08

Sep

Red. Amber. Green Equipment Inspections

As many of you already know it is a legal requirement to have an annual ‘Expert Inspection’ of your storage equipment inspections such as racking, shelving, mezzanine floors and cantilever racking by an independent qualified inspector known as a ‘SARI’.

The ‘Storage Equipment Manufacturers Association’ (SEMA) and ‘Health Safety Executive’ (HSE) recommend a three-pronged approach to maintaining best practices in racking safety. This involves operators reporting damage as they find it, with the business being responsible for carrying out regular monthly inspections by a trained supervisor known as a ‘Person Responsible Storage Equipment Safety’ (PRSES).

To promote awareness of storage equipment safety, SEMA holds a popular fortnightly training course to provide individuals with the skills to assess and document the condition of storage equipment on a monthly basis. To identify damage, SEMA introduced a traffic light system to the course to help delegates categorise damage in order of severity. It’s a great initiative and one we believe can be successfully applied in a live environment. Here are the key points of our equipment inspections:

RED – Damage is twice SEMA tolerances and requires immediate offloading and isolation. Repairs must be made using genuine components in line with SEMA’s Code of Practice.

AMBER– Damage greater than SEMA tolerances, loads should not be replaced once unloaded. Repairs must be made using genuine components in line with SEMA’s Code of Practice.  Should repairs have not been carried out within 4 – weeks of notification of damage, this will become a red risk and require immediate offloading and isolation.

GREEN– Falls within SEMA tolerances and should be documented for consideration during your next inspection.

By introducing a damage classification system to your routine monthly inspections, not only do you help ensure the safety of your team, you reduce long term maintenance costs and promote safety within the working environment.

Time for your annual inspection? Call us to arrange with a SEMA accredited inspector on 01384 256969

 

10

Aug

Equipment Bowing – How much is too much?

Equipment bowing – how much is too much?

So you’ve bought your new racking system, installed and loaded it carefully to within the tolerances recommended by your supplier and you notice that some of the beams are bowing. Is this anything to worry about? The short answer is, it could be.

Here at Teepee, we are accredited by SEMA, the Storage Equipment Manufacturing Association which produces safety guidelines for the industry including Codes of Practice for safe levels of deflection or equipment bowing. This states a maximum deflection of span / 200 when a pair of beams is under maximum load. This may look most noticeable when the lower run of beams is viewed along the aisle.

In order to check, SEMA suggests using a line of string held taught immediately under the beam so that you can vertically measure from this to the underside of the beam. Measure at both the centre and the ends of the beam and don’t be tempted to measure to the floor as the floor can be uneven to begin with.

SEMA also recommend a minimum of 75mm clearance to allow a pallet in and out of its location and deflections should be nowhere near this.

If you have any concerns about bowing, an inspection from one of our SEMA-trained and accredited inspectors can quickly provide peace of mind. Not only can we advise on situations such as these, but we also maintain and repair storage and racking systems, providing a convenient one-stop service for busy clients.

Racking inspections start from just £185* Contact sales@teepee.co.uk or call us on 01384 256969 for further details.

 

*Prices subject to formal quotation

08

Jun

We have lift off!

We’re delighted to welcome you to our brand new website, which aims to draw all the components of the Teepee business together in one easy-to-use location.

Whether you’re one of our many regular customers or are new to Teepee, we trust that you’ll find exactly what you need when it comes to warehouse storage solutions, workplace equipment and racking inspections.

With over 25 years in the business and experienced and dedicated teams waiting to assist you with your project, we are proud to be one of the Midlands’ foremost industry suppliers.

For our latest news and offers follow us on Twitter (@TeepeeMH, @RackInspectors) and Facebook (Facebook.com/teepeeltd) and visit our Blog for updates on best practices and industry innovation.

Our extensive range of tailored storage systems can be viewed on our Services page with case studies illustrating how we always go the extra mile to achieve customer satisfaction.

So take a look around and let us know what you think. We’d love to hear your feedback!