The Difference Between Racking Inspectors in the UK and Abroad

In the UK, HSE are the government board responsible for health and safety at work, and they recommend that a SEMA approved racking inspector visit a warehouse for an expert inspection at least once a year. However, this idea is not a given. Overseas, racking inspectors and the racking inspection industry can range from quite different to completely unrecognisable.

Racking Inspectors, Racking Inspections and Racking Safety in the USA

Oscar Wilde once quipped that “we really have everything in common with America nowadays except, of course, language.” Well over a century later, this aphorism still holds true… to a certain extent.

OSHA is the US’s federal bureaucracy in charge of workplace safety. As a result, OSHA resembles HSE in several ways. The two bodies differ when it comes to the issue of racking safety. While HSE has a pretty clear definition of what racking safety involves, OSHA does not. This has led people like business journalist Travis Rhoden to criticise OSHA for their lack of clarity.

In OSHA’s 2002 document Materials Handling and Storing, racking inspections are not mentioned once. Inspections are referred to in general, with OSHA recommending that regular warehouse

inspections be conducted by staff, but racking inspections specifically are not mentioned. Because of OSHA’s vagueness, Rhoden recommends that businesses make sure their racking is inspected and their staff know how to do racking inspections as well.

When writing for American publications, we have always recommended expert racking inspections and racking inspection training. The laws may be different, but the standards should remain the same.

Racking Inspectors, Racking Inspections and Racking Safety in Australia

The Australian government’s racking safety regulations can vary by state, but it is Victoria’s racking safety regulations that are most similar to the UK. Work Safe Victoria, the state’s department of health and safety, recommend pallet racking inspections once every six to twelve months. Much like HSE, inspections from a “technically competent” person are recommended. They also use a traffic light system for internal inspections.

Racking Inspectors, Racking Inspections and Racking Safety in Canada

Similar to Australia, racking inspection regulations in Canada can vary by province. In Ontario, warehouse safety inspections are carried out by the Ministry of Labour who expect that warehouse staff are trained enough to carry out daily racking inspections. This system emphasises the need for pallet racking inspection training for staff In the UK,

HSE also recommends that staff carry out internal inspections. It does not specify the regularity of these inspections, but if your staff receive pallet racking inspection training from a SEMA approved racking inspector then daily racking inspections can easily be done.

In many English-speaking countries, racking inspectors and racking inspections are still a big part of warehouse safety. Racking safety transcends political and cultural boundaries, and the reason for this is that it’s the right thing to do.

Contact Storage Equipment Experts today for pallet racking inspections and pallet racking inspection training from the UK racking inspection experts who know that safety is safety, no matter where you are!

racking inspections

An Introduction to Warehouse Safety

An Introduction to Warehouse Safety: What is it? Who does it apply to? And why does warehouse safety matter?

At Storage Equipment Experts, we talk a lot about warehouse safety, and that’s mainly because we’re so passionate about it. However, one thing that we’ve not yet done is explain warehouse safety to the uninitiated. To us, it’s second nature, but to many people it remains a mystery. Some people might even wonder why warehouse safety even matters.

Warehouses are big structures and they have the potential to employ many people, as many as 40,000 in the case of some Amazon warehouses. With such scale and such size, the potential for accidents is equally huge. 40,000 people running around a building that size with no safety precautions would be complete chaos!

And yet, before HSE and the introduction of warehouse safety procedures, that’s exactly what happened. It was only after the tragic Flixborough chemical plant explosion in 1974 that HSE was introduced. The 24 needless deaths were a wake-up call, and since then warehouses have become much safer places.

Warehouse Safety and Pallet Racking Inspection Training

We have long believed that rack inspection training is essential to the maintenance of any warehouse. If you have a small business, then you need pallet racking inspection training. And if you have a big business… you also need pallet racking inspection training!

Any business with a warehouse can benefit from it. Warehouses are, in essence, nothing more than vessels for large storage systems. The larger and more ambitious your storage system, the better trained your staff should be to perform racking inspections.

Pallet racking inspections and pallet racking inspection training are a big part of warehouse safety. They protect your warehouse from damage and protect your staff from harm, just as much as hard-hats and rack protectors do. In fact, rack protectors are often misused, and so it is vital that employers and employees recognise the importance of expert rack inspections and rack inspection training as a preventative measure.

