SEE Offer the Biggest Range of Racking Inspections Services in the UK!

Racking Inspections Services offered by SEE in the UK

From rack safety inspection checklists to pallet racking inspections training, Storage Equipment Experts offers the most diverse range of racking inspection services anywhere in the country.

There are many different racking inspection services in the UK, but only ours offers such a large range of services at such a high quality and reasonable price. In fact, the cheapest services we provide are completely free!

A Warehouse Racking Inspection Checklist and a Blog Full of Information on Racking Safety… For Free!

One of the best value for money racking inspection services we offer is right here. The Storage Equipment Experts blog is an invaluable resource for anyone with any quick — but important — questions about racking inspections, warehouse safety law, and racking systems themselves. We offer answers to all the possible questions a warehouse owner might have.

More than that, our warehouse racking inspection checklist is also available at the extremely competitive price of absolutely nothing! Your racking inspection checklist is the first step towards racking safety. Though it definitely shouldn’t be the only step…

Racking Inspection Services from a SEMA Approved Racking Inspector

At the heart of our racking inspection services are the racking inspections by a SEMA approved inspector we offer from our very own SEMA approved racking inspector (SARI). HSE recommends that warehouses receive an “expert” racking inspection from an independent racking inspection company at least once a year. HSE cite SEMA approved racking inspectors as an example of an organisation which certifies racking inspectors as experts.

In line with HSE’s advice, this is exactly the kind of racking inspection service we offer. No matter where your business is in the UK, we can promise to deliver a racking inspection by SEMA approved inspector for your warehouse to make sure that your company is on the right side of HSE.

Racking Inspection Training Services from a SEMA Approved Racking Inspector

A SEMA approved racking inspector can do more than just deliver racking inspection training; they can educate others on how to perform racking inspections themselves. This is another service that we offer at Storage Equipment Experts.

As per HSE’s advice, we believe that all businesses should be able to perform their own internal racking inspections on a regular basis alongside annual inspections from an independent racking inspection company. However, in order for staff and employers to be able to do this, we recommend using our free racking inspection checklist alongside our well-acclaimed racking inspection training.

Our customers state that our racking inspection services have helped to give their staff the confidence and the knowledge to inspect racking themselves. Confidence and knowledge are key. Without knowledge to inform your confident predictions, or the confidence to voice your knowledge, racking inspections are not the thorough safety routines that they should be.

The UK, HSE, The EU, and Racking Inspections: The Pros and Cons of Brexit in an Infographic

two road signs pointing in opposite directions, one saying Brexit and the other European Union

Racking inspections in the UK and HSE’s attitude towards racking inspections are subject to change now that the UK is leaving the EU. But is this a good thing or a bad thing?

The costs of Brexit are a matter of debate, and this is just as true for racking inspections and HSE. In our infographic, we present the facts. However, what you take away from the facts are a matter of opinion and personal decision making.

For example, the UK joined the EU in 1973. Just one year later, in 1974, HSE was formed. Since 1974, workplace fatalities have fallen by 86 per cent and workplace injuries have fallen by 77 per cent. Those are the facts, but people’s interpretations of those facts may vary wildly.

On the one hand…

Some might say that the EU and HSE’s relationship have been integral in reducing workplace fatalities. Moreover, if the UK had not joined the EU, they would have had no reason to create HSE. The dramatic fall in deaths and fatalities in British workplaces is almost entirely related to our EU membership and, outside of the EU, those fatalities and injuries are likely to increase.

The EU has been instrumental in holding British governments to account with regards to workplace safety. Outside the EU, the HSE will have less influence. In fact, outside the EU, there is nothing stopping the British government from drastically reducing the influence, and therefore the effectiveness, of HSE.

On the other hand…

Correlation is not causation. There is no data to suggest that, without the EU, HSE would have been less effective. In fact, you could just as easily argue that, without the EU, HSE would have been more effective. It would have had more control over the way it makes health and safety laws and, as a result, it would have been better at creating and implementing those laws.

What’s more, there is no reason to suspect that HSE was formed because the UK joined the EU. Most people, including HSE themselves, point to the Flixborough warehouse tragedy as the real reason behind the formation of HSE. The EU had nothing to do with it. The British government has no reason to negatively change the way HSE operates when it continues to do such a great job year after year.

What Will Brexit Mean for Racking Inspections and Warehouse Safety in the UK?

