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?