At Storage Equipment Experts, we have always been happy to supply our customers with expert rack inspections, delivered by a SEMA approved inspector, to warehouses across the UK. Though we are also passionate about providing our readers, and the general public, with knowledge about rack inspections and warehouse safety…

Warehouse safety has a long history, but we also believe in the future of warehouse safety. That’s why we are keen to spread as much knowledge about the topic as possible. We believe in creating safer warehouses across the UK through spreading awareness, but also through our services. Our expert rack inspections and rack inspection training are perfect for businesses of all sizes. Whether your warehouse is a concrete jungle like Amazon’s or just a cozy corner to store your stock, we have you covered.

We are in the business of making warehouses as efficient, useful, and safe as possible. That’s why our expert rack inspections and pallet racking inspection training courses are carried out by a SEMA approved inspector. It’s also why we deliver our services to any business in the UK.

Contact Storage Equipment Experts today! HSE recommend that SEMA approved inspectors perform racking inspections because they’re experts, and we couldn’t agree more!

Warehouse Safety

Damage Isn’t Always Obvious: 4 Reasons We Need Racking Inspection Experts

When most people think of warehouse dangers or damage to racking systems, they think of sensationalised stories or videos where racking system failures lead to disasters that are so extreme they are almost farcical.

However, with most cases, racking system damage is not as obvious as this. In many cases racking system damage is subtle, and that’s why we need racking inspection experts.

We Need Racking Inspection Experts Because Signs of Damage Differ From Brand to Brand

At Storage Equipment Experts, we are more than happy to inspect a wide variety of racking systems. Not all racking systems are the same, and the subtle differences between different racking systems are vitally important when it comes to inspection. What might seem normal for a Dexion storage system may be completely abnormal for a Mecalux storage system.

We Need Racking Inspection Experts Because Damage Can be Different by Pallet Racking Type

Even within a given brand, pallet racking types can still vary. This is why we have developed a pallet racking identifier to help businesses with their internal racking inspections.

Internal racking inspections are something which HSE state should be carried out by staff on a regular basis, alongside racking inspections from a racking inspection expert at least once a year. Our SEMA approved racking inspectors serve warehouses across the country, ensuring that any UK business can receive an annual, expert racking inspection. As for the internal inspections, this is why we provide pallet racking inspection training, a racking inspection checklist and a pallet racking identifier.

This identifier helps you to compare what your pallet racking should look like with what it does look like. Of course, there are bound to be some differences, but how much difference is safe? And what exactly constitutes damage with regards to each pallet racking system?

When the answer is not obvious, that’s when we need racking inspection experts. They dedicate their lives to knowing the answers to these questions. SEMA approved inspectors spend years studying what safe pallet racking is and what it is not, regardless of type, brand, or any other variation.

We Need Racking Inspection Experts Because Damage Sometimes Requires Maths to Spot

If a bend in your racking system is easily visible, then anyone can tell you that you have a problem. The reason we need racking inspection expert is because not all bends are obvious. Sometimes noticing a bend requires some expert know-how. SEMA approved inspectors have specific calculations in mind when they are figuring out whether a given piece of storage equipment is indeed bent and what the best course of action should be as a result.

We Need Racking Inspection Experts Because Damage is not Solved Easily

SEMA approved inspectors are racking inspection experts whose role is not just to tell you that you have a problem. Rather, racking inspection experts are there to help you solve your storage system problems. This is why we provide rack inspection training for businesses across the UK to help you to spot damaged racking earlier. The earlier the damage is spotted, the easier it is to fix. This law holds true in many walks of life, including racking system safety.

Damage isn’t always obvious. There is a whole spectrum of damage between safety and disaster. Before this particular warehouse found themselves in a situation where they called the ambulance 76 times over a two year period, there would have been many other warning signs. Racking inspection experts are there to spot warning signs as early as possible.

Concerned about your pallet racking system? Contact Storage Equipment Experts, the racking inspection experts who are SEMA approved in the UK.

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The Sturdy Relationship Between Racking Inspections And HSE

HSE and the racking inspections industry are two major players in the world of warehouse safety, and their strong relationship is based on a common goal: safer warehouses across the UK. The HSE and racking inspection experts have often worked together to achieve this goal, and here are just some examples of when they have…

HSE recommends pallet racking inspections from SEMA approved racking inspectors

HSE recommends that relevant businesses have an “expert” pallet racking inspection at least once every 12 months. They state that the person tasked with carrying out the inspection should be “technically competent” and cite SEMA approved inspectors as an example of this kind of competence.

