Why Pallet Inspection Matters: What to Check Before Every Load
A damaged pallet that makes it into your operation can cause a dropped load, a rejected shipment, a workplace injury, or all three. The most common cause is not bad pallets, it is pallets that were never checked before use. A basic inspection takes less than a minute and catches most problems before they become costly.
What to Check on Every Pallet
Deck boards
Look for broken, cracked, or missing boards. Gaps create fall-through risk.
Stringers or blocks
Cracked or split stringers are a load-bearing failure waiting to happen.
Protruding nails
Nails that worked up from boards damage product, tear wrap, injure workers.
Soft spots or rot
Press on suspect areas. Soft wood means moisture damage. Pull it.
Warp or twist
A badly warped pallet will not sit flat on racking or conveyors.
Dimensions
For automated lines, spot-check size. Out-of-spec pallets jam systems.
If a stringer is broken through more than half its thickness, pull the pallet. Run your hand carefully across the surface to find protruding nails. Some minor cupping is acceptable, but severe warp is a reject.
When to Pull a Pallet from Service
Pull any pallet with a broken stringer, missing deck board, or visible rot. Do not try to get one more trip out of a pallet that is clearly compromised. The cost of a dropped load or an injury is far higher than the cost of the pallet.
Pull from service if you see:
- A broken stringer or block
- Missing or completely broken deck boards
- Visible rot in any structural location
- Severe warp that prevents the pallet from sitting flat
- Multiple repaired stringers on a pallet rated for heavy loads
Pallets that are borderline, meaning one repaired stringer, a few surface cracks, or moderate warp, can be evaluated individually based on what they will be carrying and how far they will travel. For heavy loads or racking applications, hold the standard higher.
Who Should Be Doing Pallet Inspections
In most operations, the person loading the pallet is the right person to check it. A quick visual before loading takes seconds and becomes habit with minimal training.
For operations that receive large volumes of recycled pallets, it is also worth doing a spot-check when the delivery arrives, before pallets are put into circulation. Catching a bad batch at the dock is much easier than tracking down individual problem pallets later.
Frequently Asked Questions
Atlas Pallets & Packaging inspects and grades all recycled pallets before delivery. We serve manufacturers, warehouses, and 3PLs across Chicagoland and the Midwest. If you want to know what to expect from our inventory, reach out.
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