Employee safety in the workplace is a non-negotiable requirement – every day, your employees should arrive at work expecting to go home safely.
Yet when looking at Health & Safety figures, manufacturing and logistics still remains in the top five high-risk industries.
When you consider that your racking is possibly one of the hardest working and most significant members of your warehouse, it makes sense to prioritise this area.
Every day your racking holds heavy stock above employees’ heads while helping your business to run productively and profitably.
At the same time, it zones areas to perform multiple tasks such as picking and packing, handling returns or recycling stations.
Finally, when designed, installed and maintained correctly it plays a vital role in keeping employees safe.
That’s why SEMA, a voice on storage equipment safety, wants warehouse owners to understand their responsibilities and take five steps towards racking safety.
Step 1: Know your responsibilities
Like any business, warehouses must follow Health & Safety guidelines such as the Health & Safety at Work Act, or Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations.
While these documents apply to racking, the complexity of your equipment requires its own guidance. HSG76 Warehousing and Storage advises on safe warehouse management including workforce management, electrical safety, manual handling, working at height and site transport alongside racking shelving storage systems.
There are also SEMA Codes which are written to cover key stages in the lifecycle of your racking.
These codes are relevant not only to racking suppliers but to anyone responsible for the design, installation and maintenance of storage equipment.
Step 2: Choose your supplier carefully
If your racking supplier doesn’t understand the complexities of storage equipment and industry regulations, it quickly reduces the cost-effectiveness and safety of the rack system you have purchased.
Gone are the days when warehouse owners could leave racking safety and quality to chance.
But, in a crowded racking supplier market, it can be hard to know which company to trust, that’s why SEMA aims to benchmark the industry by approving its members.
SEMA membership isn’t bought – it’s earned. Each member must submit to an independent audit which checks the quality of their work, legal and insurance documentation, and compliance with the industry standards.
We take the quality of our members very seriously, which is why they must retake the audit every three years – any company failing to maintain our high standards must leave.
Step 3: Signage
Safety signs in the warehouses are vital for communicating with employees about potential hazards, correct behaviour, and accident prevention measures.
Signs also apply to your racking structure. When designing your racking, suppliers calculate the exact loading capacity based on the type and weight of stock you are storing.
Overloading can weaken your racking and reduce the integrity of the structure which is why they should affix a Load Notice to the structure.
The notice acts as a visual reminder for employees by providing general safety warnings and supplier information.
It also provides information specific to the installation including limitations, number of pallets and maximum load capacity that can be placed on beams.
Step 4: Inspection, inspection, inspection
We cannot say it enough, to keep racking safe you MUST continuously inspect the structure.
The process is simple. Every day, your employees report on racking damage. Provide training so they can recognise and categorise the different types of damage.
At least once a week a member of your team should undertake the Visual Inspection which will check Load Notices are visible, maximum loads are never exceeded, correct usage and rack damage.
At least once a year, a qualified racking inspector should conduct an Expert Inspection. Be aware, there are different industry inspections.
Most only list damage and possibly their location while a report from a SEMA Approved Racking Inspector (SARI) provides far more useful detail, including colour-coded damage assessments and repair timescales.
Step 5: Training, training, training
Training is the cornerstone to upholding racking safety standards. That’s why SEMA has dedicated racking training that covers the lifetime of your equipment.
Installer training – racking installation quality is often overlooked, yet it’s essential for safe racking.
To provide a benchmark for the industry, SEMA developed the Storage Equipment Installers Registration Scheme (SEIRS) which instructs racking installers on correct installation methods by SEMA standards.
Employee training – our Rack Safety Awareness training (RSA) prepares your team for undertaking the Visual Inspection.
This one-day course covers responsibilities, recording an inspection, potential damage levels, understanding load notices and action points.
Expert inspections – the SARI qualification is for professionals who conduct third-party rack inspections and want to uphold a high-quality standard in their work.
The SARI course comprises an intensive three-day training course and successful completion of both a written examination and practical assessment.