They go on to state that businesses should conduct internal pallet racking inspections using a traffic light system: red is an immediate emergency, amber is a situation that requires attention as soon as possible, and green means that the system only requires regular attention. This traffic light racking inspection system is designed so that all staff members have the same idea about what constitutes safe racking and what does not.

Of course, the best way to ensure that your staff are up for the job of using this system to perform racking inspections is to book a place on one our rack inspection training courses and/or use our racking inspection checklist. The rack inspection training course is delivered by a SEMA approved racking inspector and the checklist has been designed by a SEMA approved rack inspector.

Both are specifically designed to be an introduction to racking inspections for people who want to abide by HSE regulation with regular staff-led racking inspections alongside side regular visits from an expert, a SEMA approved racking inspector.

HSE respect the racking inspection industry’s opinion

At June 2015’s SEMA Seminar, Matt Grierson confirmed that HSE agreed to legally enforce SEMA’s ‘Guide to Method Statements’ if SEMA could turn it into a formal Code of Practice. Whether or not this actually ends up happening is still a big maybe. Grierson admitted that getting the relevant experts needed to write the code has proven tricky.

Still, the fact that HSE respects SEMA enough to turn something they have written into law is evidence of their respect for the racking inspection industry. The expert judgement of SEMA approved inspectors has not gone unnoticed by HSE, and it is this expectation that keeps the quality of our racking inspections by SEMA Approved inspectors and our racking inspection training so high.

HSE are present at the big racking inspection events

September 2015’s SEMA Safety Conference was a big day for the racking inspection industry, and so it should come as no surprise that HSE were well represented at the event. Of particular note was Rob Shaw, who delivered an in-depth talk about how slips, trips, and falls can be reduced in the warehouse, something which he has written a lot about for HSE and HSL.

Shaw’s expertise was well received, and his dedication to reducing accidents in warehouses echoed the general theme of the event.

SEMA approved inspectors are proud of what they know, but they also recognise that they are a cog in a much larger machine. Warehouse safety is a large industry made of many different people in many different fields trying to bend the arc of history towards safety.

For that to happen, the racking inspection industry needs the support, knowledge, and respect of HSE. We are happy to say that we have all three of those things, and we give those things back to HSE in return. The relationship between HSE and racking inspections will mean only good things for the future of racking inspections and the future of warehouse safety.

Contact Storage Equipment Experts for the “expert” and “technically competent” racking inspections by SEMA approved inspectors and racking inspection training that HSE recommend.

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How Has The Warehouse Shaped Our Ideas Of Culture And Safety?

Warehouses safety are a strange contradiction; they are both easy to ignore and impossible to live without. Like smartphones, they have entirely wormed their way into our lives and have changed the way we live our lives too. However, unlike smartphones, the modern warehouse does not receive the same frenetic media attention, and perhaps it should.

The Industrial Revolution, the birth of the modern warehouse, and the birth of pallet racking inspection training At Storage Equipment Experts, we have spoken before about the link between the development of the modern warehouse and its relationship with the Industrial Revolution. We have also spoken about how the Industrial Revolution lead to some of the first safety regulations, paving the way for pallet racking inspection training. In essence, it’s fair to say that all three are heavily connected.

If it were not for the Industrial Revolution, we would not have the sort of warehouses and workplace safety standards that we do today. And if it weren’t for warehouses and workplace safety standards, the Industrial Revolution would have run out of steam as storage failed and accidents skyrocketed.

The Industrial Revolution may have helped to create the culture of excess that we have today, a culture that we often take for granted, but it couldn’t have done it without warehouses and warehouse safety.

The Effect of the Warehouse on art, Music, Theatre, and Culture

Warehouses are practical animals, and their sheer size can make an impression on artists. Their squareness largeness, at first glance, appears to laugh at the very idea of aesthetic or beauty. However, many artists see beauty in their simplicity. In 2013, art critic Mat Gleason claimed that warehouses were becoming the new normal for art gallery installations across Los Angeles.

And this wasn’t some small trend either. He believed the idea was spreading and he even dubbed it the beginning of “The Warehouse Era”. And in music, the harsh acoustics of an empty warehouse have been city as the driving influence behind Berlin’s techno scene in the late 80s and early 90s.

In theatre, warehouses have long been the ideal venue for certain kinds of performances. The natural echo created by a warehouse makes it great for unmiked performances that can be both loud and intimate at the same time.

