With a new year fast approaching, it’s worth asking what the future holds for HSE racking inspection legislation and the global supply chain
HSE racking inspection legislation has not changed one iota since the second edition of HSE’s comprehensive guide to warehouse safety was published way back in 2007. On the one hand, this makes sense. The coalition and the Conservative governments have both made changes to HSE since 2007 by introducing the new CDM regulations and by continuing to reduce HSE spending. To change racking inspection guidelines as well would be unnecessarily disruptive and, quite possibly, costly.
This is because, at present, HSE recommends that “expert” racking inspections are performed by SEMA approved racking inspectors. SEMA, Storage Equipment Experts and all the other companies that perform these inspections are private organisations. In other words, we don’t cost the government a penny and, with the current government evidently so eager to save money, they’d probably like to keep it that way.
On the other hand, the world has changed a lot since 2007. True, a lot of these changes have had little to do with racking inspections, but one change in particular might: drone technology.
Does HSE Racking Inspection Legislation Allow for Pallet Racking Inspections by Drone?
In the British warehouse safety industry, pallet racking inspections by drone were first raised as a serious proposal back in 2015 at the SEMA Safety Conference by Steve Cowen from SEMA’s technical committee. In principle, it makes perfect sense. Rather than SEMA approved racking inspectors (SARIs) putting themselves in harm’s way by getting too close to a potentially unsafe racking system, they could send a drone in to inspect the problem instead. As well as being safer, this could save time, thus allowing more SARIs to inspect more businesses on a given day — which would further increase racking safety.
Still, as great as this all sounds, the idea proposed by Cowen literally failed to get off the ground, as he said that he was unable to fly the drone indoors due to existing health and safety legislation.
This setback is indicative of a larger problem drones face: they are widely considered to be unsafe. Or rather, they are not considered to be safe enough to be used for commercial purposes. This is certainly the case in the US, where FAA regulations on drone use mean that San Francisco startup Tacocopter (a company whose business model is delivering tacos by unmanned drone) has been in its “beta-phase” for over five years now.
It’s not just startups, though. Amazon Prime Air is a drone delivery system which the company is continuing to test (despite the aforementioned FAA regulations) probably in the hope that, by the time the technology is perfected, those pesky legal issues will just go away.
So, drones could very well change both the warehouse safety and delivery sides of the supply chain. However, to do that, drones need to become much safer — especially if they are going to be used for racking inspections. After all, there’s no point introducing a technology for safety purposes if the technology itself is not safe.
Some believe that a newly developed radar system for drones might be the solution to all of this, but there will likely be more logistical hurdles to overcome before we see the supply chain revolutionised by drones. For now, it’s unclear whether drones will be the future of racking inspections by SEMA approved inspectors. Whatever happens, though, we at Storage Equipment Experts welcome any future in which SEMA racking inspections can be performed safer and faster.
So What Do SEMA Racking Inspection Courses Have to Do With Any of This?
China is the second largest economy in the world and hundreds of millions of Chinese people have emerged from poverty in the last fifty years. There are, however, quite a number of setbacks to this success story, as well. Alongside the air pollution and growing income inequality, China remains an incredibly unsafe country to live and work in — at least when compared to more economically developed countries.
There’s no one solution to all of China’s problems, but there are several things which China could stand to learn from other countries about workplace safety. If they do, 2017 could be a great year for China.
1. Racking Inspection Training, Rack Inspection Regulations and Other Warehouse Safety Measures
It’s no secret that working conditions across the whole of China are pretty bad; the workplace fatality rate is four times higher in China than in the US. But China has a particularly terrible history when it comes to warehouse safety. The Tianjin warehouse explosion was big news back in 2015 when, tragically, 173 people were killed. However, what’s worse is that this is not the end of the story. From January 2016 to August 2016, Greenpeace claims that a further 199 deaths and 400 injuries were also caused by bad chemical storage in warehouses.
SEMA racking inspection courses and rack inspection training would not solve this problem overnight, but they would go a long way towards fixing China’s inexplicable lack of warehouse safety. After a warehouse explosion in Flixborough killed 28 people, the British government responded by creating HSE. Since then, workplace fatalities have decreased by 85% and workplace injuries have fallen by 77%.
SEMA racking inspection guidelines, as well as many other kinds of safety guidelines, have been instrumental to this incredible decrease in needless death. There is no reason why this same kind of decrease could not happen in China. The need for warehouse safety and racking inspection regulations in China is undeniable and the Chinese government is hardly beyond implementing huge changes through government legislation.
