A weekly racking inspection helps identify damage, missing components, unsafe loading and other problems before they become more serious. Pallet racking can be damaged during normal warehouse operations, particularly by forklift trucks and other materials handling equipment.
HSE Guidance Recommends a Three-Level Approach to Racking Safety
- Immediate reporting of damage and safety concerns
- Regular visual inspections by suitably trained personnel
- Expert inspections by a technically competent person at intervals of no more than 12 months
Regular internal inspections are commonly carried out weekly, although the appropriate frequency should be determined by a risk assessment of the warehouse and its operating conditions.
This guide explains who should carry out weekly racking inspections, what to check, how to record your findings and what to do when damage is identified.
Important: This guide and checklist are intended to support appropriately trained personnel. They are not a substitute for Rack Safety Awareness / racking inspection training or for an expert inspection by a technically competent person.
What Are the Three Levels of Racking Inspection?
A weekly racking inspection is only one part of an effective racking safety programme.
HSE and SEMA guidance supports a three-level approach to inspection and damage reporting.
1. Immediate Reporting
Everyone working around pallet racking should know what obvious damage and hazards to look out for during their normal daily activities and who to report concerns to.
This is not a planned inspection. It is an ongoing process of safety awareness and immediate reporting.
Warehouse staff should receive appropriate ‘rack safety awareness’ training so they understand the visual checks they should make while working around racking and know who to report any concerns to.
If someone sees:
- Racking damage
- Damaged or unsafe pallet
- Missing component
- Unstable load
it should be reported through the site’s damage-reporting procedure.
“Don’t wait for the next weekly inspection. If a forklift hits the racking on Tuesday, the damage should be reported on Tuesday”.
2. Regular Internal Racking Inspections
The second level is a structured and documented visual inspection.
HSG76 recommends that the Person Responsible for Racking Safety (PRRS) ensures racking is inspected weekly, or at another regular interval determined by risk assessment. A formal written record should be maintained.
These inspections should be carried out by someone with appropriate racking inspection training and knowledge.
Their purpose is to systematically identify:
- Damage
- Missing components
- Unsafe loading
- Unsuitable or damaged pallets
- Changes to the racking
In addition, SEE provides a one-day Rack Safety Awareness Course, also commonly referred to as racking inspection training, to help warehouse personnel carry out regular internal inspections and understand the role of the PRRS.
Find out about SEE’s Racking Inspection Training
3. Expert Racking Inspections
Regular internal inspections do not replace an expert inspection.
HSG76 recommends that a technically competent person carries out an expert inspection at intervals of no more than 12 months and provides a written report to the PRRS.
SEMA operates the SEMA Approved Racking Inspector (SARI) scheme as a recognised benchmark of competence for expert racking inspections.
An expert inspection goes considerably further than looking for obvious impact damage. It can assess areas including:
- Structural condition
- Rack configuration
- Component compatibility
- Identify installation faults
- Loading procedures
- Accuracy of load notices
- Pallet condition and positioning
- Operational risks
SEE provides independent expert inspections by SEMA Approved Racking Inspectors throughout the UK and Ireland.
Find out more about SEMA Approved Racking Inspections
How Often Should Pallet Racking Be Inspected by the Warehouse Team?
Weekly is the commonly used interval for regular internal racking inspections, but it isn’t necessarily appropriate for every warehouse.
The inspection frequency should be determined by a risk assessment of the warehouse and its operating conditions.
Factors to consider include:
- Amount of forklift and MHE activity
- Frequency and severity of previous racking damage
- Warehouse traffic and aisle widths
- Changes in stock or racking configuration
- Temporary or inexperienced personnel
- Pallet condition
- Periods of unusually high activity
A busy distribution centre with continuous forklift movements may therefore require a different inspection regime from a lower-use storage facility.
Whatever interval you choose, schedule, document and consistently complete each inspection.
Who Should Carry Out a Weekly Racking Inspection?
The person carrying out a regular internal inspection needs sufficient training and knowledge to understand:
- What to inspect
- How to recognise racking damage and unsafe practices
- How to record findings
- How to categorise damage
- What action to take when you identify a problem
HSG76 recommends appointing a Person Responsible for Racking Safety (PRRS). The PRRS plays an important role in managing the inspection and damage-reporting process, maintaining records and making sure the team deals with identified problems.
The PRRS may carry out the inspections themselves or appoint another appropriately trained person to carry them out.
Simply handing an untrained employee a checklist isn’t enough.
A checklist provides structure. Training provides the knowledge needed to use it properly.
SEE’s one-day Rack Safety Awareness / Racking Inspection Training Course covers internal inspections, damage identification and categorisation, load notices, reporting procedures and the role of the PRRS. SEE’s current course is delivered by SEMA Approved Racking Inspectors and is RoSPA assured.