Moreover, the size and space of a warehouse allow for a variety of staging styles, from minimalist to over-the-top design. The success of venues like Donmar Theatre is proof of this. To date, productions made at the Donmar Theatre have won 43 Laurence Olivier Awards.

Why do Artists Gravitate Towards the Predictability, Rules, and Pallet Racking Inspection Training Associated with Warehouses and Warehouse Safety?

Warehouses are known for warehouse safety, and this means that the space can be experimented with by artists to a large degree without risk of danger. The same cannot be said of all arts’ spaces. It’s strange to think that the necessarily rigid practice of warehouse safety and pallet racking inspection training allows artists so much freedom and creativity. However, the history of art bears the idea out.

Perhaps the safety and security of a warehouse is appealing to people who work in the arts, where so much can be uncertain. Warehouses are sturdy, safe, and things like storage systems, HSE regulations, pallet racking inspection training gives them a predictable structure. The contrasts entirely with so many art forms, yet the uniformity of the warehouse gives an artist knowable boundaries for their expression. Sort of like the borders on a canvas for paintings, or the hour time-limit that many Edinburgh Fringe performances give themselves, or a word limit for a writer.

Warehouses and warehouse safety have given us much more than a means to store washing machines or lawn mowers. And warehouses are not just important for hardhat-wearing safety aficionados. There is art, music, theatre, and an entire lifestyle that would not exist without warehouses, warehouse safety, and pallet racking inspection training.

Now that you know how important pallet racking inspection training is, why not book a course for your business? Contact Storage Equipment Experts for a pallet racking inspection training course from the most knowledgeable SEMA approved rack inspector in the UK.

Relationship Between Pallet Racking Inspection Training and the UK’s Economy

Pallet racking inspection training plays a big role in the British economy, perhaps bigger than most people would have originally realised. Upon close inspection, it becomes clear how racking inspection training can be used as both a tool to boost the economy and as a measure of economy’s health. Some might take for granted the fact that we can now state, with some accuracy, how well a given economy is doing at a given time.

During the Great Depression in the United States, much of the data used to judge how the economy was doing was incomplete and so a lot of economic policy at the time was guesswork. We now live in a hyperconnected and data-driven world where figuring out the current state of a given economy is much easier than it once was. There is still room for debate about the economy. Yet, there are some things that almost all economists agree are good for an economy. And one of them is pallet racking inspection training.

Are Free Markets Danger Free? The British Government’s Role in the Racking Inspection Training Market

Depending on your political affiliation, the role a given government should play in the economy ranges from “a very big one” to “a very small one”. However, one thing that all mainstream economists can agree on is that the government should play at least some role in the economy. With regards to rack inspection training, the best thing the government can do is to legitimise the importance of pallet racking inspection training through regulation. The creation of HSE, and the subsequent racking regulations that came with it, are exactly that.

Pallet racking inspection training is not a free-for-all; it is not a marketplace where anyone can say and do as they please. For a start, not just anybody can call themselves a SEMA-approved rack inspector (SARI). That title is hard earned, and being part of the SARI programme is something HSE recognise as vital to the rack inspection process. In the case of racking safety, the government’s influence on the market is subtle but effective.

Fewer Accidents and More Whisky:

The Direct and Indirect Benefits of Rack Inspection Training on the British Economy

Just as the British government does good things for the rack inspection training industry, so too does the rack inspection training industry do good things for the British government. Namely by helping to better the British economy. A well-trained workforce is more productive, and productivity is key to a thriving economy. In fact, some economists would go as far to say that the most important difference between an economically developed region or nation and a less economically developed one is how productive they are.

Moreover, a workforce that is safer is less likely to be involved in accidents. As every employer knows, accidents cost time, money, and (in extremely tragic cases) employees’ lives. It’s hard to put a figure on how much this costs a business, especially when it comes to fatalities. Still, that hasn’t stopped OSHA, the USA’s government department for health and safety, from trying. They have long argued that for every $1 spent on safety, businesses can save up to $6.

Then there are the indirect benefits. Businesses that are safer make more money, but pallet racking inspection training has benefits beyond safety. Trained employees are happier and happier employees make more money too. A well educated and happier workforce is one of the many positive externalities of rack inspection training.

Another benefit of pallet racking inspection training is increased investment. Businesses who know that their racking systems are safer and more secure, as a result of rack inspection training for their staff, can buy more stock with great confidence. In other words, if a business is made up of staff that know the limitations of their racking systems, how to effectively deliver rack inspections, and when to call in a SEMA-approved rack inspector, then they can better look after their product.

