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hardworkingdude  
#1 Posted : 13 October 2020 12:54:31(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
hardworkingdude

Hi all, just wanted to ask a question on wooden pallets. The business I work for re-uses the standard wooden pallets throughout its distribution network. The pallets they use are those which they receive goods on from other suppliers, hence they don't conform to any standards etc. 

The pallets can hold upto 160kg of goods as they are transported, although in most cases they tend to be around 90kg 

Our current process is to risk assess and dispose of any that are not in a good condition, and recently one pallet split and dropped a load of goods despite this. 

From a H&S point of view, would you advise that they should conform to some standard or be rated for certain weights? I would have thought that this would be the case under PUWER

thanks in advance!

peter gotch  
#2 Posted : 13 October 2020 13:52:52(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
peter gotch

Assuming that you are in the UK or Europe, it would be usual for any incoming wooden pallets to conform to European Norms as discussed in HSE guidance 

https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/pm15.pdf  

Assuming that they do not belong to someone else, then it is not uncommon for organisations to do their own wooden pallet repairs, subject to doing so to keep the pallets in condition consistent to the standards to which they have been constructed.

On the basis of your posting it would suggest that something went wrong with the risk assessment or its implementation - could be as simple as using a pallet for a purpose other than intended or using the wrong type of nail to attach a new board.

Acorns  
#3 Posted : 13 October 2020 21:07:23(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Acorns

If your RA was sufficient before the split, was the failure due to the way it was used, how it was checked etc.   Your RA may still be valid and it is the Ops side of things that wants to be reviewed as much as anything else.  

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