Pallet Racking Safety Checklists and The Heinz #CanSong

a man and a woman performing a racking inspection

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) criticised Heinz’s #CanSong ad campaign for encouraging a lack of safety. So what can Heinz learn from pallet racking safety checklists?

Heinz’s #CanSong rang hollow with the ASA after the latter complained that the well-known baked beans company were encouraging “behaviour that could be dangerous for children to emulate” in their recent advert. The advert depicted a lot of different people using used Heinz cans and their hands to create a song. The advert even began with instructions which included taping the top of the can to avoid cutting your fingers.

Evidently, though, this recommendation was not enough to quell the ASA, who warned Heinz “to ensure that future ads did not condone or encourage behaviour that prejudiced health and safety”.

Who Are the ASA? How Can an Advert Be “Unsafe”?

While taping the edges of the can was not enough of a safety recommendation for the ASA, the real question is how and why the ASA is able to call adverts out on their levels of safety.

Firstly, the ASA is not a government organisation; it is an independent body. This independent body, however, does have the power to ban adverts, and there are good reasons for both why the ASA is an independent body and why it has the power to ban adverts.

With regards to the former, the ASA being independent means that, in theory, it is not in the pocket of any big businesses. As a result, it can make rulings against large companies (such as Heinz) without fearing repercussions. In fact, according to its own assessment, companies are happy to take on board the ASA’s recommendations, though political campaigns are another story.

So the ASA is an independent body which regulates commercial advertisements but not political ones. But why should it have the power to ban adverts? And why is it banning adverts based on health and safety concerns?

70% of the complaints that the ASA deals with are about false advertising. When a company offers a product or service at a certain price and then sell it to you a different price, they are probably breaking the law and that’s where the ASA steps in. 30% of the complaints the ASA deals with are about harm. This is why the Heinz advert got canned.

Heinz and Pallet Racking Safety Checklists

Whether or not the ASA was right to ban Heinz’s advert is a matter of debate. However, what the issue highlights is how careful businesses need to be when they hand out advice, lest that advice injures people.

Nowhere is this truer than with pallet racking safety checklists. After all, getting your finger cut on a can because of a song from an advert is one thing. Being involved in a warehouse racking collapse that happened because of a faulty racking inspection is quite another.

That’s why the quality of a racking inspection checklist is so important. If you’re told that your pallet racking safety checklist is written by an expert, then it absolutely should be. This brings us back to why the ASA is so important and why the Heinz ruling, though it may have been silly, highlights what the ASA is there for.

The ASA Means Racking Inspection Checklists You Can Trust

Thanks to the ASA, when we say that our pallet racking safety checklist is written by a SEMA approved racking inspector, you can rest assured that we’re telling the truth. The quality of our racking inspection checklist template is also under similar scrutiny, as well it should be. We are confident that, when combined with our racking inspection training, our checklist can be used to safely and accurately perform the kind of regular racking inspections that HSE recommends in its guide to warehouse safety.

We and HSE also recommend a racking inspection by a SEMA approved racking inspector at least once a year from an outside expert. This is because, as much confidence as we have in our racking inspection training and our racking inspection form, we also respect HSE’s advice. Two sets of eyes are often better than one, and an outsider is necessary to spot the dangers that you might have otherwise missed.

The ASA is there to make sure that the safety advice we offer (whether that’s through promotions of our product, for free on this blog, or as part of our racking inspection services) is up to scratch. We are confident that it is, and so are our happy customers.

Download the racking inspection checklist PDF right now from Storage Equipment Experts for free!

Racking Inspection Frequency & Cemetery Inspections: What Does “Inspection” Mean Legally?

Racking Inspection Frequency & Cemetery Inspections

Racking Inspection Frequency & Cemetery Inspections: What Does “Inspection” Mean Legally?

With so much health and safety law dependent on inspections, defining it legally can literally be a matter of life and death.
An enormous part of warehouse safety is racking inspection frequency, which HSE spells out in HSG76 — Warehousing and Storage: A Guide to Health and Safety. In the guide, HSE recommends a SEMA racking inspection at least once a year. It also recommends racking inspection training so that staff can inspect a warehouse’s storage systems on a more regular basis, using a racking inspection checklist.

While all of this sounds very clear, the tragic death of Ciaran Williamson shows how one person’s definition of “inspection” can differ from another’s with terrible consequences.

“Ad Hoc Inspections” Vs. The Legal Requirement for Inspections

The sad incident occurred at a cemetery in Glasgow. While playing with his friends, a loose headstone collapsed and killed the eight-year-old Ciaran Williamson on 26th May 2015. Following his death, questions were raised about how this could have happened.