Rather, it’s quite the opposite. China remains a one-party, authoritarian country and just this month, the government passed legislation further restricting internet use in China and further increasing cybersecurity for all 1.3 billion Chinese citizens. Evidently, the Chinese government is able to introduce new laws and regulations relatively easily. If they want to continue to grow economically, they’d be wise to use their legislative powers to introduce more stringent workplace safety regulations — with a particular focus on warehouses.
2. The Chinese Government Needs to Learn That Safety Pays
Perhaps the thing stopping the Chinese government from investing in workplace safety is not a lack of resources, but a lack of belief in the benefits of workplace safety.
3. Safety and Sustainability Need to be Tackled Together
Chinese business is not sustainable; Chinese business is not safe. These two things may seem like separate issues, but they’re really not. In the US, the four least sustainable states to do business (as measured by carbon emissions per capita) and the four least safe states to do business (as measured by workplace fatality rate per 100,000 workers) are the same four states: Alaska, North Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming.
By contrast, New York and Rhode Island are two of the five most sustainable states in the US (once again, as measured by carbon emissions per capita) as well as the two safest states in the US (once again, as measured by workplace fatality rate per 100,00 workers). In 2014, business writer Aishwarya Nair wrote, “Businesses eventually realised health and safety benefited their bottom line. They need to recognise sustainability does the same.” In the article, Nair called for sustainability to join health and safety “…as a core business value”.
There is data to back up the assertion that sustainability is just as profitable as safety. CDP, a British non-profit organisation, calculated that corporations who plan for climate change secure an 18% higher return on investment (ROI) than companies who do not. Moreover, they secure a 67% ROI than companies who refuse to disclose their emissions.
Conclusion: Pallet Racking Inspection Training, Safety and Sustainability
Safe businesses make more money than dangerous ones, sustainable businesses make more money than unsustainable ones, safe businesses are more sustainable, and sustainable businesses are safer. There are examples and studies to back all of this up. What is more, pallet racking inspections and pallet racking inspection training are part of why the UK has the second lowest workplace fatality rate in the EU and why workplace fatalities and injuries have decreased so much since HSE’s inception. Pallet racking inspections won’t solve all of China’s problems, but they could solve a lot of them.
Whether you’re based in Derry, London, or Stockton-on-Tees, contact Storage Equipment Experts to find out more about rack inspection training and racking inspection services.
The annual Health and Safety Executive (HSE) report is a strong indicator of workplace safety. Its most recent findings are alarming, to say the least.
As providers of racking inspection services, HSE dictates the health and safety standards that we abide by. Its aim is to reduce the number of work-related injuries and deaths, which is something we should all support.
But the latest statistics show no sign of improvement, with many areas of concern seeing slight increases. In an age where health and safety regulations are supposedly too stringent, why aren’t we seeing a drastic reduction in workplace dangers?
What are the Findings of the Report?
Before we get into the implications of the HSE statistics, it’s important to see some of the most alarming figures.
In 2015/16, 1.3 million people suffered from a work-related illness. In the same year, 144 workers were killed at work.
There were 621,000 injuries (according to the Labour Force Survey) and a further 72,702 other injuries reported under RIDDOR.
The UK lost an estimated £14.1 billion due to work-related illness and injuries, stemming from 30.4 million lost working days.
In the transport and storage sector, there were 37,000 workplace injuries and 14 workers were killed at work. We provide racking inspection services to keep these numbers down, but sadly these statistics are far too common.
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We’ve all heard the phrase “It’s health and safety gone mad” — but are we really being mollycoddled? The HSE statistics suggest not, with deaths and injuries in 2015/16 higher than the previous year.
Like many public bodies, HSE is receiving less governmental funding than previous years. In 2009/10, this figure was £231 million. In 2019/20, it will be just £128.4 million. Operating with a smaller budget means that the effectiveness of HSE will surely diminish.
Less funding means that other individuals and bodies will have to shoulder the burden. Businesses need to make workplace safety a priority if fatality and injury rates are to be tackled. For those businesses that own warehouses, our racking inspection services ensure that facilities abide by the most stringent safety regulations.
How to Make our Workplaces Safer
No employee should go to work in fear of their safety. But with the funding of HSE unlikely to be improved during the next five years, it’s important to think of other solutions.
Business owners must take full responsibility for their premises, carrying out regular checks and hiring professionals to review their safety procedures. Our warehouse racking inspection template is a good starting point for businesses with racking systems.
