Why You’ll Need a SEMA Racking Inspection Course in 2018?

SEMA racking inspection course 2018

2018 is a year which promises a lot, so be sure to be prepared when it comes to racking safety

If you’re a small business owner in charge of a storage system, 2018 is the perfect year to make sure that you and your staff are prepared with regards to racking safety. There are many ways to do this — and a SEMA racking inspection course is one of those ways.

Of course, not all SEMA racking inspection courses are the same, so there are other reasons why you might need a SEMA racking inspection course this year.

Three Reasons to Get a SEMA Racking Inspection Course in 2018…

1. You Want to Become a SEMA Approved Racking Inspector (SARI)

Becoming a SARI is a big commitment, and the first part of that commitment is taking the SEMA Approved Inspector Qualification. So, if you want to start work as a SARI in 2018, this is the SEMA racking inspection course you’ll need to take.

However, not just anyone is able to take the course. Would-be SARIs need to complete a pre-course assessment to see if they are able to train to be a SARI. Most who wind up being SARIs have a background in engineering or something similar. The pre-course assessment is designed to separate the people who are sincerely ready for the commitment and the people who are not.

After the pre-course qualifier comes the course itself. This is an intensive three-day course with a very high rate of failure. It’s why there are only 109 SARIs as of 2018. The reason for this is to ensure the best possible standards. After the course, SARIs need to commit to continuous development by attending courses and top-up seminars when needed. Not doing so means that someone could lose their status as a SARI.

If that level of commitment sounds right for you, 2018 could be the year you take a SEMA racking inspection course and become a SARI.

2. You Are an End User Who Wants to Learn More about Racking Safety

There are a variety of reasons why the end users of a racking system would want to learn more about racking safety or would want their staff to learn more about racking safety. Some are looking to adhere to the law, some are looking to improve employee engagement, and some are just interested.

The CDM Regulations mean that the idea of “competence” is more important than ever. In short, if you own a warehouse, it is your legal responsibility to make sure that the staff working in it are competent. What’s more, HSE’s HSG76 stresses that “technically competent” staff perform an internal, staff-led racking inspection regularly. This is alongside the annual inspection from a SEMA approved racking inspector.

Both the CDM Regulations and HSE’s HSG76 are a reason that you might want you and your staff to attend a racking inspection course. Doing so will likely ensure that you and your staff are competent both in the eyes of HSE and the CDM Regulations.

3. You Are an End User Concerned About Brexit

With the lack of knowledge surrounding Brexit, investing in you and your staff’s knowledge and overall engagement with a racking inspection course is a great response. Moreover, without the EU’s influence, British safety organisations such as SEMA may become much more influential players in terms of racking safety legislation post-Brexit.

Put all that together and end users have a pretty compelling reason to learn more about SEMA’s take on racking safety with a SEMA racking inspection course in 2018. As well as SEMA’s course for would-be SARIs, SEMA also offers a rack safety awareness course aimed at end users.

Alternatively, you could take our racking inspection course. Delivered by a SEMA approved racking inspector, the racking inspection course at Storage Equipment Experts can be delivered at our training centre in London or at your workplace anywhere in the UK or Ireland. This is unlike the SEMA course, which can only be delivered at its training centre.

During our course, our SEMA approved racking inspector will tell you everything you need to know about SEMA’s approach to racking safety, as well as all of the relevant British and Irish legislation which affects racking safety.

To book a racking inspection course led by a SEMA approved racking inspector, contact us today for a FREE consultation.

HSE Guidelines for Racking Inspection Safety

racking inspection

To some, the HSE guidelines and HSE racking inspection regulations might seem complex, but they are logical and easy to understand when you are armed with a bit of knowledge.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the branch of the British government that is responsible for all things to do with health and safety. As such, HSE guidelines are often seen as very important. This is not just the case for racking safety; it’s the case for workplace safety in general. So, what are HSE guidelines? Here’s a brief summary…

HSE Guidelines & HSE Guidance Documents

HSE guidelines come in the form of HSE guidance documents. These are best practice documents which offer pragmatic — rather than legal — advice on matters of occupational safety. A common misconception is that HSE guidelines and HSE guidance documents are the law. However, they are not, and this short paragraph at the start of every HSE guidance document makes this clear:

This guidance is issued by the Health and Safety Executive. Following the guidance is not compulsory and you are free to take other action. But if you do follow the guidance you will normally be doing enough to comply with the law.

