According to some surveys, a significant number of businesses view Health and Safety legislation as a time consuming process and others as an unnecessary burden. However, while it’s true that compliance with Health and Safety law can be complicated, it is certainly worth the investment of your time, as we will explain.
Protect and retain the best employees
Here at Logical Storage we encourage businesses to take their Health and Safety obligations seriously and recognise the potential to profit from good practices. First of all there is the issue of absenteeism. If poor standards lead to an employee being injured then they may be off work for a serious amount of time, leaving your business stretched. This might mean that you have to spend time and money on recruiting and training new staff. While this may not be too much of an issue with lower level employees, replacing your most skilled workers even on a temporary basis can prove difficult.
Employees work best in workplaces that value them and take steps to improve their general well being. A workplace that refuses to take steps to look after the Health & Safety of their employees could be accused of not caring. If accidents happen on a regular basis then you risk a demoralised workforce with higher levels of absenteeism and most likely a high turnover of staff.
Protect your reputation
Next, there are your legal obligations to consider. Employers have a duty to protect their employees and if you fail to take the necessary steps to prevent accidents from happening then you could be liable to costly fines and even imprisonment. A serious accident in your workplace can also have a damaging impact on the profile of your business as court action will most likely result in negative media coverage for your company, harming your reputation.
Protect your infrastructure
Despite the threats faced by not complying, you should try to see Health & Safety policy as a positive thing. Taking the time to conduct regular inspections of your machinery and infrastructure can pay dividends for your business. For example, if you operate a warehouse and rely on seasonal traffic then you need to make sure that your storage systems are in good shape. Receiving a large and important delivery of stock, only to discover that your racking has become cracked and unusable could be disastrous for your business. But, by maintaining good Health & Safety standards and practices you can identify problems with infrastructure, storage systems and machinery early on, ensuring that your business remains safe and profitable.
Here at Logical Storage we recognise that Health and Safety legislation should be at the forefront of any business. We help businesses identify problems with their infrastructure by performing rack inspections. Click here for further information or call us on 0845 689 1300.
It’s October which means that there are only 2 months to go until Christmas! As we know, this is among the busiest time of the year for many retailers as shoppers begin buying presents and businesses gear up for the mayhem of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
However, for owners of warehouses and distribution centres this is an important time to check over the capabilities of your site and ask themselves if they are ready for the pressures of seasonal traffic.
One way that businesses can handle the increase in business around Christmas is to ensure that orders are able to be picked, packed and shipped out quickly. One way to do so is to focus on the right type of storage which allows for the most popular products in stock to be easily accessible.
Two of the available options for achieving this include dynamic push back racking and double-deep racking. The first of which allows for easy access to products and the next for increased storage capacity of said item.
November is also a good time to perform a health check on your infrastructure, particularly the integrity of your racking. An increase in your inventory could mean a significant strain on your racking. Increased load can cause beam damage and cracking, putting not only your inventory but also your employees at risk. Having an inspection now, before a seasonal delivery will identify any existing problems sooner rather than later.
Logical Storage Solutions have extensive experience in performing racking inspections, as well as helping businesses to meet the needs of seasonal demand with a wide range of impressive storage solutions. To find out more click here or call us on 0845 689 1300 to discuss your needs.
While your racking systems and storage might appear to be working well and you might not see any obvious issues with their exterior, there may be a number of underlying issues that could be affecting the way they work, thus endangering both your products and your staff.
Throughout the day your racking can pick up an infinite number of knocks and scrapes. This could be through poor design or layout, overloading the racking, day-to-day damage by forklift trucks, or adjusting them without proper training.
It’s said that this type of damage to racking can reduce its load bearing capacity by as much as 40%. So it’s important that any issues are dealt with quickly in order to maintain the efficiency of your operations.
What’s more, when racking is damaged it can become unstable which means that you are risking both valuable stock and also the health and safety of your staff.
This is why it’s important to have a professional team inspect your racking on a regular basis. We recommend that racking inspections are carried out at least once a year.
To learn more about Logical Storage’s rack inspections, please click here, or contact us on 0845 689 1300 to discuss your needs.
Under the Corporate Manslaughter and Homicide Act (2007) and the Provisions of Use of Work Equipment Regulations (1998) employers have a responsibility to make sure that any equipment such as racking is safe to use and any risks to employees are planned for.
Unfortunately, many do not realise that the probability of a racking collapse is quite high and that damage is not uncommon. They might not also realise the effect that a piece of damaged equipment may be having on the efficiency of their business, especially when damage to racking can reduce load bearing capacity by as much as 40%.
Here are some of the common causes of damage to racking:
- Adjusting or re-assembling racking without proper training
- Continued use of damaged pallets which cause damage to beams
- Poor design or layout
- Overloading
- Damage by forklift trucks
In order to address these issues you should ensure that forklift truck drivers are given thorough training, racking bears only the weight it is designed to hold, broken or damaged pallets are removed from use immediately and that all of your racking is installed and repaired by trained professionals.
Key to ensuring a long lifespan for your racking is to undergo regular reviews, preventative maintenance and repairs of your racking, thus ensuring that both your stock and your employees are protected. Remember that racking damage is not always visible to the untrained eye and so reviews and repairs should be undertaken by an experienced company.