It’s also important to stress the importance of safety to your staff. If individuals feel personally involved in the upkeep of their workplace, it’s more likely to be a safer one. Having a clear and simple reporting procedure will ensure hazards are dealt with efficiently. Providing training to staff will increase the likelihood of early detection.
The Importance of Racking Inspection Services
The alarming statistics of the transport and storage sector make our racking inspection services all the more important. To reduce the number of injuries caused by worn, faulty or badly-installed racking, regular inspections are a must. Having a SEMA approved professional carry out these checks will make your workplace safer.
Our warehouse racking inspection template guides you through the process of internal inspection of the APR Systems (Adjustable Pallet Racking). Fill in our racking inspection form to receive our free guide, which will help you understand the types of damage and defects that are likely to be highlighted in an official inspection.
Although the latest statistics are disturbing, we at Storage Equipment Experts hold out hope for a safer 2017. With the right training and regular inspections, Great Britain’s workplaces can start to tackle these figures.
To help prevent your workplace from featuring in next year’s HSE report, use our racking inspection services and provide your employees with the safety they deserve.
The end of the year is a great time to look back. This applies to your warehouse, too
Is 2016 the worst year of all time? Probably not. It’s been a bad year, sure, but there are many reasons why it’s been a great year. So what about your warehouse? Has 2016 been kind to it or not?
To answer that question, we’d recommend a visit from our SEMA approved racking inspector. However, we’d also recommend using our free pallet racking safety checklist, as well as a few other things. Here’s what to look out for and how to discover whether 2016 has been a wonderful or woeful year for your warehouse.
1. Use HSE’s Green, Amber and Red System
Before you inspect your warehouse, you need to have a system in place so you know what you’re looking for. HSE recommends a simple traffic light system. Green risk means safe; amber risk means that something needs to be repaired or fixed as soon as possible; red risk means something needs to be repaired immediately and that the racking system needs to be offloaded.
2. Make Sure You and Your Staff Have Had Pallet Racking Inspection Training
As well as recommending an annual racking inspection from a SEMA approved racking inspector, HSE also recommends “regular” racking inspections from “technically competent” staff. To make sure your staff are “technically competent”, we’d recommend pallet racking inspection training from a SEMA approved racking inspector as well. Our racking inspection training course comes with a long list of recommendations for businesses of all kinds across the UK.
3. Use Our Pallet Racking Safety Checklist
Our pallet racking safety checklist is the best for a number of reasons. It’s been written by a SEMA approved racking inspector, it’s easy to use and it comes in a simple PDF format. Before you begin reviewing your warehouse, make sure you check out our free racking inspection checklist template.
4. Identify Each Type of Damage
Once you and your staff have received racking inspection training, you will know that damage comes in different forms and that each type of damage requires a different action (something which we’ll get to later). As a result, you need to start by learning how to categorise damage properly, so it can be properly dealt with. We have a resource on damage types for your reference.
5. Inspect Each Part of Your Racking Individually, Then Consider the Whole Thing
Our racking inspection checklist is laid out so that your can inspect each piece of your racking in a systematised way.
Start with the upright post. Consider the front base plate and the rear base plate. Then, inspect the frame brace and the column guard. Next, consider the condition of your beam and of its safety lock.
Do this for all of the pallet racking in the warehouse and note the location of each item of pallet racking.
6. Write a Comprehensive List of “Actions Required”
According to HSE, green risk means “requiring surveillance only”, amber risk means “requiring action as soon as possible” and red risk means “requiring immediate action”. The important thing to note, however, is that this is not the whole story. This is only an intentionally vague beginning.
The “actions required” section of your template should be filled in with specifics. Does the item in question need repair? If so, what kind of repair? Does it need replacing? If so, with what? How soon does this need to be done by?
7. Don’t be Afraid to Ask for Help
We’ve already mentioned that your staff should definitely have received pallet racking inspection training from a SEMA approved racking inspector before using our racking system inspection checklist. We’ve also already mentioned that HSE recommends a racking inspection from a SEMA approved racking inspector at least once a year.
However, the important thing to note there is “at least”. In other words, there’s no harm in asking for two or more racking inspections by a SEMA approved inspector in one year, especially if you’re worried or unsure about something.
In fact, if you suspect that your racking is damaged, Regulation 6 of The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 also recommends an inspection from an expert. This is a general piece of maintenance advice that applies to racking and any other kind of workplace equipment.
Conclusion
Hopefully, with our six-point guide, you’ll be able to give your warehouse a thorough review to see how 2016 has treated it. Still, if you’re at all uncertain, be sure to remember point seven and contact Storage Equipment Experts today!
