workers from falls over 25 feet. The netting must also conform to the requirements as outlined in the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A10.11-1989 standard. This standard covers netting performance, border ropes, connection elements, and acceptable test methods.
Violating these codes can result in hefty fines, personal injury litigations, revoked insurance coverage, or even warehouse shutdowns until the installation errors are corrected and your facility is back up to code.
The experienced team can provide professional installation services to help ensure that your warehouse safety netting is positioned and secured correctly so you comply with all industry standards.
Neglecting Custom Requirements
Given the variety in distribution center designs and risk factors, netting tailored to your needs offers better safety than standard, off-the-shelf options. Before deciding on and designing your netting:
- Conduct a detailed risk assessment of your warehouse environment.
- Analyze high-risk areas considering heights and floor access.
- Review traffic patterns for personnel and lift equipment under the netting.
- Examine your inventory type, weight, and dimensions, and storage configurations including racking and mezzanine setups.
- Identify overhead obstacles like lights, signs, fire suppression systems, or sprinklers.
Incorrect Installation Height
Determining the proper safety net installation height requires a careful analysis of your warehouse’s configurations and traffic patterns. Suspending netting too close to ceilings may seem logical but poses problems. Low heights can impact your workers’ ergonomics and risk equipment damage, while overly high heights reduce the efficacy of falling object containment.
To determine the best mounting height, you need to predict how items from the top shelves or conveyors might fall. Also consider how workers will retrieve these items from the net, choosing a height that lets them interact with the net safely without having to bend or reach too much and strain themselves.
Also, adapt the netting height based on pallet rack configurations and loading practices. Lower netting for lighter upper-level stock, ensuring enough overhead clearance for lift equipment like order pickers. This approach ensures effective safety without slowing down operations.
Poor Anchor Point Selection
The security of your safety netting systems depends on choosing the right anchor points. But often, warehouse employees lack the fall protection expertise and make critical errors in anchor point selection. This can have disastrous results, with anchor failure causing entire sections to collapse under the heavy loads, compromising protection. To avoid disastrous situations:
- Determine the appropriate anchor style for different surfaces—concrete floors, solid ceilings, steel I-beam connections, upper racking sections, and wall fastening each require specific types.
- Specify anchors with a strength rating at least 5 times the maximum load limit of the nets, ensuring ample safety margin.
- Space anchors properly to distribute force and prevent tearing—ideally, place them no more than 6 feet apart on net perimeter borders.
Overlooking Regular Inspections and Maintenance
Maintained netting can last for decades, but even a well-engineered safety system still requires periodic inspections and maintenance for normal wear and tear. Warehouses sometimes make the mistake of assuming safety netting, once installed, runs maintenance-free indefinitely, overlooking hazards from deterioration over time.
To keep netting in good working condition:
- Establish a written inspection and repair protocol.
- Schedule monthly visual examinations by safety teams of entire netting areas and perimeters.
- Only use approved repair methods to fix damaged sections.
- Document all inspection findings, repairs, and replacements to establish evidence of due diligence should an accident occur.
Not Training Staff
Inadequate staff training on proper netting use and safety protocols is another common yet avoidable warehouse setup mistake. To address this issue:
- Offer a mandatory safety training module focusing on netting for all warehouse staff, including veterans and new hires.
- Provide clear guidelines for safe netting-related work practices around loading zones, conveyors, mezzanines, and racking.
- Instruct on procedures to promptly report any observed net damage or detachments.
Regularly update training sessions to ensure your workers are safety-conscious. Also, whenever netting is relocated or repaired, implement a re-training program.
Lack of Clear Access Points
While safety netting prevents falls and secures falling objects, it shouldn’t come at the expense of your operational workflow. Failing to provide or mark access points around the netting can lead to potentially unsafe practices like climbing over the netting or attempting to move it improperly.
Incorporate clearly marked access points into the netting design, ensuring easy entry and exit. For lift trucks, consider overhead netting panels that open when activated by RFID-tagged forklifts.
Additionally, determine the clearance heights and opening widths based on expected lift truck and load sizes. This allows you to program special routes to avoid non-accessible netting, ensuring a smoother workflow and minimizing the risk of workers taking unnecessary risks to access different areas.