What Do You Need for a Weekly Racking Inspection?
Depending on your site procedures, you may need:
- Structured racking inspection checklist
- Suitable measuring equipment
- Phone, camera or tablet for photographs
- Warehouse layout or rack-location reference system
- Appropriate site PPE
A good location-reference system is particularly important.
Recording “damaged upright in aisle” isn’t enough in a warehouse containing hundreds or thousands of racking components.
Anyone reviewing the report or completing repairs should be able to quickly find the exact location again.
How to Carry Out a Weekly Racking Inspection
Your inspection should follow a logical and consistent route through the warehouse.
Using the same structured approach each time reduces the risk of missing areas and makes it easier to compare findings between inspections.
This guide focuses primarily on Adjustable Pallet Racking (APR). Other storage systems, including drive-in racking, cantilever racking, pallet live, push-back racking and automated storage systems, can have different inspection requirements.
Step 1: Follow a Consistent Route Through the Warehouse
Start at an agreed location and work systematically through each aisle to inspect all accessible racking.
Pay particular attention to areas where impact damage may be more likely, including:
- Aisle-facing uprights
- End frames
- Transfer aisles
- Loading and unloading areas
- Locations where turning space is restricted
Look for anything visibly bent, twisted, dented, displaced or otherwise different from surrounding components.
If obvious or serious damage is discovered, don’t simply record it and carry on. Follow your site’s reporting and isolation procedures immediately where necessary.
Step 2: Check the Uprights
Uprights are fundamental structural components of the racking system and are particularly vulnerable to impacts at lower levels.
Look for:
- Bends, dents, twisting or buckling
- Splits, tears or corrosion
- Impact damage
- Previous repairs or alterations
- Anything visibly different from surrounding uprights
Don’t judge an upright simply by whether the racking “looks OK”.
Racking damage assessment uses defined criteria, which is one reason appropriate training is important.
If you’re unsure about damage, record the concern and seek competent advice.
Step 3: Inspect the Frame Bracing
The horizontal and diagonal bracing between the front and rear uprights contributes to the strength and stability of the rack frame.
Look for:
- Bent or damaged bracing
- Missing components
- Loose or damaged connections
- Impact damage
- Unauthorised modifications or repairs
Don’t assume damaged bracing is insignificant simply because the rest of the frame appears straight.
Step 4: Check the Beams
Check beams throughout the storage system for:
- Bends or other deformation
- Impact damage
- Twisting
- Excessive or unusual deflection
- Damage around beam connectors
- Damaged welds or connections
- Beams that appear incorrectly positioned
Also look for signs that someone has moved the beam levels from their original installation positions.
Changing beam positions can affect the racking’s load-carrying capacity, so do not alter the beam positions without first checking the design and manufacturer’s information.
Step 5: Check Beam Safety Locks
Where the racking system requires them, beam safety locks help prevent accidental beam dislodgement.
Check that the correct locks or locking devices are:
- Present
- Correctly fitted
- Undamaged
If locks repeatedly go missing or become damaged, investigate why. Repeated damage may indicate a wider operational issue rather than simply a missing component.
Step 6: Check Baseplates and Floor Fixings
Look closely at the base of the racking.
Check for:
- Loose, missing or damaged floor fixings
- Damaged or displaced baseplates
- Movement
- Damage to the floor around the fixing
- Problems with shims
- Impact damage around the bottom of the uprights
If anything appears loose, displaced or different from the previous inspection, record it for further investigation.
Step 7: Check Racking Protection
Where rack protection is installed
Check it for:
- Damage
- Movement
- Looseness
- Detachment
- Incorrect positioning
Repeated damage to a protector may indicate an underlying problem.
If the same protector is continually being hit, ask why. Possible factors may include aisle space, visibility, warehouse layout or vehicle operating practices.
“A good inspection shouldn’t only identify damage. It should help identify why the damage is happening”.
Step 8: Check Pallets, Loads and Pallet Positioning
Don’t look only at the steelwork. How the racking is being used is equally important.
Check for:
- Damaged pallets
- Pallets unsuitable for the racking system
- Incorrectly positioned pallets
- Unstable or poorly secured loads
- Excessive or inappropriate overhang
- Poor load distribution
- Goods being stored differently from the intended configuration
A sound racking structure can still become unsafe if unsuitable pallets or loads are placed onto it.
Step 9: Check Load Notices and Rack Configuration
Load notices provide essential information about the safe use and loading of the racking.
Check that appropriate load notices are:
- Present
- Clearly visible
- Legible
- Appropriate for the racking configuration
- Being followed
Also look for changes to:
- Beam levels
- Pallet type
- Stored loads
- Rack configuration
If someone alters the racking, the existing load notice may no longer accurately describe its safe capacity. Current SEMA guidance says you should update the load notice whenever someone modifies the racking.