Unlike with warehouses, HSE does not spell out exactly how cemeteries should be inspected or who they should be inspected by. In fact, there is some discrepancy about the issue. This is made clear in a 2012 briefing from Parliament about unsafe headstones in cemeteries.

an excert

From this extract, it becomes clear that public opinion on who should inspect cemeteries, or whether they should be inspected at all, differs by quite some margin. However, because this is a council by council issue, public opinion is often swayed towards inspections in the face of tragedy. This is likely why, after the death of Ciaran Williamson, local councils across the whole of Scotland ended up inspecting 30,000 headstones.

The lack of clarity about who and when cemeteries should be inspected was exposed during the November 2016 trial regarding the tragedy on 26th May 2015. Mr Brown, representing Glasgow city council, was accused of misleading HSE with his definition of “inspection”.

While he claimed that the cemetery had been inspected, he conceded that it was done on an “ad hoc” basis, that there was no record, and that inspections were “a fairly unplanned activity”, despite previously telling HSE that there was a “formal process of inspection”.

Is There Any Legal Guidance on Cemetery Inspections?

Though HSE doesn’t have much to say about cemetery inspections specifically, the Local Authorities’ Cemeteries Order 1977 makes it clear that local councils are the ones responsible for maintaining safe cemeteries. In this piece of government legislation, the extent of the council’s right to maintain cemeteries is laid out in a fair amount of detail. Despite a 2004 case from a grave owner questioning local councils’ right to maintain cemeteries, the court upheld the right of all councils to do so by referring to this 1977 piece of legislation.

In 2009, probably in an attempt to make the legal situation clearer, the Ministry of Justice released its guidance on cemetery maintenance. The guidance expresses in more explicit detail councils’ right to maintain cemeteries for safety purposes. With regards to inspections, though the Ministry of Justice does recommend inspections are done as part of a regular process and that there is a record of inspections, it does not say much about what an inspection should consist of, who should perform one, or how often one should happen.

This vaguery is likely intended so that councils can make their own judgement about how best to inspect a cemetery. Much of the public’s negative attitude and concern about cemetery inspection may stem from the respect that people have of cemeteries. However, as is clear with the sad case of Ciaran Williamson, the public are also concerned about safety and aware of the dangers of uninspected cemeteries.

The problem with this vagueness is that it allows for council workers such as Mr Brown to carry on performing “ad hoc” inspections for years without anyone noticing.

Racking Inspection Frequency and Legal Requirements

All of this contrasts sharply with the recommended racking inspection frequency and legal requirements for racking inspections. As mentioned earlier, HSG76 from HSE recommends an inspection from a SEMA approved racking inspector at least once a year. They label this as an “expert” inspection. HSE also recommends racking inspections from staff using a traffic light system. They label these as “regular” inspections.

The definition of an inspection depends on the industry, as well as the government legislation and guidance surrounding it. An inspection for a cemetery simply needs to be recorded, performed regularly and done with respect for the grave owners — whereas an inspection for a warehouse is either “regular” (i.e. performed by a member of staff under HSG76 guidelines) or “expert” (i.e. performed by a SEMA approved racking inspector in accordance with SEMA guideline no. 6 – guide to the conduct of pallet racking and shelving surveys).

For an expert racking inspection, or to help your staff to perform regular racking inspections, contact Storage Equipment Experts today for racking inspection training and racking inspections from a SEMA approved racking inspector.

Make Warehouse Safety Your New Year’s Resolution

a woman in a warehouse with a clipboard conducting a racking inspection

A racking inspection form is an actionable way to make your New Year’s resolution a reality

According to the data, 92% of people fail their New Year’s resolution — and this should hardly come as surprise. Most New Year’s resolutions are either too ambitious, too vague or just don’t have the right motivations behind them.

This is where a racking inspection form comes in. Rather than having some optimistic and whimsical notion for a New Year’s resolution, a warehouse racking inspection checklist means you have something solid that you can use to achieve a measurable goal: a safer warehouse.

Beyond the temporal significance of committing to greater warehouse safety as part of a New Year’s resolution, it also makes sense from a business perspective. During Christmas, your warehouse likely went through quite the ordeal, with your racking systems clogged up with all that extra Christmas stock.

It’s entirely possible that your storage systems were damaged during the chaos of Christmas. More than that, it’s entirely possible that, while you were very careful at the time, you still managed to miss one particular piece of damaged racking. Mistakes like this shouldn’t happen, but the fact is they often do — especially during Christmas.