A full version of this same caveat can be found on the HSE website.

Not following HSE guidelines is legal. However, following the guidelines is normally “enough to comply with the law”. What’s more, because the advice is from the British government, it’s advice which is as objective and trustworthy as you can get in occupational safety.

Why Aren’t HSE Guidelines Legally Binding?

HSE does also create laws and offer legal advice, but these documents are much more dense. The reason HSE guidelines aren’t legal advice is that they are intended to be used as easy-to-understand reference guides for people who already have a working knowledge of the legislation relevant to their industrial racking.

HSE guidelines are also a good introduction to occupational safety legislation within a particular industry. When HSE refers to the law or to legal guidance, this is made explicit.

HSG76: The HSE Guidance Document for Racking Safety

Every booklet of HSE guidelines is labeled HSG followed by a number. As of January 2018, there are 103 HSGs numbered from HSG17: Safety in the use of abrasive wheels to HSG279: Making paper safely.

The list of HSGs is being constantly updated as HSE seeks to improve the standards of its guidelines. As such, there are some gaps between numbers. For example, there is an HSG173 and an HSG175, but there is no HSG174.

Since 2007, the HSG most relevant to guidance with regards to HSE racking regulations has been HSG76. Its full title is HSG76 Warehouse and storage: A guide to health and safety.

To learn more about HSG76 and how you should operate your warehouse, subscribe to our free newsletter for our racking inspection checklist and our three-part guide to racking inspection maintenance.

So, what does HSG76 have to say about warehouses? What are the HSE guidelines for racking safety? Well, here’s a brief look at their general thoughts on the topic.

REQUEST A QUOTATION FOR A RACKING INSPECTION

A Summary of HSG76 and HSE Racking Regulations

1. Has Your Contractor Attended a SEMA Course?

Lazy assumptions are enemies of safety — and HSE knows that this is definitely the case when it comes to racking safety. If there is third-party racking maintenance, or any third party work in your warehouse, the HSE guidelines for warehouse safety state that “it is not sufficient to assume that they are competent and working safely”. Rather, you should be vigilant and rigorous in this respect.

According to HSE guidelines, it is recommended that your contractor is a SEMA approved racking inspector if they are performing a third party racking inspection. Furthermore, this person should be some other kind of SEMA approved expert if they are installing, repairing, or working on your racking system in any way.

In 2015, the HSE CDM regulations made a warehouse owner’s duty to ensure that people working in their warehouse are “competent” a legal one. In other words, if you have reason to believe that the person working in your warehouse is not “competent” and you do nothing about it, you are breaking the law.

Are the techniques that your contractor is using safe? Are they SEMA approved? Is you following HSE’s advice with regards to the definition of “competent”? Your role and your legal responsibility is to make sure that you are absolutely confident that you know the answers to those questions.

2. Installing Warehouse Racking Requires Careful Planning

Plan, plan, and then plan some more is what the HSE guidelines have to say about racking system installations. At best, failure to do this will lead to an inefficient workspace. At worst, it will lead to a dangerous one. Layout of your racking system and the layout of your warehouse are two things that need to be planned together.

Business writer Stefan Topfer argues that “planning is one of the most important parts of running a business” and this advice applies to your warehouse, too. Your newest marketing campaign won’t be worth anything if your warehouse cannot store enough of your product due to uneven surfaces, badly spaced aisles, or bad maneuverability within the warehouse. Even business giants such as Anheuser-Busch have made huge mistakes because they didn’t pay attention to warehouse safety.

To make sure that your racking is installed properly and that the layout is planned effectively, HSE guidelines recommend that warehouse owners use people who have undergone the relevant SEMA training.

