Visipro Pallet Rack Protectors in India: Upright Guards, Pallet Deflectors and Bollards for Warehouse Racking
Pallet racking is the most expensive structure in most Indian warehouses, and it is damaged in the cheapest possible way: a forklift tyre, a fork tip or a swinging pallet touches an upright at the end of a long shift, nobody reports it, and a few weeks later a post that was never meant to take a side load is slightly bent. The bend is invisible from the cab, the beam above it is now carrying its pallets through a damaged joint, and the first time anybody looks properly is during a rack inspection or, worse, after a collapse. This page is a working guide to doing something about it with the ALKON Visipro range: pallet rack protectors for intermediate uprights, pallet deflectors for rear and front posts, and Visipro bollards for doorways and traffic corners. Shreeram Metafusion Engineers Pvt. Ltd. operates storagebins.in from Shop-1, Gagangiri CHS, Sector 17, Vashi, Navi Mumbai, and has been an authorised stockist of ALKON Plastics Pvt. Ltd. for over thirty years. The Visipro range is small, three product families in the catalogue of 476-plus products, but it sits at a point in the warehouse where a modest purchase can protect a very large asset. What follows explains what each item does, where it belongs, how to choose a size, how to fit it and how to build it into an inspection routine.
Why rack uprights get hit, and why it matters
A pallet rack upright is a thin steel section carrying a very large vertical load. It is engineered to do that job superbly and almost nothing else. It is not designed to take a sideways knock, because the beams that connect the uprights into frames provide the lateral stability, and a bent or twisted upright weakens the whole frame. The knock itself is usually trivial. A reach truck turns tightly in a narrow aisle and the mast catches the base of the post. A driver puts a pallet in at an angle and the pallet's corner scrapes down the front. A hand pallet truck is pushed against the foot of an upright in a hurry. None of these events feels like an accident to the person involved, and most are never reported.
The damage accumulates silently. Rack safety guidance in many countries, and the inspection practice of responsible warehouse operators, treats an upright with visible deformation as a serious defect. Even a small dent changes how the upright carries load, and a small dent can grow into a failure when the rack is fully loaded. Replacing a damaged upright is expensive, because the load above it has to be unloaded and propped before work can begin. A single repair can interrupt a whole aisle for days.
Prevention is therefore very cheap by comparison. If the likely blow lands on a protector instead of on the steel, the upright is spared, the protector shows the mark and an inexpensive part is replaced. That is the logic behind the Visipro range, and it applies in any warehouse that has pallet racking and forklifts, from a pharmaceutical distribution centre to a cold store to a manufacturing plant's finished goods yard.
What the Visipro range contains
The ALKON Visipro range in the catalogue consists of three product families, and each does a different job.
All three are made in high visibility safety yellow, so that a forklift driver can pick out the position of an upright from a distance, and all are made from plastics that absorb energy instead of passing it on to the steel behind. They are easy to fit, they need no painting and they are designed to be replaced individually when they have taken a hit, which keeps the repair cost low.
The ranges overlap in use. A well-protected warehouse may use all three: rack protectors on intermediate uprights, deflectors at the bases of rear and front posts, steel guards at aisle ends where the risk is highest, and bollards at doorways, column corners and pedestrian crossings.
- The Visipro Pallet Rack Protector, a 500 mm high guard in nine widths that fits intermediate uprights.
- Visipro Pallet Deflectors, short collars in two models for rear and front uprights, locked with nylon pins.
- The Visipro Bollard, a free-standing impact post built from a core pipe, deflector segments, locking pins and a cap, for doorways and traffic corners.
Understanding the risk zones in a rack
Not every upright faces the same risk, and good protection puts the right device in each place. Consider a typical selective pallet rack run, two frames wide and ten bays long, with aisles on either side. There are three kinds of position.
Intermediate uprights, the posts between the end frames, are struck mainly from the front by a pallet that has been misjudged or by a fork tip. The impact is usually modest and frontal. This is the position that the Visipro rack protector is designed for, and ALKON's own classification describes the risk as low and the appropriate protection as low cost.
Rear uprights, the posts that face the back of the rack or, in a double-row rack, the posts shared between rows, are struck by pallets that are pushed too far in. The damage here is hard to see from the aisle and often goes unnoticed until an inspection. The AX115 deflector is intended for this position, and ALKON's literature states that these deflectors mitigate the effect of pallet impacts against rear and front pallet racking uprights and reduce rack maintenance and rear upright damage by up to 90 per cent. As with any manufacturer's statement, treat the figure as indicative and measure the benefit in your own operation.