Socks and DVDs are all well and good, but why not treat yourself to something a little more… practical? A safe warehouse. It’s the one thing that every warehouse owner wants at this time of year (or at any time really!), but also the one thing that Santa can’t bring them. Fortunately, there are racking inspectors across the UK who can help you. Still, don’t settle for second-rate this Christmas. Go for the best racking inspectors in the UK, go for the most knowledgeable SEMA approved inspector of pallet racking in London and the South East, go for SEE!
Why?
We Are the UK’s Foremost Elf and Safety Experts
Health and safety is a broad term that covers everything from slips, trips and falls on a busy public street, to asbestos removal in old high schools, to a fire escape plan for a pet accessory shop. If it’s a public safety concern, HSE is on it — and they will have some legislation to go with it, too.
While our expertise is HSE’s racking inspection regulations and which racking inspection regulations are legal requirements, we are also quite knowledgeable when it comes to a range of other health and safety issues. It’s why we update our blog five times a month with the latest health and safety news and it’s why we’ve written for a wide range of publications on all kinds of topics. From the history of safety pins to the 12 workplace dangers of Christmas, we have every elf and safety topic imaginable covered.
We Are the Best SEMA Approved Racking Inspectors in the UK
Perhaps we’ve said it before, but we’ll say it again because it’s true! Besides, we aren’t the only ones saying it. Our testimonials speak for themselves.
Then, of course, there is the list of reasons why we are the best. We are the foremost SEMA approved inspectors of pallet racking in London and the South East. Our SEMA approved racking inspector is one of only 34 people in the UK who has passed both the SEMA approved racking inspector course and the SEMA cantilever racking course. We offer both racking inspections and racking inspection training from a SEMA approved racking inspector. We even offer a completely free SEMA racking inspection checklist, as well as an infographic explaining how to use it.
You Don’t Need to Wrap a Safe Warehouse…
…Or put it under a tree, or attach a card to it. It’s not just a gift to your staff, either; it’s a gift to anyone who visits your warehouse, to your business, and to yourself! Safety adds value to your business, with American companies spending a combined total of $170 billion on costs associated with illness and injury — every year.
All that money could be better spent elsewhere. It could be reinvest to help your business grow, or it could be use to give yourself or your staff a raise. It doesn’t take a genius to recognise that extra money is a boon to any business. That’s why safe businesses are so much better.
HSE Recommends a Racking Inspection by a SEMA Approved Inspector Once a Year.
Have you had yours yet? If not, remember that it’s still December. 2016 isn’t quite over yet, so there’s no time like the present to contact SEE for pallet racking inspections or pallet racking inspection training.
An annual racking inspection from a racking inspection “expert” is recommended by HSE in its guidebook for safe warehouse use and safe storage. It mentions SEMA approved racking inspectors by name as an example of what they mean by “expert”. Operating against HSE’s advice is not against the law. However, according to the new CDM regulations, if you don’t follow HSE’s advice and an accident does happen then you — the owner of the warehouse — will be solely responsible.
These new HSE regulations apply to more than just warehouses and more than just racking. In fact, it’s one of the many reasons why a Star Wars production company were in such trouble after Harrison Ford was injure on the Millennium Falcon.
Your warehouse isn’t a spaceship and your staff aren’t Harrison Ford, but the same rules apply. If you want to be sure that you’re on Santa’s “nice” list, follow HSE’s advice and make sure your warehouse has a racking inspection by SEMA approved inspector and racking inspection training from SEE!
Contact Storage Equipment Experts to give yourself the gift of safety, with racking inspection services from the best racking inspectors in the UK.
HSE racking inspection legislation is unlikely to change in 2017, but many other things might, many other things will, and some things are already beginning to shift.
2016 has been a big year for HSE. Dame Judith Hackitt stepped down as HSE’s chair after eight years in charge, HSE unveiled its new strategy (“Help Great Britain Work Well”), and HSE racking inspection legislation continued to contribute towards a slow but continuous decline in the rate of workplace fatalities and injuries per 100,000 workers.
However, 2017 promises to be an even bigger year. Here are three things to expect from HSE starting January next year.
1. HSE Will Tackle Work-Related Stress
As part of the government’s continued ideological commitment to the “parity of esteem” of mental and physical health in the UK, HSE’s research arm, HSL (the Health and Safety Laboratory), will be delivering a two-day course in February on work-related stress.
