HSE Racking Inspection Legislation and the Supply Chain’s Future

A drone flying in a blue sky

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.

Contact Storage Equipment Experts for pallet racking inspections from the company who know HSE racking inspection legislation inside and out.

5 Ways to Make China Safer in 2017

5 Ways to Make China Safer in 2017

China may well be the next global superpower, but there’s a lot standing in its way.

If September’s G20 summit in Hangzhou and Donald Trump’s obsession with saying “China” are an indication of anything, it’s that this country is big news. China is big, powerful and very proud of its growing prevalence and influence on the world stage.

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.

The idea that workplace safety is unprofitable is a common but incorrect idea. After all, OSHA has calculated that American businesses alone spend $170 billion on workplace-related injuries and fatalities every year.

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.

This same trend is also true globally. Qatar has the highest carbon emissions per capita in the world as well as, quite possibly, the worst record on workplace fatalities in the world. Stadium building for the 2022 World Cup alone has likely caused 1,200 workplace fatalities — and that’s a conservative estimate.

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.

Understanding the HSE Injury and Fatality Statistics

HSE Injury

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.

Infographic explaining HSE injury and fatality statistics

This infographic was brought to you by Storage Equipment Experts. Please feel free to add this infographic to your own website by copying and pasting the following embed code onto a page or post:

https://seerackinginspections.co.uk/understanding-the-hse-injury-and-fatality-statistics/

Why Haven’t Injuries and Deaths Dropped?

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.

How Safe Has Your Warehouse Been This Year? A Review

Warehouse

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!

Give your warehouse a proper review with our free pallet racking safety checklist and a visit from our SEMA approved racking inspector.

Give Yourself The Present of a Safe Warehouse This Christmas with SEE!

a forktruck lifting a pallet of tyres from some racking

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.