Corner uprights and the ends of aisles are the highest-risk positions. Forklifts turn here, so an impact can come from the front or the side, delivered by the truck itself and not merely by its load. ALKON's guidance classifies this as high risk and recommends an independent steel guard. A plastic protector is not the right tool for this location, and a responsible specification says so.
A short walk through the warehouse with a sketch of the layout, marking each position as intermediate, rear, front or end, is the best first step. It tells you what to buy and, as importantly, what the protector cannot do.
The Visipro Pallet Rack Protector in detail
The Visipro rack protector is a 500 mm high guard that wraps the front of an intermediate upright. It is made from polyethylene compounded plastic with an energy absorbing inner pad. According to the catalogue it is tough and impact resistant, can withstand temperatures as low as -30 degrees Celsius and is certified to the impact loads specified in European Standard EN 15512-2009, the European standard for the design of steel static storage systems.
It comes in nine widths, designated AVS1, AVS2, AVA, AVB, AVC, AVD, AVE, AVF and AVG, to cover the range of upright widths in common use. The ranges are summarised below, with the standard pack size in brackets.
The protector is held on with a Velcro strap, and no floor fixings are needed. The straps are black and come in two lengths: SFG0234, 800 mm by 16 mm, in packs of 50 for the four smallest sizes, and SFG0235, 1000 mm by 16 mm, in packs of 50 for the five largest. Because it fits without tools, one person can fit a protector in a minute, and because it comes off as easily, it does not obstruct inspection or rack reconfiguration.
- AVS1, 75 mm wide, for uprights from 50 to 63 mm (30 per carton).
- AVS2, 88 mm wide, for uprights from 63 to 76 mm (24 per carton).
- AVA, 95 mm wide, for uprights from 70 to 83 mm (24 per carton).
- AVB, 104 mm wide, for uprights from 79 to 92 mm (21 per carton).
- AVC, 117 mm wide, for uprights from 92 to 105 mm (18 per carton).
- AVD, 130 mm wide, for uprights from 105 to 118 mm (18 per carton).
- AVE, 143 mm wide, for uprights from 118 to 131 mm (15 per carton).
- AVF, 155 mm wide, for uprights from 130 to 143 mm (12 per carton).
- AVG, 170 mm wide, for uprights from 143 to 156 mm (10 per carton).
Choosing the right size: measure first
Choosing the size is straightforward if you measure carefully, and expensive if you guess. The key dimension is the width of the upright on the face that the protector wraps. Use a steel rule or a calliper, measure at a clean section of the upright away from any bracing, and record the figure to the nearest millimetre. Rack manufacturers produce uprights in a variety of profiles, and two racks in the same warehouse bought in different years may have different widths.
Compare your measurement with the ranges above. If it falls within one range, choose that size. If it falls in an overlap, such as 63 mm, which is the top of AVS1 and the bottom of AVS2, check the fit with a sample. A protector should sit snugly without being forced on and without leaving a gap that lets it rattle.
Record the size in a simple register that lists each aisle, bay and upright position. This register becomes the ordering list and, later, the inspection list. Surveyors often find that a single warehouse needs two or three sizes. A site visit and a few samples, which Shreeram Metafusion can help to arrange, can remove the uncertainty before you place a full order.
Pallet deflectors: protecting the foot of the post
The deflector deals with a different part of the problem. Where the protector guards the face of an upright against a frontal hit, the deflector protects its base, the part nearest the floor where fork tips and pallet runners most often strike. It is a short collar, 120 mm high, made from injection moulded, high-impact plastic with energy absorbing properties, in safety yellow.
There are two models. The AX115 has an internal diameter of 115 mm and is designed for the rear uprights of pallet racks. It is deep enough to be placed over the anchoring footplate of the upright and within the anchor bolts. The AX140 has an internal diameter of 140 mm and is intended for front uprights that already carry a Visipro protector of the AVS1, AVS2, AVA, AVB or AVC size, and it is placed around the front upright over the protector.
Each deflector is locked with two heavy duty nylon pins, code AXLP, 125 mm long. The AX115 is supplied in sets, with 25 sets, or 50 pieces, to a standard pack, and the AX140 in 16 sets, or 32 pieces, to a pack. Pins are supplied separately, 100 to a carton, so order enough: two for every deflector, plus spares for replacement.