Ignoring Environmental Factors
In harsh warehouse conditions, your safety netting faces threats from temperature changes, sunlight, chemicals, and rodents. Many facility managers overlook these factors when choosing netting materials, connectors, and anchors, causing the netting to deteriorate over time.
To protect your safety netting in the warehouse, make sure it’s suitable for the expected conditions:
- Temperature/humidity. If you operate a cold storage facility, opt for materials resistant to brittleness or sagging due to extreme temperatures and moisture levels.
- Sunlight & UV rays. Use UV-stabilized or opaque netting in areas exposed to sunlight or skylights.
- Chemicals. Choose netting resistant to corrosion from substances like cleaning agents, solvents, or oils.
- Rodents. Use heavy-duty netting with a dense weave that is less prone to damage from gnawing animals like mice, rats, and squirrels.
Refer to manufacturer specifications for material resistance and periodically inspect netting for wear related to environmental conditions. Make sure that you replace deteriorating sections to maintain effective safety.
Inadequate Overlap and Securement
For safety netting to offer full protection, ensure that the panels are tightly connected without any gaps for objects to fall through. However, not having enough overlap or using weak fastening methods can cause gaps to appear over time as the nets move or bear weight.
Follow the manufacturer’s guidelines for overlapping net panels, which usually require at least 4” to 6” of overlap. Not overlapping enough can create dangerous gaps. For stronger connections, use heavy-duty borders with a double-thick hem when joining panels.
Regularly check all overlaps and borders to ensure they haven’t come loose or separated. If you find any gaps, stop work below the affected area immediately and fix the edges before starting work again.
Using Damaged or Worn Netting
Choosing to reuse old or damaged netting to save money is dangerous, and may end up costing you more long-term. Installing used netting without carefully inspecting and repairing it can cause it to fail when under pressure, endangering both workers and equipment.
Always use new, high-quality netting made for warehouse safety. If you’re thinking about using second-hand netting, ensure a qualified professional checks it first to confirm it’s still good to use and that any damage is fixed properly before it’s put up.
Check the netting’s edges and the ropes around the perimeter for signs of wear, such as abrasion, knots coming loose, fraying, and damage from the sun. Also, look for any small holes, tears, or gaps in the net that need to be fixed following official repair guidelines. Avoid temporary solutions like tying parts together with twine, as these can make the net weaker. If there’s a lot of damage, replace the affected sections entirely.
Failing to Plan for Future Needs
Warehouse needs change over time, with increases in storage density, deployment of new equipment, layout reconfigurations, and handling of heavier inventory.
Not planning for these future changes can quickly render a netting system outdated or insufficient. It’s important to design your netting system to be adaptable, taking into account possible changes such as:
- The types and weights of items stored. Make sure the netting can support different sizes and weights of items you might store in the future.
- The warehouse layout. Opt for a netting design that can easily adjust to changes in the warehouse layout while still ensuring safety.
- Expansion plans. If you plan to expand the warehouse, design the netting system so it can grow with the facility, maintaining protection throughout.
Poor Communication with the Installation Team
Clear communication is essential for any project, and installing a safety netting system is no exception. Failing to clearly communicate the design specifications and safety requirements to the installation team can result in errors during installation. Provide the installation team with detailed plans and specifications, including:
- Netting type and material. Specify the type of netting and the material to be used, ensuring the team uses the right components for optimal safety.
- Required load capacity. Communicate the load capacity the netting system must support, preventing any underestimation or overestimation during installation.
- Specific anchor point locations and specifications. Detail the precise locations and specifications for anchor points, ensuring proper and secure installation.
- Safety clearances and access points. Communicate the required safety clearances and designated access points to facilitate safe operations.
Shop High-Quality Safety Netting at SRS-i
Avoiding warehouse safety netting mistakes is vital for maintaining a secure and efficient warehouse environment. From load capacity considerations to environmental factors, each aspect contributes to the effectiveness of safety netting systems.
At Shelving + Rack Systems, Inc., we understand the complexities of designing and installing safety netting systems that stand the test of time. Contact us today at (800) 589-7225 to connect with a team member and discover how our high-quality safety netting solutions can enhance the safety and efficiency of your warehouse.