This is especially true with the whisky industry, which has real potential to boost the British economy. Whisky businesses with pallet racking inspection training can brew and store more whisky, more often, with more confidence. This is great news for UK economists and whisky aficionados alike.

Safe Money: Rack Inspection Training as a Measure of the British Economy

There are three key indicators that economists use to judge an economy’s health: GDP, inflation rate, and unemployment rate. These three statistics are to macroeconomists what pulse, heart rate, and brain activity are to doctors. Using this same analogy, the number of businesses delivering and receiving rack inspection training is important too.

It’s not exactly as directly related to health as heart rate or brain activity but it’s definitely another factor, perhaps more akin to weight, amount of sleep a person gets, or the amount of plaque on someone’s teeth. In essence, the more a given economy is spending on pallet racking inspection training, the healthier that economy is.

There are a couple reasons for this. First, if a business is spending money on rack inspection training, it means that they are able to spend their businesses budget on investments rather than the day-to-day running costs of the business. Second, if that business is a small business or a startup, then it is a business that is beginning to think bigger which is a key indicator of growth.

The relationship between rack inspection training and the British economy is intimate and complex, but the overarching theme is that good news for one means good news for the other. For the UK’s economy to grow, we need a more intelligent, more motivated, and — above all else — safer workforce. The best way to do that is with pallet racking inspection training from Storage Equipment Experts.

Whether it’s because you’re doing your bit for the British economy, or whether it’s because you just want to make your business better, pallet racking inspection training from Storage Equipment Experts is always a safe choice.

Pallet racking inspection training

What Is A Pallet Racking Inspection Training Course?

We believe in the importance of pallet racking inspection training courses, which is why we offer the best pallet racking inspection training course in the UK. But what is a rack inspection training course? How does it differ from any other safety course? And what exactly does it aim to achieve?

In essence, a pallet racking inspection training course is a one-day course delivered by a racking inspection expert. The course teaches people who work in a warehouse how to perform routine checks on racking systems. It sounds simple enough, but there are a few other details…

A Pallet Racking Inspection Training Course Versus a Generic Safety Training Course

If there are more than five people in your business, you are legally required to give them a brief rundown of your health and safety policy. This is the law, but it does not really qualify as training. A rundown of your health and safety policy does not even cover the specifics of warehouse safety, let alone racking safety.

When it comes to warehouses specifically, HSE states that everybody in your warehouse needs to be “competent” and anybody performing a rack inspection needs to be “technically competent”. But what does that even mean, and how much training can achieve this competence? For years, this question went unanswered, which lead the rise of over 300 different card schemes. With each new card, a new definition of “technically competent” was created.

The new CDM regulations now mean that the definition of “technically competent” is determined by the employer, legally titled the “client”. However, it’s fair to assume that a generic safety course will not make anyone “technically competent” enough to inspect racking. Rather, a pallet racking inspection course which specifically covers the details of rack inspection is a better bet. Our one has the added benefit of being delivered by a SEMA approved rack inspector (SARI); HSE labels SARIs as “expert inspectors”.

If I Complete a Rack Inspection Training Course, does that make me an “Expert Inspector”?

In a word, no. We like to be honest here at Storage Equipment Experts, and the fact is that no one-day course alone will mean that you are considered an “expert inspector” in the eyes of HSE. That title is reserved for people who have spent years achieving and maintaining a high level of racking inspection knowledge. HSE specifically label a SEMA approved rack inspector as an “expert inspector”, and this is not a title that can be achieved by any course except one delivered by SEMA itself.

A pallet racking inspection training course means that you can now consider yourself “technically competent” in the eyes of HSE. This means that you are able to perform the kind of day-to-day racking inspection that HSE expects your staff to do. Added to this, HSE insists on yearly racking inspections from an “expert inspector” such as a SEMA approved rack inspector. Your business needs to do both of these things to be on the right side of HSE, and knowing the difference between “technically competent” and “expert inspector” is crucial.

Our rack inspection training course covers a lot of detail, but we do not pretend to cover everything. Stating otherwise would encourage overconfidence and danger in the workplace. At Storage Equipment Experts, we are happy to make distinctions clear in the name of safety. It is this commitment to clarity that inspires us to spell out exactly what a pallet racking inspection training course is and, more than that, why ours is the best rack inspection course in the UK.

