Racking Inspection Checklist! How To Meet Warehouse Requirements

You invest a lot of time and effort into getting the ideal storage solution for your warehouse, but installing your racking and shelving systems is only the beginning. To remain legally compliant you must follow a warehouse racking inspection checklist, one that aligns with HSE and SEMA standards.

We look at how you can meet your racking legal requirements, run through the inspection process and provide you with your own racking inspection checklist.

What are your warehouse racking Health & Safety Executive (HSE) requirements?

Before we go into your inspection requirements, we first need to discuss regulations that relate to your warehouse and racking. As standard for most businesses, there is several HSE guidance which relate to the warehouse. These include best practice actions for manual handling, working at height and work equipment.

While following this guidance will create a safe working environment, there are additional documents which relate specifically to the warehouse and storage equipment. The first is HSG76 Warehouse and Storage: A Guide to Health and Safety, which covers all stages of the racking’s lifespan. It emphasises the warehouse owner’s responsibilities to ensure best practice and outlines general preventative steps to avoid risk and hazards. There is also a significant section relating to the safe design, installation and maintenance of storage equipment systems.

The next place to look is the Storage Equipment Manufacturers Association (SEMA). They are a leading voice within the storage industry and, as part of their work, they have developed SEMA Codes of Practice, guidance notes and initiatives related to racking and shelving structures.

As the warehouse owner or manager, you need to be aware of your responsibility to follow the guidance found in HSG76 and SEMA Codes of Practice. While it is not a legal requirement to follow either of these, if there was a bad accident in your warehouse and the HSE investigates, you could be liable. If they take enforcement action, they will use these documents as a framework to potentially build a case against your business.

How often should warehouse racking be inspected?

Here at Teepee, it’s not uncommon for us to arrive at an Expert Inspection and find weekly checks aren’t being conducted or repair recommendations ignored. While this might not seem important, it puts your business at risk! To find out the expected process for racking inspections, you need to look at HSG76 and SEMA for guidance.

They recommend the following:

• Step 1: Person Responsible for Racking Safety (PPRS)

  You will need to appoint a PRRS who plays a key role in upholding standards and highlighting safety risks – both in your warehouse environment and with your racking and shelving systems. They will need the skills necessary to categorise different damage levels – from trivial to serious – or delegate this task to a competent person who has been on a Rack Safety Awareness course. They are normally a warehouse, facilities or health and safety manager.

  This person maintains rack inspection and maintenance records, analyses damage data, identifies where regular occurrences happen and implements required action. Importantly, they need the authority to implement immediate action where necessary and ensure any repairs are being carried out.

• Step 2 – Employees

  Every day, employees are working around your racking, which puts them in the perfect position to spot obvious structural issues. Provide training on how to identify visible damage and instruct on correct reporting methods.

• Step 3: Visual Inspections

  You will need to train a member of your team to conduct the Visual Inspections and maintain record their findings. This could be your PRRS or another competent employee.

  They will identify damage on the racking, check Load Notices are in place, correct procedures are being followed and write up a formal report on their findings. They will need to attend a training course like our Racking Inspection Training to learn how to inspect the racking. How often you need to conduct this visual inspection will be based on your risk assessment.

• Step 4 – Expert Inspections

  This is an in-depth warehouse safety inspection of your racking. Only an inspector who has the correct qualifications, such as SEMA Approved Racking Inspectors, can perform one. They will conduct racking and storage assessments while also reporting and recommending how to maintain the safety of your racking.

What are your internal inspection responsibilities as the warehouse owner or manager?

Inspecting racking to uphold employee safety is a continual process and you cannot afford to relax at any point. It is estimated that there are around 700 pallet racking collapses each year. When the HSE comes calling, the penalties can be harsh, costing into the millions. On top of that, you have to manage production downtime, costly repairs and potential loss of your business reputation.

Taking the right steps (as outlined above) isn’t the end of your inspection responsibilities. When we visit warehouses to undertake their Expert Inspection, we often find that the weekly inspections aren’t happening or repair recommendations aren’t being followed through.

Here are the three important internal inspection factors you need to consider for your racking inspection checklist:

1. Staff training

   While staff training is important, pick your course carefully. When looking for a racking safety course, it’s worth checking that it’s conducted by experts who work within the industry.

   On our Racking Awareness Safety & Inspection Course, we only put our experienced warehouse inspectors at the front of the class! Giving you and your employees the chance to draw on both their knowledge and experience. We deliver our course at your premises. This enables us to combine the classroom-based element of the course with practice in a setting familiar to your team. Our course will look at potential issues that can occur on racking, how to recognise signs of damage and your legal obligations to conduct the inspections.

   Upon completion of the rack safety course, we issue a certificate detailing the date achieved, the expiry date and the name of the facility’s competent PRRS. The certification lasts for three years, after which they need to go on one of our refresher rack inspection courses.

2. Remember, react to issues!

   Make sure that the person responsible for authorising repair work on your racking is aware of the position of PRRS. Filing their internal inspection report and thinking you’ve ticked the box is not enough!! Anyone responsible for actioning repair work should understand that if the racking needs repairing, they should get a team in to repair the racking system immediately. Any delays in requesting and authorising the repair work are not acceptable. If you ignore damaged components on your racking over a long period, it can quickly result in a bigger issue.

3. Follow the pallet racking inspection checklist

   While it is very easy to nod your head, safe knowing that you’ve trained your staff and appointed a competent person into the role of PRRS, you cannot simply leave them to get on with the job.

As the warehouse owner or manager, you have a legal responsibility to check the following:

Racking Repairs

On this last note, remember to take a careful approach to undertaking repair work. If your racking system is still under the manufacturer’s warranty, getting an unauthorised company to conduct the work could render your warranty null and void.

This is where working with Teepee could help. We are a SEMA Approved Member – Advanced and we are part of an association that features some of the leading racking manufacturers working within the UK. As an Approved Member, we are qualified to conduct work on behalf of the SEMA Manufacturers. That means we can undertake remedial work on racking supplied by a SEMA manufacturer and it won’t invalidate your warranty.

If the racking’s outside the manufacturer’s warranty, you can choose any racking system supplier to conduct the repair work. However, you need to check the installers credentials. A lot of racking installers still learn on the job and do not receive correct instruction on approved repair methods. That is why we use installers who have been through the SEIRS programme. This training instructs on correct industry installation methods and ensures their work meets a high standard of quality and safety.

Need Help With Your Pallet Racking Inspection Checklist? Teepee Can Help!

Now that you’ve read our blog, you’ve got no excuse miss any stage on our comprehensive racking inspection checklist. But if you need help at any stage, why not get in touch with Teepee? With over 35 years within the industry, we can offer far more than creating and delivering the perfect storage solution. Once your storage equipment is installed, we offer a long-term customer service package that supports you in the day-to-day running of your warehouse.

Our customer service package includes training for your team to equip them with the knowledge they need to recognise damage on your racking system. Our Racking Inspection training course will also provide one of your team with the information and skills they need to take on the role of PRRS.

We can also conduct your Expert Inspection regardless of who supplied your pallet racking system. Book a warehouse inspection with one of our SEMA Approved Racking Inspectors (SARI). We’ll make sure you never forget your next professional inspection and ensure you meet SEMA and HSE recommendations. Two to three months prior to your inspection, we’ll get in touch to discuss your equipment, help with any problems you may have and book one of our qualified racking inspectors to pay a visit to your site.

If you need any work, our SEIRS-trained installers can get your pallet racking system back up and running in no time at all.