"Do I really need to have a racking inspection" is one of our most frequently asked questions and quite simply the answer is "Yes" because in truth you can’t afford not to! In this article we will look at why you need a racking inspection.
There are a number of practical and legal reasons but at it’s simplest you need to inspect your racking to keep your staff safe. This is the best way to protect your warehouse staff because don’t forget damaged racking is dangerous racking. By having regular ‘Expert’ racking inspections by a qualified inspector you can identify damage, defects, or any related issue that could cause injury to your staff. It’s far better to be proactive and identify the issue before it becomes an incident. There is an old but oh so true phrase “If you think health and safety is expensive, try having an accident!”
There is a statutory requirement to inspect. Under PUWER pallet racking is classed as ‘Work equipment’ and so requires regular inspection, as is the case for any other work equipment. Storage racks must be inspected at least once a year by a competent person as required by the HSE in HSG76 and set out in PUWER & the SEMA guidelines. Such a ‘competent’ person could be a SARI (SEMA approved rack inspector. Failing to have regular inspections could therefore render you liable in the event of a related injury caused by the failure of your storage racks.
Users are often really shocked at the relatively tight tolerances their storage racks must meet to ensure compliance so using our SEMA approved inspectors ensures that you 'tick that box' but much more importantly you ensure the safety of staff by identifying damage or defects. Much damage that seriously compromises the rack structure is often barely visible, especially to the untrained eye, and as a result goes unnoticed. Click here to view the SEMA damage tolerances.
The SEMA approved rack inspection covers all parts of the rack structure and signage. Our highly qualified rack inspectors help you identify damage, defects, and installation problems. We fully understand that you need to keep your warehouse running and so will do everything we can to assist you by colour coding the problems which allows you to prioritise the offloading of racks & subsequent remedial actions but will never compromise your safety.
Click here for a Racking Inspection quote.
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