Racking Inspection Forms Make Warehouse Safety Consistent

A racking inspection form helps ensure that your warehouse inspections are regular and systematised. Without one, it’s easy to find yourself checking the same section of racking twice while missing another section of racking altogether.

Our warehouse racking inspection checklist is designed precisely so this doesn’t happen. By using a table that breaks down each part of a racking system, you can check every piece of each section of racking against your checklist. You can then use the checklist to note down exactly where you found each section of racking.

Doing so means you spend exactly the amount of time you need to spend inspecting your racking: no more, no less.

You Can Never Be Too Well Trained…

Our warehouse racking checklist is designed to be as user-friendly as possible. Even still, we’d highly recommend racking inspection training to help you effectively use your checklist. Our racking inspection training will give you the skills necessary to perform checks that are quicker and more accurate.

Whether it’s for just you or for your whole staff, the benefits of good training can’t be understated. It’s why business writer Obinna Ekezie believes that “your success starts with more frequent employee training.”

…And an Outsider’s Opinion Doesn’t Hurt Either!

Getting an expert from outside your business to come check your racking isn’t just a good idea; it’s recommended by HSE. Not having a SEMA approved racking inspector take a look at your racking at least once a year means running counter to HSE’s advice. According to the new CDM regulations, this means that should the worst happen and someone is injured or killed in your warehouse due to unsafe racking, you’re likely to be legally responsible.

Making sure your warehouse safety has a racking inspection by a SEMA approved inspector at least once a year (alongside regular racking inspections from trained staff, using our free racking inspection checklist) means that you have a New Year’s resolution you can keep.

Learning how to play the violin is all well and good, but this New Year, consider a practical and useful resolution that you can measure. That way, you might just wind up being one of the 8% who sticks to their New Year’s resolution in 2017.

Download our free racking inspection form to get your 2017 off to a great start!

HSE Racking Inspection Legislation and the Supply Chain’s Future

A drone flying in a blue sky

With a new year fast approaching, it’s worth asking what the future holds for HSE racking inspection legislation and the global supply chain

HSE racking inspection legislation has not changed one iota since the second edition of HSE’s comprehensive guide to warehouse safety was published way back in 2007. On the one hand, this makes sense. The coalition and the Conservative governments have both made changes to HSE since 2007 by introducing the new CDM regulations and by continuing to reduce HSE spending. To change racking inspection guidelines as well would be unnecessarily disruptive and, quite possibly, costly.

This is because, at present, HSE recommends that “expert” racking inspections are performed by SEMA approved racking inspectors. SEMA, Storage Equipment Experts and all the other companies that perform these inspections are private organisations. In other words, we don’t cost the government a penny and, with the current government evidently so eager to save money, they’d probably like to keep it that way.

On the other hand, the world has changed a lot since 2007. True, a lot of these changes have had little to do with racking inspections, but one change in particular might: drone technology.

Does HSE Racking Inspection Legislation Allow for Pallet Racking Inspections by Drone?

In the British warehouse safety industry, pallet racking inspections by drone were first raised as a serious proposal back in 2015 at the SEMA Safety Conference by Steve Cowen from SEMA’s technical committee. In principle, it makes perfect sense. Rather than SEMA approved racking inspectors (SARIs) putting themselves in harm’s way by getting too close to a potentially unsafe racking system, they could send a drone in to inspect the problem instead. As well as being safer, this could save time, thus allowing more SARIs to inspect more businesses on a given day — which would further increase racking safety.

Still, as great as this all sounds, the idea proposed by Cowen literally failed to get off the ground, as he said that he was unable to fly the drone indoors due to existing health and safety legislation.

This setback is indicative of a larger problem drones face: they are widely considered to be unsafe. Or rather, they are not considered to be safe enough to be used for commercial purposes. This is certainly the case in the US, where FAA regulations on drone use mean that San Francisco startup Tacocopter (a company whose business model is delivering tacos by unmanned drone) has been in its “beta-phase” for over five years now.

It’s not just startups, though. Amazon Prime Air is a drone delivery system which the company is continuing to test (despite the aforementioned FAA regulations) probably in the hope that, by the time the technology is perfected, those pesky legal issues will just go away.

So, drones could very well change both the warehouse safety and delivery sides of the supply chain. However, to do that, drones need to become much safer — especially if they are going to be used for racking inspections. After all, there’s no point introducing a technology for safety purposes if the technology itself is not safe.