Contact Storage Equipment Experts today for the rack inspection training course that insists on clarity, expertise, and value for money!

Pallet racking inspection training

Drunk On Safety: The Role of Pallet Racking in the Whisky Industry

When you’re sat in the pub enjoying your favourite whisky, with or without ice, take a moment and consider how exactly it got into your glass. The pub probably will have bought your small tipple in bulk, from a distributor, who probably bought their crates in bulk from a supplier. Both the supplier and the distributor will have stored their whisky in warehouses and those warehouses, depending on how the whisky was stored, will have used different kinds of pallet racking.

This is true for many products. However, whisky is unique in that it is a single consumable product that can fill entire warehouses, for many years, and has the potential to boost the British economy. Whisky requires care because it can spoil, but it also needs space and stringent pallet racking safety standards. With whisky, there is much more than meets the taste buds.

Production and storage of whisky needs pallet racking inspections and pallet racking inspection training to ensure racking safety

With Scotch whisky accounting for about a quarter of the UK’s total food and drink export, British whisky producers are under immense pressure to adhere to the right standards. Whisky requires time and immense care, and so the safety and security of a distillery’s storage system needs to be absolute.

Of course, whisky producers want a zero accident workplace. However, with the production of Scotch whisky, zero accident takes on a whole new meaning. Scotch can be stored for over twenty years, but if just one racking shelf has an issue during that time then thousands of pounds worth of whisky can be lost in the blink of an eye. Even if there are absolutely no human casualties, the damage a pallet racking system failure can do to a small Scotch whisky producer is catastrophic.

To prevent this, distilleries require pallet racking inspections and pallet racking inspection training for their staff. Twenty years is a long time, and some whisky’s can mature for upwards of fifty years, but in all that time the safety and security of the racking needs to be paramount. The world changes, nation states are create and destroy, a human being may be born, raise a family, become a grandfather, and pass away: whiskies can outlast all of that… but only if the racking is well maintained.

Some whiskies are older than HSE itself, which means they are older than the legal requirement for pallet racking inspections and pallet racking inspection training. Still, though they may be beyond the birth of government regulations for racking, they are not beyond the universal laws that govern racking safety.

As of 2016, HSE recommends that a SEMA-approved rack inspector perform a pallet racking inspection at least once a year. For obvious reasons, when distilleries are storing whisky that is older than your dad, the frequency of these racking inspections should be much higher. Moreover, HSE recommends that a “technically competent” member of staff perform pallet racking inspections on a more regular basis. And the best way to ensure that staff are “technically competent” is to invest in pallet racking inspection training.

In the future, HSE may change. Whisky can be store for a long time and who’s to say what racking safety will look like fifty years from now. Still, what is certain is that pallet racking inspection training from Storage Equipment Experts is something that stands the test of time. Allowing your staff to attend our pallet racking inspection training course will give them knowledge which will still be relevant many, many years from now.

Give your staff the pallet racking inspection training course that remains relevant through the years. Contact Storage Equipment Experts today!

4 Reasons Why the “Luck of the Irish” Does Not Apply to Racking Safety

A lot of things come down to luck (a coin toss, Blackjack, Snakes and Ladders) but racking safety is not one of these things. Racking safety requires skills beyond crossing your fingers, and though many people already know this, there are evidently still some who do not. As a result, there are still too many tragedies that occur from a lack of racking safety. To avoid this, businesses need to invest in racking safety with rack inspection training. So here are four reasons why racking safety does not depend on luck.

1. Racking Safety Requires Facts

Dice have no memory… but warehouses do. If a flipped coin lands heads up a thousand times in a row, the coin does not “owe us” a tails. The odds of it landing on heads again are 50/50, same as they always were. The belief otherwise is known as the Gambler’s Fallacy and it is responsible for the “one more roll of the dice” ideology that leaves so many gamblers bankrupt.

By contrast, when we say that warehouses do have memories, what we are saying is that warehouse safety is based on past mistakes and past successes. A safety system works or does not for good reason. Our rack inspection training course is not the result of guesswork. It is the result of research, hard statistics, and experience. It is the result of the collective learning accumulated from hundreds of years of warehouse and racking safety.

2. Racking Safety Requires Constant Diligence

Racking safety is not a one off. It is a constant process that requires consistent adherence to the highest standards of safety. SEMA approved racking inspectors (SARIs), for example, have to stay up to date with all of the latest racking safety news, conferences, and changes in order to keep their prestigious title. They are also expected to attend any extra courses they might need and pass on their knowledge to other people. That last point is why we at Storage Equipment Experts have written articles for British, American, and South African publications.