The practical benefit of the deflector is that it turns a head-on contact into a glancing one. A fork tip that strikes the deflector is guided away from the steel, and a pallet runner that slides down the upright finds a smooth, rounded surface. Because it is yellow, it also marks the base of every upright for drivers who may be looking up at the load.
The Visipro bollard: doors, corners and pedestrian lanes
Rack uprights are not the only things in a warehouse that need protection. Door frames, wall corners, fire extinguisher stations, electrical panels, pedestrian crossings and the edges of machines are all hit by trucks, trolleys and pallets. A bollard is the simplest answer: a vertical post that takes the hit so the thing behind it does not.
The Visipro bollard is made from segmented sections that are designed to spin and reduce the impact energy of a collision, so a truck that clips the post is deflected and not stopped dead. It has no sharp edges, needs no painting because the plastic is pre-coloured bright yellow, resists corrosive environments, is easy to clean and needs no maintenance. It can be installed indoors or outdoors.
A Visipro bollard consists of the following components, as set out in the catalogue.
The locking pins are made from nylon plastic, 116 mm and 124 mm long for the small and the long pins respectively. The bollard is anchored to the floor with M16 x 200 mm anchor bolts and fixing resin, which are to be sourced locally. Before ordering, check the floor, because an anchor bolt of that length needs a sound concrete slab of adequate thickness. If the floor is a thin screed, a different fixing method may be needed.
Position bollards where a vehicle is likely to turn or approach at an angle: at the sides of dock doors, at the corners of intersections, in front of rack ends where steel guards are not in place, and either side of pedestrian crossings. Leave enough clearance that the bollard does not itself become an obstacle, and mark the floor around it so drivers can see where it stands.
- AVBCP 460 x 140, the bollard core pipe, one number.
- AX140, the Visipro pallet deflector used as the segment, eight pieces.
- AXBCLPS, the small bollard locking pin, six numbers.
- AXBC140, the bollard cap, one number.
- AXBCLPL, the long bollard locking pin, two numbers.
Fitting and removing: a ten-minute job per position
One of the strengths of the Visipro system is how little work it takes to fit. For a rack protector the sequence is simple.
Most warehouses fit the protector so that its 500 mm length starts near the floor or at the height where a pallet or fork is most likely to strike, which is typically the lowest part of the upright. Follow your rack manufacturer's guidance on any restrictions about fitting near beam connectors.
For deflectors, slide the collar over the base of the upright, line up the pin holes and drive the nylon pins through. For a bollard, mark and drill the floor, set the anchor bolts with resin, allow the resin to cure according to its instructions, then assemble the core pipe, segments, pins and cap.
Nothing in the fitting needs welding or hot work, which is a real advantage in a live warehouse, and nothing alters the rack structure. Many operators fit protectors during a night shift or a planned downtime, aisle by aisle, so that the work does not disturb operations.
- Clean the upright face with a cloth to remove dust and oil, so the pad sits flat.
- Offer the protector to the upright at the intended height, with the energy absorbing pad against the steel.
- Pass the Velcro strap around the back of the upright, through the slots in the protector, and pull it snug.
- Press the strap down so that it holds, and check that the protector does not slide when pushed.
Building protection into the rack inspection routine
A protector does not replace inspection. It makes inspection better, because it takes the knocks that used to damage the steel and records them in a visible, replaceable part. A sound warehouse programme combines three habits.
The first is a daily or per-shift walk by a supervisor or a safety officer, looking for new damage, displaced pallets and anything out of place. A protector that is cracked, torn or missing is a flag, and it is usually the first sign that an aisle has a problem, whether a worn-out layout, a new driver or a loading pattern.
The second is a periodic formal inspection by a competent person, with the protectors lifted where necessary to check the upright behind. Many countries have guidance specifying the frequency of rack inspections and the classification of damage, and a rack inspector will be glad to find a protector that lifts off easily instead of one that has to be cut away.
The third is a log. Record every impact, with the date, the location and the action taken, so that patterns become visible. If the same upright is hit three times in a month, the cause is probably layout, not driving, and the remedy might be a different traffic flow, a wider aisle or a steel guard. A cheap plastic part that records the hit is more useful as evidence than as a guard.
