The two biggest threats to racking safety are damage and misuse. Misuse may seem benign, especially if you have gotten away with it in the past, but it is simply damage waiting to happen. As we have said before, “even if you’ve taken the risk of overloading your racking a hundred times and have gotten away with it just fine, that doesn’t mean that you will be safe the hundred and first time.”
Misuse is also worryingly common in the world of racking safety. As we have pointed out before, rack protectors are often misused. Many people believe that racking protection is simply physical, yet as SEMA themselves pointed out at their June 2015 seminar, physical racking protection should only be seen as a last resort. Rather, the best form of protection is prevention, such as a safety protocols and annual inspections from a SEMA approved racking inspector.
At Storage Equipment Experts, we have been providing racking inspection services in South East England for years. As a result, we believe in Matt Grierson’s goal of creating a “zero accident” place to work. We have always been heavily involved in the larger world of racking inspection safety and we have been keeping track of HSE and SEMA developments both nationally and internationally. In our experience, we believe that all damage or misuse of racking can be avoided. Perfect racking safety and an undamaged racking system should not be seen as a gold standard. Rather, it should be seen as the norm.
HSE states that if “working equipment” (which includes racking systems) is damaged then it needs an immediate inspection. In the case of racking, any third party inspection, installation, or repair of your racking system needs to be done by a SEMA approved racking inspector. So if you suspect that your racking is damaged, or if you feel it is being misused, contact Storage Equipment Experts for the best racking inspection service throughout the UK and Ireland.