We don’t know what exactly is going to happen to HSE and workplace safety as a result of Brexit, but we do have a better idea of what will happen to racking inspections and warehouse safety. Being intimately involved with the changes in the racking safety and warehousing industry over the years, we can say with confidence that SEMA will continue to big a part of HSE’s future. What is more, we at Storage Equipment Experts will continue to deliver high-quality racking inspections, racking inspection training, and warehouse racking inspection checklists to businesses across the UK.

However, what is less certain is what will happen to HSE and workplace safety in general. As we explained earlier, the situation is not black and white. So, with our infographic, we’ve attempted to present the facts as they are and look at both sides of Brexit: the pros and the cons.

Brexit Pros and Cons for racking inspections UK Infographics by Storage Equipment Experts

What Will Brexit Mean for HSE’s Stance on Racking Inspections?

HSE may change as a result of Brexit, but HSE’s stance on racking inspections is unlikely to change much — if at all. The EU was once part of HSE and SEMA’s relationship, but HSE and SEMA’s relationship has never depended on the EU.

For Britain to continue to be a major economic player on the world stage, our high racking inspection standards, and health and safety standards in general, will need to be maintained. Whatever happens as a result of Brexit, Storage Equipment Experts will continue to do our best to make sure that our racking inspection services remain as good as they have always been across the whole of the UK.

Times change, but the racking inspection services at Storage Equipment Experts will remain of the highest quality. Contact us today for a quote on your next racking inspection by a SEMA Approved inspector.

racking inspections

What will Brexit Mean for Warehouse Safety Laws?

With a new Prime Minister at the helm, the government is going to have to spend a lot of time deciding what EU regulations the UK are going to follow and what ones they aren’t. And all of this could have a big impact on warehouse safety laws.

The EU, SEMA, HSE, and Storage Equipment Experts have had an intimate relationship over the last few years, with each one influencing the other. As a result of this four-way dialogue, warehouse racking inspections and racking inspection experts have become an integral part of warehouse safety.

Now that the UK has decided to leave the European Union, this relationship has the potential to change. Though just because something can change, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it will. Theresa May has made it clear that her Brexit strategy will be to steady the ship, not rock the boat. Once again though, just because someone says they’ll do something, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they will.

So what exactly is stopping May from rewriting the HSE rulebook in the wake of Brexit?

Warehouse Racking Inspections are Key to the UK’s Survival Outside the EU

There are several reasons that rest of the world wants to trade with the UK, even outside of the EU, and one of them is our high safety standards. The UK has a lower workplace fatality rate than any other country in the EU. Safety standards like that are not just a good thing for workers and for workers’ rights activists; it’s good for business. In fact, it’s great for business. OSHA, the US government’s health and safety board, calculates that for every dollar spent on safety businesses can save up to six dollars.

Though not everyone agrees that all EU regulation is a good thing, and that’s precisely why campaigners like Boris Johnson argued that we should leave, and why — in the end — they won. However, even the most ardent Brexiteers don’t want the British workplaces to return to a pre-1974 era when there were 86% more workplace fatalities than there are today. The kind of deregulation Brexiteers want to see is the kind that will give the UK a stronger position in the global market, not a weaker one.

For those reasons, it’s highly unlikely that Theresa May will change many, or any, of the laws regarding warehouse and racking safety. The HSE’s relationship with SEMA and Storage Equipment Experts can remain strong without the EU’s influence. Moreover, it’s very difficult to say exactly how much influence the EU has (or rather had) over HSE in the first place. The EU writes directives, and EU countries have to enforce those directives. Though countries can also make transposition notes and, after years of amending the original EU directive, it’s hard to say whether the eventual law is a British one or a European one.

It’s true that SEMA and the EU have had a mutually beneficial relationship in the past. As a member of the European Federation for Materials Handling (FEM), SEMA has worked with other EU countries and organisations to discuss the future of health and safety within Europe. Even outside of the EU, SEMA could still play a big role in this organisation. Though the FEM is heavily associated with the EU, it is not the EU itself. The UK and SEMA still maintain an enviable health and safety record; Brexit has not changed that.

Even if SEMA were to leave to the FEM, it still would not necessarily be a bad thing. Over the past few years, SEMA and HSE’s relationship has become stronger and — outside the EU — it has the potential to grow even more. With HSE continuing to cut its funding, to strip back its operations, they have been looking for other organisations to fill the gap. With the EU gone, HSE will likely be looking to SEMA to help them craft future HSE codes, something which they have talked about in the past.