3. Racking Safety Requires Certainty

The very nature of luck is that it is uncertain; the very nature of safety is that it is certain. For this reason, the two concepts make terrible bedfellows. And yet, there are still many businesses who leave safety down to luck.

A far too common feeling among businesses that own warehouses is that pre racking inspection nerves are natural. They aren’t. If you are feeling nervous before a racking inspection, it is because you are uncertain about the quality of your racking safety. In other words, it means you have left it to luck. If you take chances on safety as part of the day-to-day running of your business, it should come as no surprise that an otherwise routine SEMA approved rack inspection would make you nervous.

4. Racking Safety Requires Rack Inspection Training

Our rack inspection training course leaves nothing to chance. This is a full-day course that goes through as many of the elements of racking inspection that can be covered in the time allowed. The end result is that those who attend our course walk away feeling confident about racking safety. Not the kind of confidence that relies on a misplaced self-belief and philosophy of luck. Rather, the confidence gained from our course comes from the acquisition of solid knowledge: practical, relevant, and succinct.

More than that, our course teaches humility. We do not pretend to cover every element of racking inspection in a single day. There are limits to the amount of knowledge we can impart, which is why HSE recommend a visit from a SEMA approved rack inspector at least once a year. Our course teaches employees everything that they need to know about racking safety. More than that, it teaches them that what they don’t know doesn’t need to be left to chance. Instead, what they don’t know should be left to a rack inspection from a SEMA approved rack inspector.

In the world of rack safety, there is no such thing as luck. So make sure that your staff have rack inspection training from Storage Equipment Experts and leave luck to the cowboys!

The Future of Racking Inspection Training

Future of Racking Inspection Training uk

Storage Equipment Experts, we are passionate about current developments in the racking safety industry and we are well acquainted with the industry’s past. The future, however, is especially fascinating. New technologies and a new generation of internet users mean that many businesses will be subject to change. Racking inspection training is no different and we will welcome the future like an old friend when it comes.

Racking Inspection Training and Blogging

We are proud of our blogging. Our site currently has a blog that is update five times a month so our readers can read all the latest information on racking safety and racking inspection training issues. As the internet becomes accessible to more and more people, our online writing will continue to be a big part of what we do. For racking inspection training, this means that we will be able to complement our face-to-face training with more great information and updates in the future.

Racking Inspection Training and the Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) is an idea that has been around for a while. A good definition of the idea comes from Nicole Kobie: “it’s about connecting devices over the internet, letting them talk to us, applications, and each other”.

In other words, rather than the internet simply consisting of computers talking to each other, the internet will become a system where every electronic gadget can communicate. To return to Kobie, “the popular, if silly, example is the smart fridge: what if your fridge could tell you it was out of milk, texting you if its internal cameras saw there was none left, or that the carton was passed its use-by date?”

How will this affect racking inspection training? It’s hard to say, but it’s a question worth asking because the IoT is already making an impact on the taxi industry (with Uber having been recently value at $70 billion) and has the potential to revolutionise the food service industry (with apps like Push for Pizza). To point out the obvious, taxis, pizza, and racking inspection training are three radically different products.

Racking Inspection Training and Information Overload

The IoT is part of a larger trend; people now have quicker access to more information more often. Finding out whether your milk has gone funny is one thing, but the fact that the majority of internet access now occurs through mobile is a fact worth considering. Information about anything, from the latest laws on racking safety to the air pollution levels in China, can be retrieved almost instantly through either an app, a browser extension, or a Google search. With so much information available, can’t people just learn about racking inspection training through an app?

The short answer is no. The long answer is that as the IoT and mobile internet becomes more prevalent, quality of information will matter more. An app can translate words for you, and it can even read signs in foreign languages, but an app cannot teach you a language. For that, you need a teacher, lessons, practice, and other sources of quality information. Racking inspection training is the same.

We at Storage Equipment Experts will continue to write articles and blog posts about racking safety in the future. However, for a thorough understanding of pallet racking inspections, racking safety, and warehouse safety in general, our racking inspection training is the course that stands the test of time.

Contact Storage Equipment Experts for a racking inspection training course from the SEMA-Approved Racking Inspector who understands the past, present, and future of racking inspection training.

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