The aim of this paper consists on the study, analysis and calculation of the efficiency of a shelving protection system by means of the finite element method (FEM). These shelving protection systems are intended to prevent the eventual damage due to the impacts of transport elements in motion, such as: forklifts, dumpers, hand pallet trucks, and so on. The impact loads may threaten the structural integrity of the shelving system. The present structural problem is highly non-linear, due to the simultaneous presence of the following nonlinearities: material non-linearity (plasticity in this case), geometrical non-linearity (large displacements) and contact-type boundary conditions (between the rigid body and the protection system). A total of forty eight different FEM models are built varying the thickness of the steel plate (4, 5 and 6 mm), the impact height (0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 meters) and the impact direction (head-on collision and side impact). Once the models are solved, the stress distribution, the ...