Some believe that a newly developed radar system for drones might be the solution to all of this, but there will likely be more logistical hurdles to overcome before we see the supply chain revolutionised by drones. For now, it’s unclear whether drones will be the future of racking inspections by SEMA approved inspectors. Whatever happens, though, we at Storage Equipment Experts welcome any future in which SEMA racking inspections can be performed safer and faster.

Contact Storage Equipment Experts for pallet racking inspections from the company who know HSE racking inspection legislation inside and out.

5 Ways to Make China Safer in 2017

5 Ways to Make China Safer in 2017

China Safer may well be the next global superpower, but there’s a lot standing in its way.

If September’s G20 summit in Hangzhou and Donald Trump’s obsession with saying “China” are an indication of anything, it’s that this country is big news. China is big, powerful and very proud of its growing prevalence and influence on the world stage.

So What Do SEMA Racking Inspection Courses Have to Do With Any of This?

China is the second largest economy in the world and hundreds of millions of Chinese people have emerged from poverty in the last fifty years. There are, however, quite a number of setbacks to this success story, as well. Alongside the air pollution and growing income inequality, China remains an incredibly unsafe country to live and work in — at least when compared to more economically developed countries.

There’s no one solution to all of China’s problems, but there are several things which China could stand to learn from other countries about workplace safety. If they do, 2017 could be a great year for China.

1. Racking Inspection Training, Rack Inspection Regulations and Other Warehouse Safety Measures

It’s no secret that working conditions across the whole of China are pretty bad; the workplace fatality rate is four times higher in China than in the US. But China has a particularly terrible history when it comes to warehouse safety. The Tianjin warehouse explosion was big news back in 2015 when, tragically, 173 people were killed. However, what’s worse is that this is not the end of the story. From January 2016 to August 2016, Greenpeace claims that a further 199 deaths and 400 injuries were also caused by bad chemical storage in warehouses.

SEMA racking inspection courses and rack inspection training would not solve this problem overnight, but they would go a long way towards fixing China’s inexplicable lack of warehouse safety. After a warehouse explosion in Flixborough killed 28 people, the British government responded by creating HSE. Since then, workplace fatalities have decreased by 85% and workplace injuries have fallen by 77%.

SEMA racking inspection guidelines, as well as many other kinds of safety guidelines, have been instrumental to this incredible decrease in needless death. There is no reason why this same kind of decrease could not happen in China. The need for warehouse safety and racking inspection regulations in China is undeniable and the Chinese government is hardly beyond implementing huge changes through government legislation.

Rather, it’s quite the opposite. China remains a one-party, authoritarian country and just this month, the government passed legislation further restricting internet use in China and further increasing cybersecurity for all 1.3 billion Chinese citizens. Evidently, the Chinese government is able to introduce new laws and regulations relatively easily. If they want to continue to grow economically, they’d be wise to use their legislative powers to introduce more stringent workplace safety regulations — with a particular focus on warehouses.

2. The Chinese Government Needs to Learn That Safety Pays

Perhaps the thing stopping the Chinese government from investing in workplace safety is not a lack of resources, but a lack of belief in the benefits of workplace safety.

The idea that workplace safety is unprofitable is a common but incorrect idea. After all, OSHA has calculated that American businesses alone spend $170 billion on workplace-related injuries and fatalities every year.

3. Safety and Sustainability Need to be Tackled Together

Chinese business is not sustainable; Chinese business is not safe. These two things may seem like separate issues, but they’re really not. In the US, the four least sustainable states to do business (as measured by carbon emissions per capita) and the four least safe states to do business (as measured by workplace fatality rate per 100,000 workers) are the same four states: Alaska, North Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming.

This same trend is also true globally. Qatar has the highest carbon emissions per capita in the world as well as, quite possibly, the worst record on workplace fatalities in the world. Stadium building for the 2022 World Cup alone has likely caused 1,200 workplace fatalities — and that’s a conservative estimate.

By contrast, New York and Rhode Island are two of the five most sustainable states in the US (once again, as measured by carbon emissions per capita) as well as the two safest states in the US (once again, as measured by workplace fatality rate per 100,00 workers). In 2014, business writer Aishwarya Nair wrote, “Businesses eventually realised health and safety benefited their bottom line. They need to recognise sustainability does the same.” In the article, Nair called for sustainability to join health and safety “…as a core business value”.