Make replacement routine. A protector that has absorbed a heavy impact has done its job and should be replaced. Keep a few of each size in stock, so that a damaged protector is swapped the same day. The cost of a spare is trivial next to the cost of leaving an upright unprotected.
Combining Visipro with steel guards and good layout
No single measure removes the risk. The most effective warehouses combine protection with design. Wider aisles reduce the chance of contact. Clear floor markings show where trucks should travel and where pedestrians can walk. Good lighting makes uprights and pallets visible. Driver training, including a reminder of the cost of impact damage, has an effect that no hardware can match. Speed limits and mirrors at blind corners help in the same way.
Visipro protectors complement these measures by acting as a last line of defence, and by making the position of every upright very visible. The yellow colour matters: it is the colour drivers associate with a hazard, and it stands out against the typical blue and orange of rack uprights and beams. For the highest-risk positions, such as the ends of aisles and the corners, add steel guards. A tiered approach, with plastic on the intermediate uprights, deflectors at the base and steel at the ends, spends the budget where the risk is.
Plan the layout to avoid unnecessary exposure. If a particular upright is hit repeatedly because the aisle is too narrow for the truck turning circle, the cheapest fix may be to rearrange the pallet positions or widen the turn, not to add more protection. Use the impact log to decide.
Warehouses that benefit most
The case for rack protection is strongest where the cost of rack damage is highest. Cold stores and frozen storage, where racking is dense, trucks work in confined aisles and replacement is difficult, are obvious candidates, and the catalogue's low-temperature rating is relevant there. Distribution centres running double shifts with many drivers face a high impact rate. Pharmaceutical and food warehouses have strict audit requirements, and visible, documented protection helps in inspections. Manufacturing plants with rack-fed production lines have the added cost of a stopped line when a rack is taken out of service.
Third-party logistics operators have a particular reason to care, because the racking is often leased or customer-owned and the contract may make the operator liable for damage. A visible programme of protection and inspection is a defence against disputes.
Smaller businesses are not exempt. A small warehouse with a single run of racking and one truck can be as badly damaged by one careless turn as a large one, and the cost of a few protectors is small. The Visipro range is sold in carton quantities, but Shreeram Metafusion can advise on a first order sized to your actual number of positions.
How to survey and specify your warehouse
A survey is the most reliable route to a correct order, and it need not take long. A person with a tape measure, a notepad and a camera can cover a typical warehouse in a morning.
From this you can build an order. Intermediate uprights get protectors in the size that matches. Rear uprights get AX115 deflectors with pins. Front uprights with protectors get AX140 deflectors with pins. Aisle ends are flagged for steel guards. Doors and corners get bollards, once the floor has been checked. Add a modest allowance for spares, and a quantity of Velcro straps in the right length.
If you prefer, send the sketch and the measurements to our team and we will turn them into a quotation. We can also advise on whether a position is better served by a deflector, a protector or a bollard.
- Sketch the layout of racks, aisles and doors, numbering each run and upright.
- Mark the position type: intermediate, rear, front, aisle end or corner.
- Measure the width of each upright type, and note any different rack makes.
- Note any existing damage, which should be reported to the rack owner or inspector before any protection is fitted.
- Note the traffic: the aisles where trucks turn, the doors, and the places pedestrians cross.
- Photograph each type of position for reference.
Ordering Visipro from Shreeram Metafusion
Shreeram Metafusion Engineers Pvt. Ltd. supplies the Visipro range from Vashi, Navi Mumbai, to warehouses across India as part of the ALKON catalogue. The range includes the nine sizes of rack protector, both models of deflector, the nylon locking pins, the Velcro straps and the bollard components. Product pages on this website list the dimensions, the article numbers and the standard packs.
When you enquire, it helps to have the following ready: the number of uprights to be protected and their widths, the number of rear and front uprights to receive deflectors, the number and location of any bollards, and the floor type where bollards will be anchored. Mention any special conditions, such as a cold store, so that we can check the product information against them.
For a warehouse that already stores small parts in ALKON bins, Visipro is a natural companion, and the same supplier can deliver both. Our warehouse storage bins page and our guide to cutting picking time through better bin layout cover the other side of a well-run warehouse: the parts that sit on the racking you are protecting.
A short checklist before you buy
Before you place an order, confirm the points below. They take a few minutes and prevent most of the problems that arise.