The World Health Organisation takes work-related stress seriously and labels recognition and respect at work as “a fundamental human need”. In other words, work-related stress isn’t just something that happens. Not everybody loves their job, but work should not be something which makes people stressed day in and day out. HSE’s course on work-related stress shows that it is taking this issue seriously and tackling it pragmatically.
2. HSE Wants to Change Risk Assessment Guidance
In early October this year, HSE was ask for comments on changes it wanted to make to its risk assessment guidance. HSE’s exact words were that it wanted to “make some changes to our current guidance on risk and we want to hear what you think before we publish it”. It’s hard to say when these changes will be implement, but a likely guess is that they’ll come into effect at some point during 2017.
HSE claims that the reason for this change is based on feedback from businesses that the current risk assessment system is seen as separate to “real business”. HSE wants to change this so that the risk assessment system becomes a natural and helpful part of the day-to-day running of a business, rather than meaningless paperwork. Before it does this, however, it’s looking for feedback.
It will be interesting to see what sort of risk assessment guidance HSE winds up with after this public feedback. We at Storage Equipment Experts — along with many British businesses — will be eager to find out.
3. HSE Racking Inspection Legislation Will Likely Not Change
HSE’s second edition of warehousing and storage was publish in 2007. Since then, its guidance on what warehouse racking regulations should be has not changed. While racking inspections are not technically a legal requirement, acting counter to HSE’s advice means that the “client” (the person legally responsible for anyone entering their warehouse) will be held accountable if anything should happen. This is what the CDM regulations, updated in 2015, dictate and they are unlikely to change in 2017.
At Storage Equipment Experts, we believe strongly in the wisdom of HSE racking inspection legislation. According to HSE’s guidance on warehouse racking inspections, businesses should receive a SEMA racking inspection at least once a year and internal racking inspections should be carried out regularly by “technically competent” staff. That is why we offer racking inspections by a SEMA approved inspector and racking inspection training to businesses across the UK.
Whatever happens in 2017, we at Storage Equipment Experts will continue to deliver our highest quality of service. To prove that we know our stuff better than anyone else, we offer a warehouse racking inspection template in the form of a racking inspection checklist — for free!
Racking inspectors in the UK come in many different forms. So we wanted to break it all down for you.
Racking inspection regulations in the UK are broken down pretty clearly by HSE. However, despite this, it’s easy to be confused. Storage Equipment Experts are among the best racking inspectors in the UK. In fact, we like to think we’re the best. Still, don’t just take our word for it; read our testimonials on our pallet racking inspection training and SEMA approved rack inspections.
All of which makes us best qualified to explain what a racking inspector in the UK is, what they should be, and what they should not be.
Bad Racking Inspectors in the UK: Unqualified and Unreviewed
The government reviewed its CDM regulations in order to simplify things for both racking inspectors in the UK and those who need to use the services offered by racking inspectors. At this point, the regulations are still quite young and the jury is still out on whether or not they have improved racking inspection regulations.
The old regulations allowed for the proliferation of card schemes and people calling themselves “racking inspection experts”. The new regulations mean it is up to the “client”, the person ultimately responsible for the safety of people in a given space — whether that’s a building site, a workplace, or a film-set — to decide who qualifies as a racking inspection expert.
On the upside, this simplifies things. In one fell swoop, it put an end to the legitimacy of many of these card schemes. On the downside, though, this now allows for anyone to call themselves a “racking inspection expert” — card or no card, scheme or no scheme, qualification or no qualification. So how can you sort the wheat from the chaff?
For a start, a bad racking inspector in the UK will not have the glowing reviews that we at Storage Equipment Experts do. Still, there’s more to it than that.
Good Racking Inspectors in the UK Have Passed the SEMA Approved Racking Inspector Course
While HSE still leaves the ultimate decision up to the client, the exact wording used in its guide to warehouse safety is important. It states that “expert” racking inspections need to be performed once a year by an outside party. It then cites SEMA approved racking inspectors (SARIs) as an example of this sort of “expert”.
“HSE racking inspections” do not exist. Rather, HSE cites one — and only one — example of a racking inspection “expert”: a SEMA approved racking inspector. Beyond that, it is up for the “client” to decide who they want inspecting their racking.
The Best Racking Inspectors in the UK? Look no Further…
With over 100 qualified SEMA approved racking inspectors in the UK, it can be hard to decide who to choose. Still, there are many, many reasons why you should choose Storage Equipment Experts:
We offer racking inspections by SEMA approved inspectors and racking inspection training delivered by a SEMA approved racking inspector.
Our SEMA approved racking inspector is one of only 34 people who has also passed SEMA cantilever racking inspection training.