3. Follow HSE Guidelines with Regular Expert Racking Inspections

Once your racking has been installed, it needs to be maintained. One way of doing this is through proper use: racking should be highly visible, protected physically, never climbed on and never overloaded. However, beyond that, HSE recommends having a racking inspection by a SEMA approved racking inspector (a SARI) at least once a year.

This advice is echoed by law in the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) 1998. In which section six highlights the importance of regular and thorough inspections for work equipment. All racking systems, including mezzanine floors, qualify as work equipment, so they are subject to this legislation.

4. Consider Racking Inspection Training for Regular Internal Racking Inspections

HSE guidelines also advise that racking inspections are done regularly by employees within the business itself. Here at Storage Equipment Experts, we provide racking inspection training delivered by SEMA approved racking inspectors, so that your business can take racking safety into its own hands as well.

REQUEST A QUOTATION FOR A RACKING INSPECTION

Other Questions about HSE Guidelines and Racking Safety…

1. Will Brexit Affect HSE Racking Regulations?

Without the EU’s input, the people within the industry in the UK will look to organisations like HSE and SEMA even more than they already do. However, none of that means that HSE racking regulations or HSE guidelines with regards to warehouse safety will change. It just means that they could change.

The regulations as they are haven’t changed since HSE published its HSG76 guidance document in 2007. A lot of that HSE guidance document is based on EU Directive EN 15635, including the part about an expert inspection at least once every 12 months.

As such, post-Brexit, HSE could completely overhaul HSG76. Yet, this isn’t likely to happen, as there are no calls for HSE to do so. Instead, what is likely to happen is that all existing HSE legislation will remain the same.

The Great Repeal Bill will copy over everything over from EU law to British law in the UK. Of course, the contentious issues such as the border with Ireland and freedom of movement. It will need to be sorted out, but HSE racking regulation is not a contentious issue. So, it’s unlikely to change.

2. Where Can I Get The Best Racking inspections by SEMA Approved inspectors and SEMA Racking Inspection Training?

Look no further than Storage Equipment Experts! Our SEMA approved racking inspectors are one of the few people in the world to be approved by SEMA to inspect both pallet racking and cantilever racking. We deliver both racking inspections by SEMA Approved inspectors and racking inspection training courses.

Is your warehouse due a racking inspection?
Follow HSE’s sound advice and contact Storage Equipment Experts today for a quote on a racking inspection by SEMA Approved inspector.

Become a SARI & 4 Other Benefits of SEMA Racking Inspection Training

SEMA racking inspection training benefit

SEMA racking inspection training is the industry standard for rack safety

SEMA (Storage Equipment Manufacturers Association) racking inspection training has many benefits. One particular SEMA racking inspection course, for example, is the best way for anyone with a background in engineering to become an “expert” third-party racking inspector in the eyes of HSE (Health and Safety Executive). This particular course (the SEMA approved racking inspectors scheme) is the one which HSE references directly in HSG76 and — as such — it’s often seen as the industry standard.

However, the benefits of SEMA racking inspection training go beyond adhering to HSE’s recommendations…

1. SEMA Racking Inspection Training Creates SARIs

The most obvious benefit of taking SEMA racking inspection training is that you become a SEMA approved racking inspector (SARI). Though, not all SEMA racking inspections training qualifies people to become SARIs.

Other courses — such as the SEMA Cantilever Racking Awareness Course — is designed for SARIs who want to improve their knowledge of cantilever racking safety. Taking this course doesn’t make you a SARI, but it makes you a better SARI. That’s why our SEMA approved racking inspectors are some of the only SARIs in the world to be SEMA approved pallet racking inspectors and a SEMA approved cantilever racking inspectors.

2. SEMA Racking Inspection Training Creates Trainers

For end users of racking — such as business owners and their employees — the SEMA racking inspection training courses designed for SARIs are not useful. It is for this reason that we developed our racking inspection training course. This course is delivered by our highly qualified SARI.

We can do our racking inspection training at our London training or at your workplace. Whatever option best suits your business’ needs, we can deliver.