Post-Brexit, Racking Inspection Experts Need to Lead the Way

Warehouse racking inspections from racking inspection experts — specifically SEMA approved racking inspectors — have long been HSE’s secret weapon for maintaining warehouse safety. With the EU no longer under the influence of EU directives, SEMA’s definition of racking safety, and the manner in which they chose to train their racking inspectors, will become more important to HSE than ever before.

HSE, and British workplace safety in general, works best when different organisations work together towards a common goal. With regards to warehouse safety, this means HSE and SEMA working together. With the EU out of the picture, SEMA’s voice will become louder, not quieter. At Storage Equipment Experts, we welcome the leading role than SEMA will play in the future of post-Brexit warehouse safety. Our SEMA approved racking inspector will continue to deliver the best racking inspection training course in the UK as well as the highest quality of warehouse racking inspections.

Contact Storage Equipment Experts today for warehouse racking inspections from the racking inspection experts who are always up to date on the latest changes to British health and safety law.

Warehouse Safety

What Can Health and Safety Experts Learn from the Collapse at Birmingham Recycling Centre?

If there is any silver lining to be had after the tragedy at Hawkes wood Metal Recycling, it will be because businesses and health and safety experts learn from the Collapse at Birmingham Recycling Centre now have a deeper appreciation of the seriousness of safety.

On Thursday 7th July 2016, five workers were killed after a wall collapsed at a metal recycling centre in Birmingham. The event was terrible and it underpins more than ever the importance of safety inspection services, such as racking inspection services, and the safety experts that deliver them.

We should hold racking inspections experts, and safety experts of all kind, to ever-higher standards. However, total safety of this kind requires cooperation between businesses racking inspection services.

Racking Inspection Services and Other Safety Services are Vital for Workplace Safety

At Storage Equipment Experts, we provide a wide range of racking inspection services and our racking inspection expert is held to the highest possible standard in the UK. That is to say, he is a SEMA-approved racking inspector. Yet, even if we do aim for perfection, if businesses do not adhere to their legal obligation to have their pallet racking systems inspected at least once a year, then there is nothing else we can do to make sure that a tragedy won’t happen. This is just as true for racking inspection services as it is true for all safety services.

Employers and Employees Across the UK Need a Constant and Sincere Commitment to Workplace Safety

Though we know that the metal recycling plant in Hawkeswood was fined £50,000 for breaching health and safety protocol in 2010, we don’t know what exactly led to the wall collapse this July. What we do know is that when businesses adhere to HSE law, they are a lot less likely to have workplace accidents and are immune from health and safety fines. After all, if you can prove in a court of law that you went over and above the HSE standard for safety, then you are in the clear, both legally speaking and in terms of your personal conscience.

Following HSE law does not mean doing one thing once. It is a constant commitment that businesses have to genuinely believe in. Businesses are legally obliged to have their racking systems inspected at least once a year by a racking inspection expert. They are also required to have them inspected more than once in a year if the racking is noticeably damaged in some way. This too is a legal responsibility.

That’s what is meant by a constant commitment. Genuinely believing in that commitment, though, is a different matter. Genuine belief in HSE law means adopting the ideas implicit and explicit in the law wholeheartedly, not just preaching to the choir.

For example, alongside annual expert inspections from third party racking inspection companies, HSE also recommend that internal racking inspections from “suitably trained” staff are carried out on a regular basis using a traffic light system. In this particular instance, doing what HSE recommend means actually doing it; there are no corners to cut here.

There won’t be anyone checking up on you and your staff, there won’t be any independent racking inspection companies watching from a distance, it will be just you, your employees, and your warehouse. For those racking inspections to do the good that they are meant to, business owners need to stress to their employees how sincerely important they feel those inspections are. If businesses don’t see the point in those internal racking inspections, then neither will their employees, and the whole thing becomes meaningless.

We Need Racking Inspection Experts and Other Safety Experts More than Ever

Independent racking inspection services like Storage Equipment Experts are made up of passionate racking inspection experts who dedicate their entire careers to making workplaces safer. Racking inspection companies are not just there to correct mistakes and to help businesses tick legal boxes. At Storage Equipment Experts, we provide the best racking inspection training course in the UK in order to give employers and employees the confidence and the knowledge to make their warehouses safer.