Step 10: Record What You Find and Take Action
The purpose of an inspection isn’t simply to find problems. Identified risks need to be acted upon.
For each significant finding, record:
- Exact location
- Component or issue concerned
- Clear description
- Photograph where useful
- Risk category where appropriately assessed
- Action required
- Person responsible
- Target or completion date
Urgent risks should be dealt with immediately.
Where racking has been taken out of use, controls should prevent it being accidentally reloaded before the necessary remedial work has been completed.
Also look for patterns.
Repeated damage in the same location may point to an underlying problem involving:
- Forklift routes
- Aisle widths
- Visibility
- Pallet quality
- Warehouse layout
- Working practices
Repairing damage is important. Preventing it from happening again is even better.
What Do Red, Amber and Green Racking Risks Mean?
SEMA uses a traffic-light system to categorise racking damage and indicate the action required.
Red Risk – Immediate Action
Red identifies a high level of damage requiring immediate action.
Offload the affected racking and take it out of use until you complete the necessary remedial work.
Amber Risk – Action Required
Amber identifies damage that requires remedial work but does not necessarily require immediate unloading.
As workers empty the affected pallet positions, they should leave them empty until they complete the necessary repairs.
Complete repairs within four weeks wherever possible. If the team cannot complete them within this timeframe, treat the Amber Risk as a Red Risk (see above).
Green Risk – Record & Monitor
Green identifies damage that falls within SEMA’s defined limits.
It should still be recorded and monitored during future inspections.
Green does not mean that damage should simply be ignored.
Correctly assessing and categorising racking damage requires appropriate knowledge and training. If you’re uncertain, seek competent advice rather than guessing.
Record, Report and Act
A good inspection programme should create a clear trail from identifying a problem through to resolving it.
For significant findings, record:
Location → Finding → Risk → Action → Responsibility → Completion
Importantly, if you identify urgent damage or another serious safety concern, take action straight away rather than waiting for someone to review the report later.
Keep records of:
- Regular internal inspections
- Reported damage
- Photographs
- Actions raised
- Repairs or replacement components
- Completed remedial work
In addition, good records make it easier to identify recurring damage and demonstrate that your team actively manages inspection findings.
FAQs
1. How often should pallet racking be inspected?
HSG76 recommends that the PRRS ensures someone inspects the racking weekly or at another regular interval based on a risk assessment. Choose the inspection frequency according to the warehouse’s operating conditions and risks.
A technically competent person should also carry out an expert inspection at intervals of no more than 12 months.
2. Who should carry out weekly racking inspections?
Someone with sufficient training and knowledge should carry out regular internal inspections to identify racking damage, unsafe practices and other concerns, and determine what action to take.
The PRRS should ensure these inspections take place and may carry them out personally where appropriately trained.
3. What should I check during a pallet racking inspection?
A regular internal inspection should consider the condition and use of the storage system, including:
- Uprights
- Frame bracing
- Beams
- Beam safety locks
- Baseplates and floor fixings
- Rack protection
- Pallets and pallet positioning
- Loads
- Load notices
- Rack alignment
- Alterations to the racking
The inspection should also identify other conditions or working practices that could affect the safe use of the storage equipment.
4. Do weekly racking inspections need to be recorded?
Yes. HSG76 recommends maintaining a formal written record of regular racking inspections.
Good records also help track outstanding actions, completed repairs and recurring damage.
5. Can I use a racking inspection checklist without training?
A checklist is a useful tool, but it does not replace appropriate training.
The person using the checklist should understand how to inspect pallet racking, recognise relevant damage and defects, record findings and know what action should be taken.
SEE provides a one-day Rack Safety Awareness Course, also commonly known as racking inspection training.
6. Does a weekly inspection replace an expert racking inspection?
No.
Regular internal inspections and expert inspections are separate parts of the racking safety programme.
HSG76 recommends that a technically competent person completes an expert inspection at intervals of no more than 12 months.
7. What should I do if a forklift hits the racking?
Don’t wait for the next scheduled inspection.
Report the impact immediately through your warehouse’s damage-reporting procedure and assess the affected area.
If damage poses a serious risk to racking safety, unload the affected racking as necessary and prevent its use until you complete the required remedial work, as recommended by HSG76.
Download Our Free Racking Inspection Checklist
More than 22,000 copies of SEE’s Racking Inspection Checklist have been downloaded.
Created by SEMA Approved Racking Inspectors, it provides appropriately trained personnel with a structured way of carrying out and recording regular internal inspections of Adjustable Pallet Racking (APR).