3. Which Creates More Potential Trainers

The beauty of knowledge is how it can spread. As such, once someone has taken one of our racking inspection training courses, that person likely qualifies as “technically competent” in the eyes of HSG76 and the CDM Regulations 2015.

This person should be your business’ Person Responsible for Racking Safety (PRRS). Their job should be to perform the regular internal racking inspections which HSG76 recommends are performed by someone “technically competent”.

This person can then help to train others on matters of racking safety as well through basic demonstrations. While this is no substitute for a racking inspection training course, it’s helpful to have as many people as possible in your company who are familiar with racking safety.

4. SEMA Racking Inspection Training Saves Taxpayers’ Money

Without getting too tangled in the weeds about politics and the decisions of politicians, it is a fact that HSE funding has been decreasing under both the coalition and the Conservative governments. Some see this decrease as a good thing. Others see this decrease as a bad thing.

Regardless of your opinion, it is also a fact that SEMA racking inspections training courses are a way to cut down on government spending. In the past, HSE was the organisation responsible for interceding in the operation of many businesses across the UK.

With less money to spend, HSE now focuses on being the voice of health and safety instead. It helped to create public safety legislation and it also creates guidance documents which explain this legislation in layman’s terms. Organisations like SEMA are private organisations that act as a liaison between HSE and end users. As HSE spending goes down, SEMA’s role grows in importance.

5. SEMA Racking Inspection Training Makes Britain and Ireland Safer

SEMA racking inspections training may only play a small part in the safety of the UK. As part of the EU, yearly inspections from an “expert” racking inspector in Ireland are also recommended under EN 15635. What’s more, HSA specifically refers to HSE’s HSG76 — which recommends yearly inspections from an “expert” racking inspector and identifies SEMA approved racking inspectors as “experts”.

Over the past few years, workplace fatalities and injuries have both been on a general downward trend in the UK. This can’t be pinned down to one phenomenon, but SARIs and safety inspectors of all kinds have certainly contributed greatly to this.

For racking inspection training from a SEMA approved racking inspector:
Either at your workplace or at our training centre in London — contact SEE today for a FREE consultation.

What Are SEMA Racking Inspection Guidelines?

SEMA racking inspection guidelines

SEMA racking inspection guidelines are the gold standard of the racking safety industry.

Without SEMA racking inspection guidelines, guaranteeing the safety of any warehouse would be impossible. The advice laid down by SEMA is often echoed by HSE and — in some cases — it becomes law. So, what are the SEMA racking inspection guidelines?

SEMA Racking Inspection Guidelines: SEMA Codes of Practice

However, most SEMA racking inspection guidelines come in the form of SEMA Codes of Practice. These can be downloaded from the SEMA website for a fee, so it’s worth knowing which codes of practice you will need — if any at all!

The best way to do that is to read through HSE’s HSG76 Warehouse and storage: A guide to health and safety. HSE is the British government branch responsible for occupational health and safety. As such, theirs is the first and final word on any issue relating to warehouse safety.

In cases where this general guide on warehouse safety lacks details, it often refers to specific SEMA Codes of Practice. Using HSG76, you can then figure out which SEMA Code of Practice HSE is referring to specifically and search that particular code of SEMA racking inspection guidelines.

SEMA Racking Inspection Guidelines: Technical Bulletins

As well as SEMA Codes of Practice, SEMA also releases technical bulletins which act as supplements, updates, clarifications, or corrections. These bulletins are not mentioned in HSG76, but they contain some good advice nonetheless. What’s more, considering SEMA’s position in the industry, it’s advice worth following. SEMA’s full list of technical bulletins can found on its website.

SEMA Racking Inspection Guidelines: Training Courses

Designed for end users of storage systems and racking inspection professionals, SEMA offers a wide range of training courses. All of these contain various racking inspection guidelines from SEMA — as well as racking maintenance and racking installation guidelines.

