Separation Between Pallets

Is there a requirement for separating pallets within a warehouse where racking is not utilized? Besides having the 18" away from the inner perimeter, someone mentioned to me that there need to be a 4" separation between pallets in the same row. Has anyone came across this?

I don't know if it is a requirement, but it would be an industry standard parameter.  I've been in establishment where the floor has been painted to ensure there is a gap between pallets

Thanks you very much. We have multiple distribution warehouse that move inventory fairly quick.They are maintained clean and of course space is always an issue. The 4" separation between pallets is always a problem. Can we have pallets against each other in a row provided there is no potential of causing damage to products,  making sure its the floor is maintained clean and no sign of harborage?

Which scheme are you audited under and are you USDA or FDA?

FDA. we are a food grade chemical distribution company.

then i think you should be fine .......you're not storing/handling the food stuffs. As long as your sanitation program is sufficient to keep your establishment clean and you have a pest control program in place

Is there a requirement for separating pallets within a warehouse where racking is not utilized? Besides having the 18" away from the inner perimeter, someone mentioned to me that there need to be a 4" separation between pallets in the same row. Has anyone came across this?

 

Note that the 18" standard does not exist in any GFSI scheme or US regulation, it's an old AIB standard that many auditors think is written down, you now know better :). There are many discussions of that rule on the forum, the key is that you don't have pallets pressed up AGAINST walls where they aren't moved/cleaned/inspected.

 

Agree with Scampi, as long as it doesn't pose a harborage space for pests in your facility and you move stuff around often enough to clean the area, you can store things side by side. I would be wary of an enormous cube of pallets that never moved, but in normal practice no issue, we store them side by side often. More common the 4 in might be needed to prevent forklift damage when moving materials.

Note that the 18" standard does not exist in any GFSI scheme or US regulation, it's an old AIB standard that many auditors think is written down, you now know better :). There are many discussions of that rule on the forum, the key is that you don't have pallets pressed up AGAINST walls where they aren't moved/cleaned/inspected.

Agree with Scampi, as long as it doesn't pose a harborage space for pests in your facility and you move stuff around often enough to clean the area, you can store things side by side. I would be wary of an enormous cube of pallets that never moved, but in normal practice no issue, we store them side by side often. More common the 4 in might be needed to prevent forklift damage when moving materials.

Thank you very much. I appreciate the help.

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From experience, if your rows are very long you're going to want some separation because you will have excessive wear and tear on the pallets themselves by pushing them / sliding them against each other.  This is made worse with a hi-low because your operator might not know that he's putting pressure on a pallet behind the first couple.  As FFF said, if you're regularly cleaning and rotating, and can demonstrate that you don't have a pest control issue, the only problem you may have is with a customer specific requirement.

From experience, if your rows are very long you're going to want some separation because you will have excessive wear and tear on the pallets themselves by pushing them / sliding them against each other. This is made worse with a hi-low because your operator might not know that he's putting pressure on a pallet behind the first couple. As FFF said, if you're regularly cleaning and rotating, and can demonstrate that you don't have a pest control issue, the only problem you may have is with a customer specific requirement.

You brought up a great point about longer rows. Some forklift operator may push pallets against the entire row. This sometimes damages the floor. I appreciate the response.

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Not knowing the scheme, you are audit against - Yes, I heard of it, but rarely seen it enforced by the 3^rd party auditor. If you are going to get dinged for this, it’s going to be the result product damage observed during an audit. The current AIB standard "There was be adequate space maintained between rows, and we do maintain 7” inches on each side of the pallet which has been working for us for a long time minimizing product damage as the result handling equipment turning radius. 

 

I hope this helps.

Not knowing the scheme, you are audit against - Yes, I heard of it, but rarely seen it enforced by the 3^rd party auditor. If you are going to get dinged for this, it’s going to be the result product damage observed during an audit. The current AIB standard "There was be adequate space maintained between rows, and we do maintain 7” inches on each side of the pallet which has been working for us for a long time minimizing product damage as the result handling equipment turning radius.

I hope this helps.

Yes I am ok with between rows. Thanks for your response.

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