Unstable palletized load scenarios had been experienced previously but were not addressed. Eventually, a fatality occurred.
A British Columbia, Canada-based packaging manufacturer has been handed a $290,548 fine after a worker fatality resulting from unstable palletized loads that crushed him on December 7, 2022. The story underscores the importance of safe block stacking practices and addressing incidents that don’t necessarily result in injury—until they eventually do. And then, it is too late.
The fatally injured worker, a forklift driver, was on foot when struck by two falling loads. There were no witnesses, but other workers heard the noise and responded to the scene. “The worker sustained serious injuries and later died,” the redacted WorkSafeBC incident report states.
WorkSafeBC found that the employer failed to identify the “unique hazards and handling requirements” associated with the loaded pallets of slippery litho-laminated boxes that toppled in the event.
A Recipe for Unstable Palletized Loads
Those loads, along with several other similar loads, had several characteristics that made them inherently unstable, according to WorkSafeBC:
• Slippery laminated surfaces of the boxes
• Inconsistent palletization
• Poor unitization
• Missing slats on the pallets
• A lack of straps around the entirety of the bundle
• A rounded upper surface
• Changes due to humidity
The incident report noted that “Inconsistent palletization was seen in the manufacturing area, “with no clear policy or instruction for workers to reject poorly palletized products” before being sent to the adjoining warehouse from production.
“Several stacks of loaded pallets were seen to be unstable and leaning in the area where the incident occurred, due in part to crushed boxes on the lower levels of those stacks (see Figure 5),” the report notes. “The forklift operators shifted back the loaded pallets to compensate for a lean caused by instability in the stack.
The company implemented an incident and hazard reporting system in approximately 2012. Still, it was not being used to report all incidents of falling objects, especially those that were corrected immediately. GLBC’s instructions to workers were unclear on whether workers should report incidents of loaded pallets falling when no workers were in the area or whether to retroactively report incidents or hazardous conditions that had already been corrected by themselves or others.
The threshold for workers to report an incident was inconsistent. As a result, many incidents of leaning stacks, stacks falling over and requiring repalletization, and incidents occurring overnight while the warehouse was closed were not reported. Therefore, the joint health and safety committee was unaware of those incidents and hazards. It could not properly identify the development of hazardous trends or recommend corrective measures.”
The report identified four key issues: workers on foot were exposed to hazardous conditions, inadequate hazard identification and risk assessment, lack of stacking procedures provided to workers and inadequate supervision and training.
Block Stacking Safety Incorporated into Plant Safety System
Since the fatality, the employer has instituted a robust system to promote stacking safety, by integrating it into the plant’s safety system. Some of the implemented measures now include:
- Pallet labels provide clear instructions for stacking or placing a load in pallet racking depending on the stackability of the load
- Elimination of bridge stacking, which creates uneven pressures on loads beneath
- Ensuring that a space is left between rows so that loads can be removed without risk of destabilizing other loads
- Daily inspections of block-stacked storage areas are required
- Keeping pedestrians away from potential risk areas
- A process to immediately report stacked loads of concern
- Loads with insufficient footprint coverage (less than 75%) should not be placed under other loads
- Monitoring load stability, ensuring pallet quality, proper containment, no crowning, etc.
- A formal process for recovering from unstable load stacking situations
- Training and supervision
- Better quality pallets
The bottom line is that load stability issues existed before the fatality but were not sufficiently addressed. This is a sober warning for other operations. If you have experienced unstable load stacking or other unstable pallet storage scenarios but have not incorporated safeguards into your safety system, now is the time to review those risks and remedy shortcomings through your safety system.
Related Article
Block Stacking and Unstacking Loads: Safety Checklist
Rick LeBlanc, EMBA, is the founder and editor of Reusable Packaging News (subscribe to the free newsletter) and editor of Western Pallet Magazine. A supply chain journalist with more than 30 years of experience, he specializes in pallets, reusable packaging, material handling and related operations. Rick is co-author of Pallets: A North American Perspective and Pallets & Progress: A Collected History of Pallets and Palletized Handling 1922–1945. He is also an advisory board member of the Virginia Tech Center for Packaging and Unit Load Design. Read Rick’s full bio.