We have designed the most authoritative SEMA racking inspection checklist in the UK.
We have glowing reviews from the Tate Modern, Dunlop, and Dairy Crest (the parent company of Clover, Countrylife Butter, and Cathedral City Cheese).
Now that you know why we’re the best racking inspectors in the UK, be sure to get in touch for your annual racking inspection by a SEMA approved inspector or for racking inspection training from a SEMA approved racking inspector!
“On the first day of Christmas, my employer gave to me…” Give your staff the gift of safety this Christmas. It’s cheap, you don’t have to wrap it, and they will definitely appreciate it.
We don’t want to sound like a Scrooge, but Christmas can be a dangerous time of year for the British workplace. The pace of work gets faster and attitudes get laxer, as sales increase and staff start seeing their Christmas time off fast approaching. Employees might stop thinking about rack inspection training and start thinking about mince pies, warm sherry, and the Doctor Who Christmas special.
So, just to make sure that everyone is driving home for Christmas in one piece, here are twelve workplace dangers to watch out for during this wonderful time of the year.
1. Cold Workplaces
A cold workplace isn’t just annoying; it can be dangerous. It is because of this that HSE suggests how cold they think a workplace should be. For most workplaces, HSE recommends a minimum temperature of 16 degrees Celsius. However, if the work involves “rigorous physical effort”, then HSE suggests a minimum temperature of 13 degrees Celsius. HSE also points out that these temperatures are not a legal requirement. It is ultimately the responsibility of the employer to decide how cold is too cold.
2. Icy and Wet Floors
Even if you’ve got the temperature of your workplace right, the cold can still wreak havoc on your floors. Wet floors in sub-zero conditions can become icy floors and accidents are often not far behind. HSE has plenty of advice on how to avoid slips, trips, and falls on slippery floors. However, here’s a brief summary of what you can do.
Both icy floors and wet floors should be dealt with immediately after they are discovered.
Preventative measures should be taken to stop floors from being slippery in the first place.
Workers can also take precautions themselves to avoid slipping (i.e. wearing the right footwear and not running).
3. Flus, Colds, and the Sniffles
Yet another danger of the cold workplace is the illness it can spread. During the colder months of the year, it’s likely that most of your employees will have a runny nose and a mild cough. This is the sniffles and, thankfully, your employees can probably soldier on through it.
However, when you have a whole group of people spending all day together, swapping germs with each other, and running their immune systems into the ground with Christmas overtime in a cold workplace, the sniffles can develop into something more sinister. Fortunately, the NHS has plenty of advice on how to stop the flu from spreading, as well as guidelines on stopping the spread of germs in general.
4. Overloaded Racking And No Rack Inspection Training
For most businesses, Christmas is the busiest time of the year. However, while all of that extra business is hardly a bad thing, it can bring with it some unintended downsides.
More sales mean more stock and more stock means a higher risk of overloaded racking systems. It is during December that rack inspection training from a SEMA approved rack inspector is most important.
But it’s not enough to rely on just an annual inspection from a SEMA approved racking inspector. HSE also recommends regular racking inspections from someone with knowledge of pallet racking systems. During the Christmas quarter, when racking is taken to its limit with tonnes of new stock, pallet racking inspections from staff who have received pallet racking inspection training becomes vital.
5. MSDs and Injuries from Bad Lifting
Musculoskeletal disorders are the result of bad lifting and one of the most common workplace ailments. During the Christmas period, with new stock flooding into a business, more employees are lifting more objects more frequently than at any other time of the year. As a result, the risk of MSDs or a more instant injury — such as a pulled muscle — increases exponentially. Fortunately, there is plenty of advice out there on how to lift properly and safely.
6. A Busy Shop Floor
When there is a potential danger on your shop floor — whether that’s because of a slippery surface, because something has fallen, or because something could be about to fall — sorting it out as quickly as possible is imperative. However, when your shop is busy, these dangers are much more frequent as customers themselves may bump into things and create problems. More customers mean more potential accidents, so make sure everything is ship-shape.
Whether it’s because of lengthy queues or the aforementioned shoplifting, tensions can run high during Christmas shopping. Customers can get angry and, when they do, accidents can happen. Remember that it is the season to be jolly and try to keep everyone calm and safe — staff and customers alike.
9. Distracted Staff
Christmas is coming up, so being the kind boss that you are, you give your staff a little bit of leeway here and there. There’s Christmas music playing throughout the building, a few guys are wearing Santa hats, and everyone relaxes a little bit.