With these in place, the Visipro range does what it is designed to do: take the knocks that would otherwise land on the steel, show where they happened and be replaced for a fraction of the cost of the damage it prevented.
- Each upright position has been classified as intermediate, rear, front, aisle end or corner.
- Upright widths have been measured, and sizes chosen from the catalogue ranges.
- Aisle ends and corners have been assigned steel guards, not plastic protectors.
- Existing damage has been reported and, if necessary, repaired by the rack owner or a competent person.
- Quantities of Velcro straps and locking pins have been added.
- The floor at each bollard position has been checked for the M16 x 200 mm anchor bolts and resin.
- A stock of spares has been planned, and an inspection and impact log has been set up.
Frequently asked questions
Does a Visipro rack protector replace a steel corner guard?
No, and ALKON's own guidance is clear on this. The Visipro Pallet Rack Protector is described as a low cost guarding solution for the low risk intermediate uprights within the pallet rack structure, where the likely impact is a frontal strike from a pallet. Corner uprights and the ends of aisles face frontal and side impact from forklifts themselves and are classed as high risk, where an independent steel guard is the right answer. Use plastic protectors on the intermediate uprights and steel guards at the ends and corners.
How do I choose the right protector size for my uprights?
Measure the width of the upright face that the protector wraps, then match it to the ranges in the catalogue. AVS1 suits uprights from 50 to 63 mm wide, AVS2 from 63 to 76 mm, AVA from 70 to 83 mm, AVB from 79 to 92 mm, AVC from 92 to 105 mm, AVD from 105 to 118 mm, AVE from 118 to 131 mm, AVF from 130 to 143 mm and AVG from 143 to 156 mm. Where two sizes overlap, choose the one whose range centres on your measurement. Every protector is 500 mm high.
Do the protectors need drilling or floor fixings?
No. The Visipro Pallet Rack Protector is held on with a Velcro strap and needs no floor fixings and no drilling of the upright. It is designed to be fitted and removed easily, which means it can be taken off for a rack inspection or moved if the rack is reconfigured. The straps are sold separately by length: SFG0234 at 800 mm for AVS1, AVS2, AVA and AVB, and SFG0235 at 1000 mm for AVC, AVD, AVE, AVF and AVG.
What is the difference between a protector and a deflector?
A protector is a 500 mm high guard that wraps the face of an intermediate upright and absorbs a frontal hit from a pallet. A deflector is a short, 120 mm high collar that sits low on an upright, around the base, to turn a pallet or fork tip away from the post. The AX115 deflector is for the rear uprights, and the AX140 is for front uprights that already carry a Visipro protector of size AVS1, AVS2, AVA, AVB or AVC.
How are the deflectors locked in place?
Each deflector is secured with heavy duty nylon locking pins, product code AXLP, 125 mm long, supplied in packs of 100. Two pins are needed for each deflector, so allow for two per unit when ordering, and order extra pins separately if you expect to remove and refit deflectors during rack maintenance.
Can Visipro bollards be used outdoors?
ALKON describes the Visipro bollard as suitable for doorways and other high traffic zones both indoors and outdoors. It is built from segmented sections designed to spin and reduce the energy of a collision, is pre-coloured bright yellow so it needs no painting, and is resistant to corrosive environments. It is fixed to the floor with M16 x 200 mm anchor bolts and fixing resin, which you need to source locally, so confirm the floor construction before you order.
How low a temperature can the protectors take, which matters for cold stores?
The catalogue states that the Visipro Pallet Rack Protector can withstand temperatures as low as -30 degrees Celsius, which covers frozen storage. It is made from polyethylene compounded plastic and is certified to the impact loads specified in the European Standard EN 15512-2009. For a particular cold store, check the exact operating conditions against the product information before you specify.
How many protectors will I need for one warehouse?
Start with the intermediate uprights at aisle entries and along the aisles where forklifts turn, then count the uprights you want to cover. Standard packs run from 30 pieces for AVS1 down to 10 for AVG, so ordering by carton is usually practical. Walk the aisles with a sheet of paper, note the upright width in each aisle and count by size. A site survey by our team can turn that list into an order.
Does fitting a protector hide damage to the upright?
It can if you let it, and that is a reason to build inspection into the routine. A protector is easy to remove, so a competent person can lift it during the regular rack inspection, check the upright behind and refit it. A protector that shows fresh damage is also a useful signal that a particular aisle or driver needs attention.
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