In the wake of the tragedy in Birmingham Recycling Centre, many businesses across the UK will likely be looking for quick and easy ways to make their businesses safer. The harsh truth is that there are no quick and easy ways to make businesses safer. They are no cheats, no hacks, and no shortcuts. Businesses that want to be safer need to genuinely, consistently, and knowledgeably engage with HSE law by reaching out to racking inspection services, racking inspection experts, and other safety organisations.

Birmingham Recycling Centre – Businesses can never be too safe, and so contact Storage Equipment Experts today for racking inspection services from racking inspection expert.

Birmingham Recycling Centre

Top 3 New Safety Training Trends

Our racking inspection training course is the pinnacle of safety training, but safety training is making leaps and bounds in other areas too. Welcome to the future of safety!

Everything is subject to change and safety training is no different. As business models evolve in the face of cutting-edge technologies, safety training has also developed some new and exciting ideas. Our racking inspection training course is still immensely popular, but who’s to say that — in 20 years’ time — it won’t include some of these innovative new ideas?

1. Safety Villages: The Safe Place for Children to Make Mistakes

How is your child meant to know what to do if there’s a fire? You could tell them, but some people learn better by doing. So how can you let your children act out what to do in the event of danger without actually putting them in danger? The answer to that question is precisely what drove Terri Kindberg to develop their Chautauqua Children’s Safety Education Village.

The “safety village” looks somewhat like a film set and is filled with mock dangers that the children are encouraged to navigate their way through with the help of a few trained instructors. As of July 2016, there are only a dozen or so of these villages across North America, but the nonprofit responsible aims to develop more in the future.

2. Drones, The SEMA Safety Conference, and The Future of Racking Inspection Training?

November 2015’s SEMA Safety Conference was a veritable hub of safety innovation as speakers from across the industry came together to discuss how to improve upon SEMA’s already high standards. One the ideas put forward by Steve Cowen from SEMA was the introduction of drones to perform rack safety inspections.

While he conceded that there would be many legal and logistical hurdles, he believed that the principle of the idea was more than a gimmick. There are some racking systems which some SEMA approved rack inspectors (SARIs) will, quite rightly, refuse to inspect because of how dangerous they are. If a SARI can tell, from a distance, that a racking system is unsafe then that it is because it is extremely unsafe.

Cowen suggested that a solution to this would be racking inspection via drones. These unmanned machines are fitted with cameras which allow for people to inspect a racking system in detail but, crucially, do so from a distance. If this idea is adopt by SEMA, it could spell big changes for our current racking inspection training course.

3. Automation and Robot Racking Inspection Training

Drones are one thing, but could the future mean that the job of racking safety and racking inspection training is entirely replace autonomous machines? No. At least, not the near future… Who’s to say what rack safety inspections and racking inspection training will look like in hundreds of years time?

For the foreseeable future though, SEMA approved racking inspectors across the UK have their title because they are able to spot the things that machines and those with a basic level of racking safety knowledge cannot. The automation of labour

has lead many to wonder about the security of their respective industry, but we have always been at the forefront of racking inspection training. As long we stay that way, our racking inspection training course will remain the best option for years to come.

Contact Storage Equipment Experts for rack safety inspections and training from the people at the forefront of the racking inspection industry.

Racking Inspection Training

Don’t Stay Silent about Warehouse and Racking Safety!

Warehouse and racking safety requires carefulness, regular rack inspections, and workers who are free to speak up about potential problems.

Warehouse and racking safety is not a dogma; it is a dialogue between employees, employers, customers, safety experts, and the government. Everyone should have a say in how our warehouses can be made safer because warehouse and racking safety affects everyone.

However, while this is something which we at Storage Equipment Experts believe in, it is evidently not an idea shared by everyone. Workers at a supermarket distribution company were recently fired because they raised concerns over health and safety. Silencing whistleblowers does not help to make warehouses safer. The fear that employees are not allowed to talk about warehouse or racking safety leads to a culture of danger and worker exploitation.

The recent trial over the conditions at Sports Directs’ main distribution warehouse shows what happens when employees are not free to express their concerns over safety. Workers were pushed to the limit in extremely unsafe conditions and, as a result, the centre was forced to make 83 ambulance calls over the course of two years.