This training is referenced by HSE in HSG76, so you know that the guidelines from this training are authoritative. Specifically, the guide refers to the Storage Equipment Installers Registration Scheme (SEIRS) and the SEMA Approved Racking Inspector (SARI) scheme.

SEMA Load Notices Become UK and EU Legislation

In one instance, SEMA guidelines became UK and EU law because of SEMA’s authority. This was the case with load notices.

SEMA created the first load notices back in the 1980s with the first SEMA Code of Practice for Use of Static Pallet Racking. However, because of the EU’s Directive 92/58/EEC, the legal requirements for signage in the UK would change in 1996 with the Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996.

Due to this, SEMA had to change its advice on load notices accordingly. Then, SEMA updated its stance on load notices again with the SEMA Load Notices Code 2004. The EU then developed EN 15635. This was inspired by the SEMA Load Notices Code 2004.

In short, the EU influenced SEMA’s stance on load notices and — in turn — SEMA influenced the EU’s stance on load notices. This relationship goes to show how important SEMA racking inspection guidelines are. Even though they are not the law, they can help to create the law in the long run and they are often referenced by lawmakers such as HSE and the EU.

If you want to learn more about the SEMA racking inspection guidelines from the SARI scheme, contact Storage Equipment Experts for racking inspection training from a SARI.

What are the HSE Guidelines for Racking Safety? 2018 Update

HSE guidelines document

To some, the HSE guidelines and HSE racking regulations might seem complex, but they are logical and easy to understand when you are armed with a bit of knowledge.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the branch of the British government that is responsible for all things to do with health and safety. As such, HSE guidelines are often seen as very important. This is not just the case for racking safety; it’s the case for workplace safety in general. So, what are HSE guidelines? Here’s a brief summary…

HSE Guidelines & HSE Guidance Documents

HSE guidelines come in the form of HSE guidance documents. These are best practice documents which offer pragmatic — rather than legal — advice on matters of occupational safety. A common misconception is that HSE guidelines and HSE guidance documents are the law. However, they are not, and this short paragraph at the start of every HSE guidance document makes this clear:

This guidance is issued by the Health and Safety Executive. Following the guidance is not compulsory and you are free to take other action. But if you do follow the guidance you will normally be doing enough to comply with the law.

A full version of this same caveat can be found on the HSE website.

Not following HSE guidelines is legal. However, following the guidelines is normally “enough to comply with the law”. What’s more, because the advice is from the British government, it’s advice which is as objective and trustworthy as you can get in occupational safety.

Why Aren’t HSE Guidelines Legally Binding?

HSE does also create laws and offer legal advice, but these documents are much more dense. The reason HSE guidelines aren’t legal advice is that they are intended to be used as easy-to-understand reference guides for people who already have a working knowledge of the legislation relevant to their industry.

HSE guidelines are also a good introduction to occupational safety legislation within a particular industry. When HSE refers to the law or to legal guidance, this is made explicit.

HSG76: The HSE Guidance Document for Racking Safety

Every booklet of HSE guidelines is labeled HSG followed by a number. As of January 2018, there are 103 HSGs numbered from HSG17: Safety in the use of abrasive wheels to HSG279: Making paper safely.

The list of HSGs is being constantly updated as HSE seeks to improve the standards of its guidelines. As such, there are some gaps between numbers. For example, there is an HSG173 and an HSG175, but there is no HSG174.

Since 2007, the HSG most relevant to guidance with regards to HSE racking regulations has been HSG76. Its full title is HSG76 Warehouse and storage: A guide to health and safety.

To learn more about how HSG76 and how you should operate your warehouse, subscribe to our free newsletter for our racking inspection checklist and our three-part guide to racking inspection maintenance.

So, what does HSG76 have to say about warehouses? What are the HSE guidelines for racking safety? Well, here’s a brief look at their general thoughts on the topic.

A Summary of HSG76 and HSE Racking Regulations

1. Has Your Contractor Attended a SEMA Course?

Lazy assumptions are enemies of safety — and HSE knows that this is definitely the case when it comes to racking safety. If there is third-party racking maintenance, or any third party work in your warehouse, the HSE guidelines for warehouse safety state that “it is not sufficient to assume that they are competent and working safely”. Rather, you should be vigilant and rigorous in this respect.