There is data to back up the assertion that sustainability is just as profitable as safety. CDP, a British non-profit organisation, calculated that corporations who plan for climate change secure an 18% higher return on investment (ROI) than companies who do not. Moreover, they secure a 67% ROI than companies who refuse to disclose their emissions.

Conclusion: Pallet Racking Inspection Training, Safety and Sustainability

Safe businesses make more money than dangerous ones, sustainable businesses make more money than unsustainable ones, safe businesses are more sustainable, and sustainable businesses are safer. There are examples and studies to back all of this up. What is more, pallet racking inspections and pallet racking inspection training are part of why the UK has the second lowest workplace fatality rate in the EU and why workplace fatalities and injuries have decreased so much since HSE’s inception. Pallet racking inspections won’t solve all of China’s problems, but they could solve a lot of them.

Whether you’re based in Derry, London, or Stockton-on-Tees, contact Storage Equipment Experts to find out more about rack inspection training and racking inspection services.

Understanding the HSE Injury and Fatality Statistics

HSE Injury

The annual Health and Safety Executive (HSE) report is a strong indicator of workplace safety. Its most recent findings are alarming, to say the least.

As providers of racking inspection services, HSE dictates the health and safety standards that we abide by. Its aim is to reduce the number of work-related injuries and deaths, which is something we should all support.

But the latest statistics show no sign of improvement, with many areas of concern seeing slight increases. In an age where health and safety regulations are supposedly too stringent, why aren’t we seeing a drastic reduction in workplace dangers?

What are the Findings of the Report?

Before we get into the implications of the HSE statistics, it’s important to see some of the most alarming figures.

In 2015/16, 1.3 million people suffered from a work-related illness. In the same year, 144 workers were killed at work.

There were 621,000 injuries (according to the Labour Force Survey) and a further 72,702 other injuries reported under RIDDOR.

The UK lost an estimated £14.1 billion due to work-related illness and injuries, stemming from 30.4 million lost working days.

In the transport and storage sector, there were 37,000 workplace injuries and 14 workers were killed at work. We provide racking inspection services to keep these numbers down, but sadly these statistics are far too common.

Infographic explaining HSE injury and fatality statistics

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Why Haven’t Injuries and Deaths Dropped?

We’ve all heard the phrase “It’s health and safety gone mad” — but are we really being mollycoddled? The HSE statistics suggest not, with deaths and injuries in 2015/16 higher than the previous year.

Like many public bodies, HSE is receiving less governmental funding than previous years. In 2009/10, this figure was £231 million. In 2019/20, it will be just £128.4 million. Operating with a smaller budget means that the effectiveness of HSE will surely diminish.

Less funding means that other individuals and bodies will have to shoulder the burden. Businesses need to make workplace safety a priority if fatality and injury rates are to be tackled. For those businesses that own warehouses, our racking inspection services ensure that facilities abide by the most stringent safety regulations.

How to Make our Workplaces Safer

No employee should go to work in fear of their safety. But with the funding of HSE unlikely to be improved during the next five years, it’s important to think of other solutions.

Business owners must take full responsibility for their premises, carrying out regular checks and hiring professionals to review their safety procedures. Our warehouse racking inspection template is a good starting point for businesses with racking systems.

It’s also important to stress the importance of safety to your staff. If individuals feel personally involved in the upkeep of their workplace, it’s more likely to be a safer one. Having a clear and simple reporting procedure will ensure hazards are dealt with efficiently. Providing training to staff will increase the likelihood of early detection.

The Importance of Racking Inspection Services

The alarming statistics of the transport and storage sector make our racking inspection services all the more important. To reduce the number of injuries caused by worn, faulty or badly-installed racking, regular inspections are a must. Having a SEMA approved professional carry out these checks will make your workplace safer.

Our warehouse racking inspection template guides you through the process of internal inspection of the APR Systems (Adjustable Pallet Racking). Fill in our racking inspection form to receive our free guide, which will help you understand the types of damage and defects that are likely to be highlighted in an official inspection.

Although the latest statistics are disturbing, we at Storage Equipment Experts hold out hope for a safer 2017. With the right training and regular inspections, Great Britain’s workplaces can start to tackle these figures.

To help prevent your workplace from featuring in next year’s HSE report, use our racking inspection services and provide your employees with the safety they deserve.

How Safe Has Your Warehouse Been This Year?

Warehouse

The end of the year is a great time to look back. This applies to your warehouse, too

Is 2016 the worst year of all time? Probably not. It’s been a bad year, sure, but there are many reasons why it’s been a great year. So what about your warehouse? Has 2016 been kind to it or not?