The Law Requires Safety Inspections: Warehouse Racking Inspections, Forklift Inspections, and Many Other Safety Inspections

Employers are legally obliged to ensure that their warehouse is being operated in accordance with HSE standards. These regulations are in place because they save lives and they should not be ignored. Employees should be encouraged — not punished — for raising health and safety issues, especially when those issues concern the law.

With regards to warehouse and racking safety, employers are legally required to make sure their racking is inspected by a safety expert — a SEMA approved rack inspector — at least once a year. Should an employee notice a problem, they should mention this to their employer. In fact, HSE encourages employers to conduct rack safety inspections of their own on a regular basis.

Employers should not be quiet about warehouse and racking safety. Rather it is both a legal requirement — and good business — to make sure that they are actively involved in a frank and open discussion about warehouse and racking safety. This is why we provide racking inspection training from a SEMA approved inspector.

Safe, Smart, and Confident Employees are Better for Business

Businesses with employees who are educated on safety issues are better for several reasons. For a start, safety training of any kind helps to motivate employees as they feel more invested in and a bigger part of the team.

Both warehouse racking inspection training for small businesses and warehouse racking inspection training for big businesses have the psychological benefits that come from spending money on human capital. However, the other reason safer and smarter employees are better for business is cold hard cash.

Rack Safety Inspections Now Mean Bigger Profits Later

OSHA calculate that businesses who spend more on safety save money in the long run. Specifically, for every dollar a business spends on safety, they can save up to six dollars. This makes perfect sense. Rack safety inspections are a small expense, but the potential returns on this investment are huge.

After failing to adhere to warehouse safety standards, the international beer-giant Anheuser-Busch had to pay a jaw-dropping $162,000 fine.

A racking expert’s inspection could’ve prevented this expense. Ignoring warehouse safety may cost more than fines.

Casualties and — in some tragic cases — fatalities are the very real result of failing to invest in racking safety.

Businesses and their staff have no reason to stay silent about warehouse and racking safety.

Open dialogue on safety benefits the warehousing, logistics, and supply chain sector, fostering improved operations for all.

Don’t be silent and don’t ignore racking safety! Contact Storage Equipment Experts for a quote on your next warehouse racking inspection.

SEMA Racking Safety

A Beginner’s Guide to Rack Safety Inspections and Racking Inspection Checklists

At Storage Equipment Experts, we instruct businesses on pallet racking safety. Fully-fledged racking inspection training and comprehensive racking inspection checklists are not the only things that we do. One of our most useful services is a basic introduction to racking inspections.

Our infographic should serve as a starting point for businesses who want their staff to learn more about racking inspections and how racking inspection checklists work. It’s a great graphic to print out and put around your workplace. And it’s yours for free! Of course, that’s not the only free thing we offer at Storage Equipment Experts…

Our Racking Inspection Checklist is Free and Easy-to-Use

If you want to carry out your own regular internal racking inspections (as recommended by HSE), you can download our free and easy-to-use racking inspection checklist right here. Before using it though, we would strongly recommend also undergoing racking inspection training.

Our infographic is a great introduction, but for a detailed course on how racking inspections are performed look no further than our racking inspection training course. This course will give your staff the confidence and knowledge to carry out regular internal racking inspections in accordance with HSE’s recommended “traffic light” racking safety system. For this, you can use our racking inspection checklist.

Our Infographic, Our Racking Inspection Checklist, and Our Racking Inspection Course: The Perfect Trilogy

Great things come in threes, and that’s why we recommend using our infographic alongside our checklist and racking inspection training for the perfect three-pronged approach to racking safety. However, racking safety still has one more important element: expert rack safety inspections.

Rack Safety Inspections from Racking Inspection Experts

These safety inspections are required by law — and for good reason. Though our infographic, checklist, and training will help you with the day-to-day upkeep and inspection of your racking, a certified expert is required by HSE to visit your warehouse at least once a year. HSE recommends SEMA approved inspectors for this job. After all, damage is not always obvious. There are some things which require a racking inspection expert to spot.

For the non-experts though, this infographic serves as a great place to start. Understanding the basics is simple when you break it down, and so that’s just what we’ve done with our infographic.

Rack safety inspections are all about knowledge and discipline. That’s why we are keen to share that knowledge as much as possible. At Storage Equipment Experts, we are here to teach you everything you need to know to perform your own regular internal racking inspections. And we are also here when you need an expert racking inspector — a SEMA approved rack inspector — to spot something you might have missed and to give you the advice you need to keep your racking, your warehouse, and your business safe. Our job is to help to you do your job better and safer. Whatever your business, contact us for your next rack safety inspection.

