SEMA racking training isn’t a gift you can wrap, but it’s still a welcome addition to Christmas
If you want your staff to be driving home for Christmas, you’ll need a safe workplace. SEMA racking trainings can help you with that. However, that doesn’t mean that every staff member needs SEMA racking training.
What is SEMA Racking Training?
SEMA racking trainings is any kind of rack safety course run by SEMA. We offer rack safety training courses run by a SEMA approved racking inspector, but this is not the same as SEMA racking trainings.
Do My Staff Need SEMA Racking Training?
HSE recommends regular racking inspections from staff members and it also recommends that each warehouse has a person responsible for racking safety (PRRS). According to the CDM Regulations 2015, it is your duty as an employer to make sure that anyone performing a task like racking inspection or performing a role like the PRRS is “competent”.
To achieve this competency, SEMA racking trainings or racking inspection training from a SEMA approved racking inspector (SARI) are both good options. HSE labels SEMA, SARIs, and the work they both perform as “expert”. As such, it’s fair to assume that someone successfully trained by SEMA or a SARI to inspect racking would be deemed “competent”.
What Does SEMA Racking Training Involve?
This depends entirely on the course, but inspection is probably the most important aspect of any SEMA racking training course or any course performed by a SARI. The reason for this is that inspection is the aspect of racking safety which requires the most explanation.
Safe installation of racking mostly involves making sure that the person doing the installation. Safe use of racking mostly involves following the manufacturer’s instructions, especially with regards to load notices. However, safe inspection of racking involves knowing what to inspect, how often to inspect, what to do in the event of damage, and what damage or misuse actually looks like.
That last part is often the trickiest thing to spot and the easiest thing to miss. Knowing whether or not a racking system is missing a small part and knowing how integral this part is to the whole system is just one example of something which can require training. After all, it’s impossible to say for certain if a storage system is unsafe if you don’t know exactly what safe looks like, exactly what unsafe looks like, and what exactly makes a system safe or unsafe.
Is SEMA Racking Training Enough?
Giving your staff SEMA racking training — or training from a SARI — will likely be enough to class them as competent. However, the important thing to remember about safety is that it is a continuous process, rather than a one-time thing.
As such, you will also need to make sure that your trained staff perform racking inspections on a regular basis. For this, HSE recommends a traffic light system, where no damage is marked as green and damage is marked as amber or red, depending on its severity. Each colour then requires a different action.
This means that it’s not enough for your staff to passively receive the training. They need to actively use this training on a regular basis through regular inspections. What’s more, they need to act upon any damage they find in the warehouse.As well as all that, you will need to ensure that your staff receives an inspection at least once every 12 months from a SARI.
For racking inspection or racking inspection trainings from one of the only SARIs qualified by SEMA to inspect pallet racking and cantilever racking, contact Storage Equipment Experts today for a FREE consultation. We offer nationwide coverage for both the whole of the UK and Ireland.