To answer that question, we’d recommend a visit from our SEMA approved racking inspector. However, we’d also recommend using our free pallet racking safety checklist, as well as a few other things. Here’s what to look out for and how to discover whether 2016 has been a wonderful or woeful year for your warehouse.

1. Use HSE’s Green, Amber and Red System

Before you inspect your warehouse, you need to have a system in place so you know what you’re looking for. HSE recommends a simple traffic light system. Green risk means safe; amber risk means that something needs to be repaired or fixed as soon as possible; red risk means something needs to be repaired immediately and that the racking system needs to be offloaded.

2. Make Sure You and Your Staff Have Had Pallet Racking Inspection Training

As well as recommending an annual racking inspection from a SEMA approved racking inspector, HSE also recommends “regular” racking inspections from “technically competent” staff. To make sure your staff are “technically competent”, we’d recommend pallet racking inspection training from a SEMA approved racking inspector as well. Our racking inspection training course comes with a long list of recommendations for businesses of all kinds across the UK.

3. Use Our Pallet Racking Safety Checklist

Our pallet racking safety checklist is the best for a number of reasons. It’s been written by a SEMA approved racking inspector, it’s easy to use and it comes in a simple PDF format. Before you begin reviewing your warehouse, make sure you check out our free racking inspection checklist template.

4. Identify Each Type of Damage

Once you and your staff have received racking inspection training, you will know that damage comes in different forms and that each type of damage requires a different action (something which we’ll get to later). As a result, you need to start by learning how to categorise damage properly, so it can be properly dealt with. We have a resource on damage types for your reference.

5. Inspect Each Part of Your Racking Individually, Then Consider the Whole Thing

Our racking inspection checklist is laid out so that your can inspect each piece of your racking in a systematised way.

Start with the upright post. Consider the front base plate and the rear base plate.
Then, inspect the frame brace and the column guard.
Next, consider the condition of your beam and of its safety lock.

Do this for all of the pallet racking in the warehouse and note the location of each item of pallet racking.

6. Write a Comprehensive List of “Actions Required”

According to HSE, green risk means “requiring surveillance only”, amber risk means “requiring action as soon as possible” and red risk means “requiring immediate action”. The important thing to note, however, is that this is not the whole story. This is only an intentionally vague beginning.

The “actions required” section of your template should be filled in with specifics. Does the item in question need repair? If so, what kind of repair? Does it need replacing? If so, with what? How soon does this need to be done by?

7. Don’t be Afraid to Ask for Help

We’ve already mentioned that your staff should definitely have received pallet racking inspection training from a SEMA approved racking inspector before using our racking system inspection checklist. We’ve also already mentioned that HSE recommends a racking inspection from a SEMA approved racking inspector at least once a year.

However, the important thing to note there is “at least”. In other words, there’s no harm in asking for two or more racking inspections by a SEMA approved inspector in one year, especially if you’re worried or unsure about something.

In fact, if you suspect that your racking is damaged, Regulation 6 of The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 also recommends an inspection from an expert. This is a general piece of maintenance advice that applies to racking and any other kind of workplace equipment.

Conclusion

Hopefully, with our six-point guide, you’ll be able to give your warehouse a thorough review to see how 2016 has treated it. Still, if you’re at all uncertain, be sure to remember point seven and contact Storage Equipment Experts today!

Give your warehouse a proper review with our free pallet racking safety checklist and a visit from our SEMA approved racking inspector.

Give Yourself The Present of a Safe Warehouse This Christmas with SEE!

a forktruck lifting a pallet of tyres from some racking

Socks and DVDs are all well and good, but why not treat yourself to something a little more… practical? A safe warehouse. It’s the one thing that every warehouse owner wants at this time of year (or at any time really!), but also the one thing that Santa can’t bring them. Fortunately, there are racking inspectors across the UK who can help you. Still, don’t settle for second-rate this Christmas. Go for the best racking inspectors in the UK, go for the most knowledgeable SEMA approved inspector of pallet racking in London and the South East, go for SEE!

Why?

We Are the UK’s Foremost Elf and Safety Experts

Health and safety is a broad term that covers everything from slips, trips and falls on a busy public street, to asbestos removal in old high schools, to a fire escape plan for a pet accessory shop. If it’s a public safety concern, HSE is on it — and they will have some legislation to go with it, too.