Now that you know the basics, it’s time to call in the experts. Contact us for your next SEMA-approved racking inspection.

SEMA Racking Safety

5 Common Misconceptions About Health and Safety

Misinformation is everywhere! So we at Storage Equipment Experts feel like it’s high time to do some health and safety myth busting. If there’s one consistently popular — and usually inaccurate — news story, it’s the one about health and safety “going too far”. After all, some people just love to hate health and safety. But “health and safety gone mad!” is more than just a worn out cliche; it’s damaging to the reputation of health and safety and all the good work it does. What is rarely mentioned in these fabricated tales is how HSE has helped to reduce workplace fatalities by 86 per cent and workplace injuries by 77 per cent. So, in order to clear health and safety’s name, here are some common health and safety myths debunked.

1. Mixing Milk: A Cocktail of Workplace Danger!

In a Costa Coffee in Sheffield, a customer asked if their barista would be able to mix whole milk and skimmed milk for them. The customer obviously felt that this would be a creative solution to the fact that the cafe didn’t serve semi-skimmed milk, so you can imagine their shock when they were told that mixing milk would violate health and safety. Unless the resulting milk was somehow poisonous, this simply is not true. In fact, HSE itself stepped in and described the incident as a “clear case of poor customer service hiding behind the guise of health and safety”. It so happens that the customer being served was a health and safety manager in the construction industry. She stated that debacles like this trivialise health and safety, and we couldn’t agree more. In cases like this, “health and safety” becomes a catch-all term for “things we can’t/don’t want to do”. Health and safety is about keeping people safe, not about providing excuses for customer service or trading standards issues.

2. Don’t be Such a Baby! Staff Refusing to Heat Up Food for Infants

Many parents, and many employees of cafes and restaurants, have been in this exact situation. A parent walks up to the counter of a quiet restaurant and asks the staff member if they could just pop their microwavable tupperware or baby bottle in the microwave for a moment. It’s not a big ask, is it? Except that the health and safety police have stepped in. Restaurants and cafes can’t heat up baby food because — well — health and safety. What a crazy world we live in! Once again, this is not true. HSE have confirmed that restaurants, cafes, hotels, or any other private business with a microwave are free to use them to heat up baby food. HSE have never said anything of the sort and they claim that myths like these probably originate from “jobsworths” who are looking for a reason to avoid doing more work than they have to. The problem is that these “completely nonsensical interpretations” then spread and taken as fact. Moreover, these lies only help to make people sceptical of the important work HSE does.

3. Does My Apartment Balcony Need a Rack Safety Inspection?

You probably already knew this, but no. Balconies do not need rack safety inspections because they are — balconies. And yet, that didn’t stop one landlord acting as if balconies should be subject to the same standards of safety as warehouses. They released a statement asking tenants to refrain from storing large items or drying clothes on their balconies because of health and safety. Storage safety is important, which is why we provide rack safety inspections for businesses across the UK, but a landlord should have the wherewithal to trust tenants with their own personal storage. Your warehouse may need regular warehouse racking inspections and guidance to ensure safe storage, but your balcony does not. We at Storage Equipment Experts and HSE both have faith in people to be able to store things safely in the comfort of their own home. HSE’s comment was that this “misuse of “health and safety”” was simply “an excuse for banning the use of balconies for activities which would detract from the overall appearance of the property”. It’s yet another example of a business owner, a landlord, blaming an unpopular decision on health and safety to save face.

4. Sorry to Burst Your Bubble But…

Children’s birthday parties and bubbles go together like HSE and SEMA-approved racking inspections. They’re both great relationships and — most importantly — they are both perfectly safe relationships. So why would HSE ban the use of a bubble machine at a birthday party? It’s absolute madness! The madness is that people believe they would. No, HSE doesn’t want to ban bubbles from children’s birthday parties. Their comment on this was that people usually blame these over-zealous decisions on health and safety in order to hide their real motives — “fear of being perhaps, or bad customer service”.