There is, of course, nothing wrong with any of this. Far be it from anyone to deny hardworking employees a little Christmas joy. Still, it’s worth remembering that, whatever concessions you decide to give your employees, be sure that safety still remains a top priority.
10. Hungover Staff
Christmas can be a pretty boozy time of year, and it’s important to take precautions. All that mulled wine may have seemed like a good idea at Jerry’s pre-Christmas get-together, but now it’s 7:30am and you wish the bus to work would just burst into a ball of flames.
Being hungover at work might seem hilarious if you’re young or work at a desk, but any kind of physical labour becomes difficult at best and fatally dangerous at worse. Don’t let it slip through the net. If an employee arrives at work noticeably hungover, send them home. If they made the extremely dangerous and potentially illegal decision to drive to work, be certain that they don’t drive back.
11. Christmas Decorations
A Christmas without decorations is hardly Christmas at all. Still, while all those boughs of holly may look lovely, it’s important to know that they’re safe. Risk assessments are a necessity at any workplace and during Christmas, when your workplace has the potential to be filled with fairy lights, dancing Santas, and a smorgasbord of other decorations, it’s time for another quick risk assessment. It would be the harshest of ironies if your decorations, designed to bring people cheer, ended up injuring someone because they were placed in an inconvenient or dangerous location. Be safe and give each decoration a thorough once over; a decent risk assessment goes a long, long way.
12. Forgetting Your Annual SEMA Approved Rack Inspection!
It’s getting towards the end of the year and you’re certain you’ve forgotten something. Still, it’s Christmas now — the busiest quarter for your business — so whatever it is will have to wait until next year, right?
Wrong. HSE recommends a SEMA approved rack inspection from a SEMA approved rack inspector at least once a year for good reason. Ideally, your annual rack inspection should be performed before Christmas, when any issues can be dealt with before your racking is loaded with a huge amount of Christmas stock. If you put your rack inspection off longer than a year, you run against HSE’s advice. With the new CDM regulations, this makes you solely responsible for any accidents that might occur as a result of putting off your annual SEMA approved rack inspection.
Christmas is a stressful time of year and there’s almost no avoiding that. However, with our advice, at least your Christmas will be a safe one.
November 5th is fast approaching, but without regular pallet racking inspections, Bonfire Night would be a very dangerous holiday
Fireworks can be extremely dangerous. When you light that fuse, you are essentially starting a controlled explosion. Without government oversight and HSE regulations on fireworks, they’d be nothing but glorified grenades!
However, before fireworks can even get into our hands, they have to be stored properly, and this is no mean feat. Without regular pallet racking inspections, a warehouse full of fireworks is a disaster waiting to happen.
Consider where you buy your fireworks from: giant warehouses filled to the brim with explosives. Now imagine what would happen if, for whatever reason, a stray spark flew in the wrong direction. Imagine what would happen if somebody was just a little clumsy. Imagine what would happen without regular pallet racking inspections.
For those working in one of the many firework warehouses in Liuyang, China, imagination is not necessary. Liuyang produces 60 percent of the fireworks sold in China’s $600 million a year fireworks industry. However, those fireworks aren’t just blown up in China; 95 percent of fireworks used in the US are from China.
In other words, Liuyang fireworks are an international phenomenon and, as such, their safety needs to be assured. Unfortunately, though, this is not always the case. Explosions, injuries, and — sadly — deaths in fireworks factories in Liuyang and across China are depressingly common.
China Needs Racking Inspection Regulations If It Wants to Remain the World’s Firework Producer
At the G20 this year, China attempted to demonstrate to the whole world that it was an economically developed global powerhouse that was open for business. However, though China has undoubtedly made immense progress in many areas, it is still plagued by human rights abuses, political corruption, censorship, and air pollution.
Added to all that, China remains an extremely dangerous place to work. One year after the Tianjin warehouse explosions in 2015 which killed 173 people, many critics argue that the government has not learnt its lesson. In order to become the sort of country that businesses can invest in with a clear conscience, China needs — among many other things — work safety regulations, such as racking inspection regulations.
What Can Pallet Racking Inspections Do for the Fireworks Industry?
Fireworks can be sold safely, but in order to do that, businesses selling fireworks need third-party pallet racking inspections from racking inspection experts to spot the dangers that your employees can’t. Pallet racking inspections in the UK are recommended by HSE at least once a year. Specifically, they recommend a SEMA racking inspection — a racking inspection from a SEMA approved racking inspector.
Initiatives like this from HSE are probably why workplace fatality rates have fallen by 86 percent. HSE made the right decision when it came to recommending safety inspections for businesses and, with regular pallet racking inspections, the fireworks industry in China could be much safer.
