Guide to Racking Inspections
Guide to Pallet Racking Inspection
Once your racking is in place, it's nice to think that it’s another job off your list. But, with racking, it’s not that simple. To keep your employees safe in the warehouse, you will need to continuously maintain your storage equipment and submit it to a pallet racking inspection. A process which continues over the lifetime of the structure. Although racking structures appear sturdy, even a minor bump can severely compromise their integrity and load-bearing capacity. Ignoring such damage can result in critical safety issues.
To maintain your racking the HSE recommends you appoint one of your employees as a Person Responsible for Racking Safety (PRRS). They will take day-to-day responsibility for maintaining safe operation of your storage systems, rack inspection and maintenance records. They must have the skills necessary to analyse damage data, identify trends and, most importantly, have the authority to implement action.
To make sure employees work safely around racking and know how to identify problems, SEMA recommends they attend our Rack Safety Awareness (RSA) training. Our RSA course instructs on how to correctly use and maintain the racking within its environment. The course will teach them how to maintain safety of the racking through regular checks and reporting issues.
Pallet Racking Inspection
When it comes to inspecting your racking, SEMA advocates a rigorous approach. There are three main reasons for a pallet racking inspection:
- To check the condition of equipment for Health and Safety reasons and identify repair work
- To comply with legal requirements, provide a safe place of work and ensure that work equipment is suitable
- To verify correct installation of the equipment
The process involves three overlapping levels of inspection:
1. Immediate Rack Inspection
First and foremost, you have the ‘immediate inspection’ which is very much as it sounds with your team on the warehouse floor spotting issues. If your staff spot any areas of concern or problems, this will report them immediately to the appointed Person Responsible for Racking Safety (PPRS).
The PRRS will have the skills to evaluate the seriousness of the damage and record and report accordingly.
2. Regular Rack Inspection
Every week (frequency depending on the risk assessment) the PRRS should perform a detailed inspection of your storage equipment. This inspection should check:
- That loading is as specified on the safe load notice at the end of the run of racking
- Correct use is being followed, and if there are any missing or damaged components
Be aware! Any damaged component noted during inspection as requiring repair or replacement should be taken out of use in accordance with SEMA guidelines.
3. Expert Rack Inspection
The third level of pallet racking inspection is a yearly, or twice-yearly inspection (depending on the risk assessment) of the rack. It may be a trained specialist within the organisation, a specialist from the rack supplier, or an outside contractor. A documented report will identify damage and give guidance and comment on other warehouse activities.
The HSE instructs that your annual expert inspection must be undertaken by a technically competent person with sufficient training and knowledge. To support this, we operate our SEMA Approved Rack Inspector (SARI) initiative. This scheme consists of highly qualified professionals who must successfully pass an intensive three-day training course, written exam, and practical assessment to achieve their qualification.
There are two different types of inspection available. A “damage only” pallet racking inspection provides a list of damaged items and their location. A SARI report offers far more useful detail.
KNOWLEDGE HUB
Looking for guidance on your storage equipment? Head over to our Knowledge Hub where we provide an insight into warehouse systems, industry requirements, best practice measures and how to improve safety standards.