5. Health and Selfies: No Selfie Sticks in British Nightclubs

The logic behind this makes sense. Selfie sticks are big metal contraptions that get swung around with abandon as groups of friends try to get the perfect picture of themselves. Throw in some drink, loud music, and a hugely crowded room and you’ve got yourself a recipe for a disaster. It’s no wonder that HSE has banned selfie sticks from nightclubs. Except that, they haven’t. HSE has no problem with this whatsoever. In debunking this myth, Lord Freud stated that “it’s never been easier to understand the rules and make the right choice”. Once again, this is likely the case of management using health and safety to protect themselves from an unpopular decision. Selfie sticks are something of a phenomenon, but it’s easy to see why a nightclub owner — and many of his loyal, non-selfie-stick-owning customers — might be fed up with them. Still, if a nightclub owner (or any business owner) wants to ban selfie sticks from their establishment, they need to be honest about their reasons. There are countless other health and safety myths out there, and HSE is desperately trying to debunk almost as fast as they are being created. But for health and safety to truly be appreciated for the good that it is, others need to step in, expose the lies, and explain why HSE is — in fact — a great thing for British business. Contact Storage Equipment Experts for a racking safety inspection and racking inspection training from the people who will cut through the jargon tell you the truth about health and safety.

A Day in the Life: What Do SEMA Approved Inspectors Do?

EMA Approved Inspectors - warehouse racking inspections standards

Being a SEMA approved racking inspector means maintaining high standards, but what exactly are those standards?

And what does an average day look like for a SEMA approved inspector?

With clients based all over the UK and Ireland, no two days in the life of a SEMA approved inspector at Storage Equipment Experts are ever the same. The job requires a willingness to travel as well as knowledge of racking safety, a disciplined approach to racking inspections, and the ability to teach. A SEMA approved inspector needs to understand science, business, and the value of safety. It’s all in a day’s work!

Our SEMA Approved Inspector Travels Across the UK and Ireland

At Storage Equipment Experts, we are willing to travel to every corner of the UK and Ireland to deliver SEMA approved rack inspections. We are not limited by geography. Our base in London means that getting to anywhere in the UK, by motorbike, car, train, or plane, is no issue whatsoever.

As the only SEMA approved racking inspector based in the London area, we at Storage Equipment experts are particularly good at inspecting racking inside — or just outside — the M25. However, as has been previously mentioned, we are also more than willing to travel anywhere in the UK.

How Do Businesses Respond to a SEMA Approved Inspector Performing a Warehouse Racking Inspection?

Some of the people we visit are having their first ever racking inspection from a SEMA approved inspector. This is surprising, considering that HSE recommends a racking inspection from SEMA approved inspector at least once a year, though it makes more sense when you consider the general confusion British businesses sometimes feel towards health and safety. According to a study by HSE in 2015 404, 72 per cent of business owners surveyed claimed that they felt keeping up with new HSE regulations was a burden.

Both HSE and Storage Equipment Experts are striving to change that mentality. In HSE’s 2016-2017 business plan, dispelling myths and helping with misunderstanding about health and safety were two of their biggest aims 404. The aim is to get the message across. Health and safety doesn’t restrict business; it makes business better.

In the 2015 survey, 58 per cent of businesses said that their perception of HSE had changed for the better after a visit from HSE compared with just two per cent who claimed it had changed for the worse. This is certainly something which we see at Storage Equipment Experts. After a visit from a SEMA approved racking inspector — a racking inspection expert — many businesses have a much more positive attitude towards health and safety.

In fact, after a visit from us, many businesses are keen to receive racking inspection training so that their staff can carry out their own internal racking inspections on a more regular basis. This something which HSE also recommends.

All of which goes to show that the best way to cure British workplaces of ignorance and confusion towards health and safety is to confront it head on.

How Does a SEMA Approved Inspector Perform a Warehouse Racking Inspection?

Carefully. A SEMA approved inspector performs a warehouse racking inspection carefully. Awareness about rack safety and warehouse racking inspections is increasing every year. As a result, it is our responsibility at Storage Equipment Experts to maintain the highest standards as more and more people learn about the benefits of racking inspections and racking inspection training.

The condition of racking systems can be deceptive at first glance, and this is why we need SEMA approved inspectors. After all, racking damage isn’t always obvious. A warehouse can be clean, neat, and otherwise completely safe, but just because there isn’t damage that doesn’t mean that there isn’t danger. Missing safety locks are a surprisingly common fault. These missing locks may seem innocuous, but without them, the racking system could collapse at any moment.