Pallet Racking Inspections Mean Certainty
When you’re storing fireworks, you cannot afford to take risks. A warehouse racking collapse this year in the UK made the headlines, and — thankfully — no-one was injured. In this case, however, the warehouse stored cheese. Cheese is soft, cheese is not very dense, and cheese is not explosive.
Fireworks, however, are explosive. They are extremely volatile and, without regular pallet racking inspections, there’s no telling when the next accident is going to happen. Just as pallet racking inspections are vital for the whisky industry, so too are they for the fireworks industry. The storage of fireworks is not something that can be left to chance. Regular pallet racking inspections from a SEMA approved racking inspector mean that it doesn’t need to be.
Fireworks stored in the British warehouses are in a safe condition precisely because of HSE’s recommendations on pallet racking inspections. Without this, a warehouse full of fireworks would be a ticking timebomb.
Whether you’re storing fireworks or anything else in your warehouse, it needs a pallet racking inspection as per HSE’s recommendations. So contact us today!
HSE’s pallet racking inspection requirements can be quite confusing to someone who is new to running a warehouse. That’s why we want to make things a little clearer.
As the British government’s main health and safety department, the racking inspection requirements HSE recommend are extremely important. The word “recommend” can sometimes lead to confusion, however, and this is problematic as it is a word used through HSE’s primary guide to warehouse safety.
It is based on this guide that a warehouse owner’s legal responsibilities towards the maintaining the safety of their warehouse are defined. That does not mean, however, that a warehouse owner needs to follow every single word of the document precisely in order to be on the right side of the law. At the beginning of the document, HSE make this short — but extremely important — caveat:
“This guidance is issued by the Health and Safety Executive. Following the guidance is not compulsory and you are free to take other action. But if you do follow the guidance you will normally be doing enough to comply with the law. Health and safety inspectors seek to secure compliance with the law and may refer to this guidance as illustrating good practice.”
In beginning their guide with this caveat, HSE give warehouse owners a lot of legal leeway. Why do they do this? And what does this mean? To understand, let’s take a step back and look at the CDM regulations and HSE’s stance on workplace safety in general.
“Reasonably Practicable”: Pallet Racking Inspection Requirements According to HSE
“Ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of yourself and others who may be affected by what you do or do not do.”
With regards to warehouse owners, this statement from HSE means that you need to make sure that anybody — not just your employees — who “affect by what you do or do not do” is safe in your warehouse. In other words, warehouse owners are legally obliged to ensure the safety of everyone who enters their warehouse “so far as is reasonably practicable”.
“Reasonably practicable” does not mean that you need to ensure the safety of everybody who enters your warehouse at all costs. For example, the safest way to guarantee the safety of everybody who works in your warehouse would be to dismantle all of your racking systems and send everybody home. This would certainly eliminate all risk, but it would be ludicrous to call it a racking inspection requirement.
“Reasonably practicable” means taking common sense advice and — in the case of racking inspection requirements — it means following HSE’s advice as outlined in HSG76, the document most relevant to warehouse health and safety.
Pallet Racking Inspection Requirements According to HSE’s HSG76
In HSG76, HSE recommend a racking inspection by a SEMA approved inspector at least once a year for all warehouses in the UK, as well as weekly racking inspections from a “technically competent” staff member. So is that recommendation legally binding?
No, it’s not. That’s what HSE means when they say “you are free to take other action”. However, HSE go on to state that “if you do follow the guidance you will normally be doing enough to comply with the law”.
The new CDM regulations make all of this even clearer. Whereas before, the legal responsibility of the safety of employees share between HSE and the warehouse owner, now the onus is solely on the warehouse owner to ensure the safety of employees in their warehouse.
So, Is it a Legal Requirement to have an Annual Racking Inspection?
No.
However, in not having an annual racking inspection, employers and warehouse owners go against HSE’s advice. This means that if an accident related to racking were to happen, they would be both legally and morally responsible. In not having a racking inspection by a SEMA approved inspector, a person could argue that the warehouse owner did not ensure their safety “so far as is reasonably practicable”.
HSE, SEMA, and we at Storage Equipment Experts all recommend a racking inspection by a SEMA approved inspector at least once a year. We pride ourselves on our knowledge of pallet racking inspection requirements and on what makes a racking inspection by a SEMA approved inspector the HSE-approved protocol that it is.
Be sure to follow HSE’s advice and make sure your business has a racking inspection by a SEMA approved inspector.
