Hi all,

I was looking for some advice / guidance on storage of sheet materials on a construction site - typically plasterboard / ply / panels etc. Obviously this requires to be secured to prevent toppling over. I am looking to issue a generic solution to all of our sites and was wondering if anyone has seen a simple practical solution.

In the past I have seen frames built from 4x2, metal strap screwed into the wall at both sides of the plasterboard to contain, metal track screwed from above the plasterboard and bent over the top of the boards, etc.

Also, does the above require a temporary works input in terms of fixing detail / max. number of boards allowed, etc.

Any and all help appreciated!

Hi

Have a look at Glass equipment suppliers. Glass stillages may be of interest to you.

Regards

SW

Good link that, thanks. 

On a personal note, having worked in the past for building product companies including Travis Perkins, who have adopted far safer practices for the storage of Plasterboard and other products.

Plasterboard is delivered to a building site flat on pallets, many distribution companies use cheap low quality pallets which often collapse when they get onto a building site.  So you as a consumer may be able to stipulate in your order to only supply pallets of a certain quality, thus improving safety, plus if you then look after the pallets and return them to the distributor you reduce waste handling and increase your environmental credentials (ISO45001).  So your original idea was to stack this product vertically, that means some workers will end up having to slide sheets off the pack and stack them.  A back breaking and slow task that impacts directly on any manual handling.  Increased sickness from sore backs is a likely outcome.  This is a bad idea in general.  Plasterboard is fragile and the edges chip very easily - your plasterers will curse you frequently.  

Plasterboard also loves moisture, so keeping large quantities on site is a bad policy, as the boards suck in moisture, even when double wrapped in plastic.  'Just in time' is a better strategy, but you'll have to either hire a dedicated transport for this or work with a supplier on a specific contract to enable this.  It is do-able, i've seen it, it does work. 

Do not stack vertically, it is unsafe. 

Depending on your building site, most have access to telehandlers and cranes, having a loading dock to handle plasterboard would probably be your best long term sollution, but you have to plan for it in advance or at least make a provision for this work and may need temporary works to safely put it in place.  A pack of plasterboard is heavy, check the total weight before it comes to site and place the weight on the outer packaging in bold (spray painted works best) for the mechanical handlers and slingers. 

Last point, have a raised, hard standing area for the delivery truck to wait by and for the initial download of the product from the truck.  Sounds basic, but so many companies forget this and simply try to put pallets on earth, rather than building a simple grid of either wood or steel to keep the product off the ground and away from moisture.  This is also true for Steel Rebar, Bricks and Blocks, pre-formed contrete and timber.  An added benefit to this also allows for slingers to safely attach slings and chains to these loads at their center points. 

Have a safe day.