Sometimes, particularly in more established businesses, a fast-paced and pressurised business environment can lead to the overloading of racking systems. In some extreme cases, this may have been going on for years without businesses paying any attention to it. This is the sort of danger that requires fresh eyes to see. It’s easy to become acclimatised to danger if it’s been there for so long, but that doesn’t make it okay.

What Happens After a Warehouse Racking Inspection from a SEMA Approved Inspector?

At Storage Equipment Experts, we are always there to recommend the best course of action following one of our inspections. Ultimately, it is the legal responsibility of the business itself to implement the change their warehouse may need. The new CDM regulations make this clear the buck stops with the business owner.

Repairing or replacing parts of — or the whole of — a racking system can cause short-term disruption. However, much like in every area of business, certain investments are absolutely necessary. No serious business can knowingly continue to operate with an unsafe racking system especially when an expert has told them exactly what the problem is. At that point, a business owner can no longer feign ignorance.

It need not get to this point. Annual racking inspections from a racking inspection expert, as well as staff who are trained in how to perform regular internal racking inspections, will make sure that your business is not in a position where they are forced to replace or repair their racking. Racking systems are sturdy, reliable, and can last for years if treated properly. At Storage Equipment Experts, our day to day job is making sure that businesses realise that fact.

Being a SEMA approved racking inspector means maintaining high standards, but what exactly are those standards?

What are the 4 Most Dangerous Fictional Workplaces? A SEMA Approved Racking Inspector has the Answer…

At Storage Equipment Experts, one of the things we regularly see in cinema, literature, and theatre is a dangerous workplaces.

We let a lot of details slide in the name of telling a great story. After all, over the course of its ten-year run, Friends regularly changed the ages of its main characters as well as major events in their lives in order to tell a new joke or two. However, one thing that gets ignored far too often are the places where our beloved fictional characters work.

Even Fictional Workplace Safety is Important

Characters get into trouble, whether it is comic or tragic, for a whole host of reasons and so it wouldn’t be outside the realms of good story writing to make workplace safety a pivotal plot point. Instead, we are usually left wondering how on earth so many fictional businesses are still functioning. After all, with regards to Friends, who else works at Central Perk other than Rachel and Gunther? What happens when someone needs to call in sick? And have you ever once seen someone clean those tables?

For some stories though, a proper appreciation of workplace safety and the intricacies of the day-to-day workplaces helps to add an extra layer of realism.

The Wire, HBO’s flagship crime-drama, was praised for its six-year commitment to consistent realism. It built an extremely convincing and compelling picture of the city of Baltimore, not by using broad brushstrokes, but by patiently adding thousands of small details together.

And yes one of these details was workplace safety. It became an important plot point as Officer Polk considers purposefully throwing himself down an unsafe stairway so that he can retire early and live off the compensation. Eventually, he can’t bring himself to do it. However, that unsafe stairway helps to teach us more about Polk’s character and his motivations, or therein lack of, for being a policeman.

Still, not every television show is The Wire. Sometimes a story moves too fast for the characters to pause and consider the unsafe working environment that they’re in.

A Sci-Fi Show with Pallet Rack Inspections?

There’s no reason why it couldn’t happen! Over the course of Doctor Who’s 50 years, The Doctor has experienced every kind of drama — from the political to the intellectual, to the comedic, to the absurd — so why haven’t pallet rack inspections found their way into the story? Would it really be any stranger than that time the Doctor was trapped in the Big Brother house?

Firefly, another sci-fi classic, lasted for just one season. Yet, despite this, the show still made room for some very simple details. We watch the characters eat meals together, we see how their beds fold out, and in the opening section to one episode, the crew are playing some kind of made up sport together.

In this fictional universe, where the everyday details are what make the show so believable, a safety inspection of some kind wouldn’t be entirely out of place.

Workplace safety is much more important to storytelling than we often give it credit. With that in mind, here’s our infographic on the most dangerous fictional workplaces of all time…

Most Dangerous Fictional Workplaces - workplace safety infographics

Whether it’s fairytale fantasy or fast-paced fight scenes, workplace safety factors into a lot more stories than we realise. Eddie Izzard once pointed out that the Death Star must have had a canteen. Equally, it must have had a safety inspector of some sort…

Pallet racking safety is no fiction! Contact Storage Equipment Experts for the best pallet rack inspections in the UK.