While our expertise is HSE’s racking inspection regulations and which racking inspection regulations are legal requirements, we are also quite knowledgeable when it comes to a range of other health and safety issues. It’s why we update our blog five times a month with the latest health and safety news and it’s why we’ve written for a wide range of publications on all kinds of topics. From the history of safety pins to the 12 workplace dangers of Christmas, we have every elf and safety topic imaginable covered.

We Are the Best SEMA Approved Racking Inspectors in the UK

Perhaps we’ve said it before, but we’ll say it again because it’s true! Besides, we aren’t the only ones saying it. Our testimonials speak for themselves.

Then, of course, there is the list of reasons why we are the best. We are the foremost SEMA approved inspectors of pallet racking in London and the South East. Our SEMA approved racking inspector is one of only 34 people in the UK who has passed both the SEMA approved racking inspector course and the SEMA cantilever racking course. We offer both racking inspections and racking inspection training from a SEMA approved racking inspector. We even offer a completely free SEMA racking inspection checklist, as well as an infographic explaining how to use it.

You Don’t Need to Wrap a Safe Warehouse…

…Or put it under a tree, or attach a card to it. It’s not just a gift to your staff, either; it’s a gift to anyone who visits your warehouse, to your business, and to yourself! Safety adds value to your business, with American companies spending a combined total of $170 billion on costs associated with illness and injury — every year.

All that money could be better spent elsewhere. It could be reinvest to help your business grow, or it could be use to give yourself or your staff a raise. It doesn’t take a genius to recognise that extra money is a boon to any business. That’s why safe businesses are so much better.

HSE Recommends a Racking Inspection by a SEMA Approved Inspector Once a Year.

Have you had yours yet? If not, remember that it’s still December. 2016 isn’t quite over yet, so there’s no time like the present to contact SEE for pallet racking inspections or pallet racking inspection training.

An annual racking inspection from a racking inspection “expert” is recommended by HSE in its guidebook for safe warehouse use and safe storage. It mentions SEMA approved racking inspectors by name as an example of what they mean by “expert”. Operating against HSE’s advice is not against the law. However, according to the new CDM regulations, if you don’t follow HSE’s advice and an accident does happen then you — the owner of the warehouse — will be solely responsible.

These new HSE regulations apply to more than just warehouses and more than just racking. In fact, it’s one of the many reasons why a Star Wars production company were in such trouble after Harrison Ford was injure on the Millennium Falcon.

Your warehouse isn’t a spaceship and your staff aren’t Harrison Ford, but the same rules apply. If you want to be sure that you’re on Santa’s “nice” list, follow HSE’s advice and make sure your warehouse has a racking inspection by SEMA approved inspector and racking inspection training from SEE!

Contact Storage Equipment Experts to give yourself the gift of safety, with racking inspection services from the best racking inspectors in the UK.

3 Things to Expect from HSE in 2017

hse racking inspection legislation

HSE racking inspection legislation is unlikely to change in 2017, but many other things might, many other things will, and some things are already beginning to shift.

2016 has been a big year for HSE. Dame Judith Hackitt stepped down as HSE’s chair after eight years in charge, HSE unveiled its new strategy (“Help Great Britain Work Well”), and HSE racking inspection legislation continued to contribute towards a slow but continuous decline in the rate of workplace fatalities and injuries per 100,000 workers.

However, 2017 promises to be an even bigger year. Here are three things to expect from HSE starting January next year.

1. HSE Will Tackle Work-Related Stress

As part of the government’s continued ideological commitment to the “parity of esteem” of mental and physical health in the UK, HSE’s research arm, HSL (the Health and Safety Laboratory), will be delivering a two-day course in February on work-related stress.

The World Health Organisation takes work-related stress seriously and labels recognition and respect at work as “a fundamental human need”. In other words, work-related stress isn’t just something that happens. Not everybody loves their job, but work should not be something which makes people stressed day in and day out. HSE’s course on work-related stress shows that it is taking this issue seriously and tackling it pragmatically.

2. HSE Wants to Change Risk Assessment Guidance

In early October this year, HSE was ask for comments on changes it wanted to make to its risk assessment guidance. HSE’s exact words were that it wanted to “make some changes to our current guidance on risk and we want to hear what you think before we publish it”. It’s hard to say when these changes will be implement, but a likely guess is that they’ll come into effect at some point during 2017.

HSE claims that the reason for this change is based on feedback from businesses that the current risk assessment system is seen as separate to “real business”. HSE wants to change this so that the risk assessment system becomes a natural and helpful part of the day-to-day running of a business, rather than meaningless paperwork. Before it does this, however, it’s looking for feedback.