According to HSE guidelines, it is recommended that your contractor is a SEMA approved racking inspector if they are performing a third party racking inspection. Furthermore, this person should be some other kind of SEMA approved expert if they are installing, repairing, or working on your racking system in any way.

In 2015, the HSE CDM regulations made a warehouse owner’s duty to ensure that people working in their warehouse are “competent” a legal one. In other words, if you have reason to believe that the person working in your warehouse is not “competent” and you do nothing about it, you are breaking the law.

Are the techniques that your contractor is using safe? Are they SEMA approved? Is you following HSE’s advice with regards to the definition of “competent”? Your role and your legal responsibility is to make sure that you are absolutely confident that you know the answers to those questions.

2. Installing Warehouse Racking Requires Careful Planning

Plan, plan, and then plan some more is what the HSE guidelines have to say about racking system installations. At best, failure to do this will lead to an inefficient workspace. At worst, it will lead to a dangerous one. The layout of your racking system and the layout of your warehouse are two things that need to be planned together.

Business writer Stefan Topfer argues that “planning is one of the most important parts of running a business” and this advice applies to your warehouse, too. Your newest marketing campaign won’t be worth anything if your warehouse cannot store enough of your product due to uneven surfaces, badly spaced aisles, or bad maneuverability within the warehouse. Even business giants such as Anheuser-Busch have made huge mistakes because they didn’t pay attention to warehouse safety.

To make sure that your racking is installed properly and that the layout is planned effectively, HSE guidelines recommend that warehouse owners use people who have undergone the relevant SEMA training.

3. Follow HSE Guidelines with Regular Expert Racking Inspections

Once your racking has been installed, it needs to be maintained. One way of doing this is through proper use: racking should be highly visible, protected physically, never climbed on and never overloaded. However, beyond that, HSE recommends having a racking inspection by a SEMA approved racking inspector (a SARI) at least once a year.

This advice is echoed by law in the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) 1998, in which section six highlights the importance of regular and thorough inspections for work equipment. All racking systems, including mezzanine floors, qualify as work equipment, so they are subject to this legislation.

4. Consider Racking Inspection Training for Regular Internal Racking Inspections

HSE guidelines also advise that racking inspections are done regularly by employees within the business itself. Here at Storage Equipment Experts, we provide racking inspection training delivered by SEMA approved racking inspectors, so that your business can take racking safety into its own hands as well.

Other Questions about HSE Guidelines and Racking Safety…

1. Will Brexit Affect HSE Racking Regulations?

Without the EU’s input, the people within the industry in the UK will look to organisations. Like HSE and SEMA even more than they already do. However, none of that means that HSE racking regulations or HSE guidelines with regards to warehouse safety will change. It just means that they could change.

The regulations as they are haven’t changed since HSE published its HSG76 guidance document in 2007. A lot of that HSE guidance document is based on EU Directive EN 15635, including the part about an expert inspection at least once every 12 months.

As such, post-Brexit, HSE could completely overhaul HSG76. Yet, this isn’t likely to happen, as there are no calls for HSE to do so. Instead, what is likely to happen is that all existing HSE legislation will remain the same.

The Great Repeal Bill will copy over everything over from EU law to British law in the UK. Of course, the contentious issues such as the border with Ireland and freedom of movement. It will need to be sorted out, but HSE racking regulation is not a contentious issue. So, it’s unlikely to change.

2. Where Can I Get The Best Racking Inspection by SEMA Approved inspector and Racking Inspection Training?

Look no further than Storage Equipment Experts! Our SEMA approved racking inspectors are one of the few people in the world to be approved by SEMA to inspect both pallet racking and cantilever racking. We deliver both racking inspections by SEMA Approved inspectors and racking inspection training courses.

Is your warehouse due a racking inspection?
Follow HSE’s sound advice and contact Storage Equipment Experts today for a quote on a racking inspection.