It will be interesting to see what sort of risk assessment guidance HSE winds up with after this public feedback. We at Storage Equipment Experts — along with many British businesses — will be eager to find out.

3. HSE Racking Inspection Legislation Will Likely Not Change

HSE’s second edition of warehousing and storage was publish in 2007. Since then, its guidance on what warehouse racking regulations should be has not changed. While racking inspections are not technically a legal requirement, acting counter to HSE’s advice means that the “client” (the person legally responsible for anyone entering their warehouse) will be held accountable if anything should happen. This is what the CDM regulations, updated in 2015, dictate and they are unlikely to change in 2017.

At Storage Equipment Experts, we believe strongly in the wisdom of HSE racking inspection legislation. According to HSE’s guidance on warehouse racking inspections, businesses should receive a SEMA racking inspection at least once a year and internal racking inspections should be carried out regularly by “technically competent” staff. That is why we offer racking inspections by a SEMA approved inspector and racking inspection training to businesses across the UK.

Whatever happens in 2017, we at Storage Equipment Experts will continue to deliver our highest quality of service. To prove that we know our stuff better than anyone else, we offer a warehouse racking inspection template in the form of a racking inspection checklist — for free!

This year, next year, or any year, don’t settle for second best! Contact Storage Equipment Experts today for the best racking inspection training in the UK.

Racking Inspectors UK: Everything You Need to Know

2 racking inspectors in the uk looking at a clipboard

Racking inspectors in the UK come in many different forms. So we wanted to break it all down for you.

Racking inspection regulations in the UK are broken down pretty clearly by HSE. However, despite this, it’s easy to be confused. Storage Equipment Experts are among the best racking inspectors in the UK. In fact, we like to think we’re the best. Still, don’t just take our word for it; read our testimonials on our pallet racking inspection training and SEMA approved rack inspections.

All of which makes us best qualified to explain what a racking inspector in the UK is, what they should be, and what they should not be.

Bad Racking Inspectors in the UK: Unqualified and Unreviewed

The government reviewed its CDM regulations in order to simplify things for both racking inspectors in the UK and those who need to use the services offered by racking inspectors. At this point, the regulations are still quite young and the jury is still out on whether or not they have improved racking inspection regulations.

The old regulations allowed for the proliferation of card schemes and people calling themselves “racking inspection experts”. The new regulations mean it is up to the “client”, the person ultimately responsible for the safety of people in a given space — whether that’s a building site, a workplace, or a film-set — to decide who qualifies as a racking inspection expert.

On the upside, this simplifies things. In one fell swoop, it put an end to the legitimacy of many of these card schemes. On the downside, though, this now allows for anyone to call themselves a “racking inspection expert” — card or no card, scheme or no scheme, qualification or no qualification. So how can you sort the wheat from the chaff?

For a start, a bad racking inspector in the UK will not have the glowing reviews that we at Storage Equipment Experts do. Still, there’s more to it than that.

Good Racking Inspectors in the UK Have Passed the SEMA Approved Racking Inspector Course

While HSE still leaves the ultimate decision up to the client, the exact wording used in its guide to warehouse safety is important. It states that “expert” racking inspections need to be performed once a year by an outside party. It then cites SEMA approved racking inspectors (SARIs) as an example of this sort of “expert”.

“HSE racking inspections” do not exist. Rather, HSE cites one — and only one — example of a racking inspection “expert”: a SEMA approved racking inspector. Beyond that, it is up for the “client” to decide who they want inspecting their racking.

The Best Racking Inspectors in the UK? Look no Further…

With over 100 qualified SEMA approved racking inspectors in the UK, it can be hard to decide who to choose. Still, there are many, many reasons why you should choose Storage Equipment Experts:

  • We offer racking inspections by SEMA approved inspectors and racking inspection training delivered by a SEMA approved racking inspector.
  • Our SEMA approved racking inspector is one of only 34 people who has also passed SEMA cantilever racking inspection training.
  • Our SEMA approved racking inspector is the only one in the London area, is willing to travel all over the UK, and can to do so easily because of London’s unrivaled transport links to the rest of the country.
  • We have designed the most authoritative SEMA racking inspection checklist in the UK.
  • We have glowing reviews from the Tate Modern, Dunlop, and Dairy Crest (the parent company of Clover, Countrylife Butter, and Cathedral City Cheese).

Now that you know why we’re the best racking inspectors in the UK, be sure to get in touch for your annual racking inspection by a SEMA approved inspector or for racking inspection training from a SEMA approved racking inspector!