Logical Storage Solutions have extensive experience in performing racking inspections and can help guide businesses in meeting their legal duties and Health & Safety obligations. To learn more about a Logical Storage rack inspection, click here or call us on 0845 689 1300 to discuss your needs.
Every working environment has its dangers, and if you are in charge of a workforce it is important that you find ways to safeguard your staff. Looking after their health will not only give you peace of mind but also protect your business.
The Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) ensures that all businesses follow strict guidelines to protect their workers. This means that as an employer you are responsible for maintaining a safe working environment, failing to do so could lead to prosecution.
If you operate a warehouse or factory it might be possible that you, like many others, have chosen pallet racking as an effective way to store your stock and to minimise your picking times. However, did you know that it is especially important to have your racking inspected for any potential faults? A fault could in fact reduce load capacity by as much as 40%.
Racking often holds heavy or fragile stock, which in the event of a breakage could mean damage to your stock or even worse harm to an employee. Aside from making sure that weight is always correctly distributed and that you never overload your pallet racking – you should also be certain to have regular racking inspections conducted by professionals. We recommend inspections on at least an annual basis.
Logical Storage has a team of experienced specialists who can make recommendations on how to prevent damage as well as performing remedial works such as racking repair to damaged equipment. Contact us on 0845 689 1300 to find out more.
Businesses up and down the country are struggling with a big problem: space. As the economy has come out of recession and has been slowly growing and heading back towards the level they were at before the economic crash, businesses are facing a dilemma. They are doing more trade as the economy improves, and so want to expand, but the recovery isn’t strong enough for businesses to feel they can take a risk on new premises. So what should they do?
To grow with the economy and not get left behind, they need more space. But to move to bigger premises at such a delicate time would be for many businesses a leap of faith too far. Fortunately, there are lots of ways businesses can capitalise on their existing space to make sure they use every inch of what they already have, allowing them to grow without having to move. Here are five key ways:
- Consider a mezzanine floor. If your warehouse, offices, retail store or any other commercial building has lots of space above the ground floor, then it is currently being wasted. A mezzanine floor could double the amount of space you have for selling products, storing products, distribution or could even be used for offices.
- Make sure you are using the most efficient type and size of racking and shelving for your business needs – discuss the options with professionals to make sure the storage you have is right for you.
- Repair any damaged shelves or racking. If you have racking which cannot be used because it is unsafe then it is a waste of resources. Get it repaired or replaced.
- Have regular racking inspections to prevent any future problems before it’s too late.
- Use office partitions and space planning to make the best use of your office space, so that way you can fit more people into the space and work in a more efficient and effective manner.
Here at Logical Storage, we know that no two businesses are the same, and may need to consider one, all, or a combination of some of these solutions to help create more space for their company to flourish. Give us a call on 0845 689 1300 to see how we can help you.
The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 is considered to be a landmark in law. It was introduced to the House of Commons by the then Home Secretary, John Reid, on 20th July 2006, received royal assent on the 26th July 2007 and came into force on the 6th April 2008 and, for the first time, allows for companies and organisations to be found guilty of corporate manslaughter as a result of serious management failures resulting in a gross breach of a duty of care.
The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 created a new offence, which is called corporate manslaughter in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and corporate homicide in Scotland.
Before the Act came into force, a corporation could only be convicted of manslaughter if all of the elements of the offence had been committed by a single employee of the company, and even then they had to be so senior within the corporation that they would be seen as “embodying the mind” of the corporation. In practice, this meant that it was incredibly rare for a corporation to be convicted of manslaughter, and it was felt that corporations were escaping responsibility and punishment.
Following the implementation of the act, an offence is committed if the way in which an organisation’s activities are managed or organised causes a person’s death and amounts to a gross breach of a relevant duty of care owed by the organisation to the deceased.
Failure to carry out regular inspections and maintenance of your warehouse pallet racking could potentially lead to the deaths of employees and subsequently to your organisation being found guilty of corporate manslaughter. If you are a company director or responsible for the health and safety of your organisation, give yourself a good night sleep and let us take the headache of inspecting your storage system away. To find out more about our pallet racking inspections, please click here to visit our website.
In this post we are continuing our look at the various pieces of legislation and regulations that affect health and safety in the workplace. Today, we are looking at the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. These regulations are often abbreviated to PUWER.
PUWER 1998 assesses and aims to prevent risk of injury to workers from any equipment they use. It places responsibilities on employers and businesses which own or use equipment for work, or whose employees use equipment, even if it is not owned by them. The regulations therefore cover any equipment which is used by an employee at work, but not equipment which is used by the public.
The regulations demand that all employers must ensure that their equipment is suitable for its purpose, in good working order, safe to use, maintained correctly, inspected regularly, accompanied by appropriate health and safety measures to ensure that it is not a risk to health and safety, and that it is only used by people who have received the necessary training and information. Machinery must have a maintenance log which is kept up to date.
Equipment includes machinery and tools, and covers just about anything used by an employee for working, including equipment that the employees provide themselves. Employers have a responsibility to make sure that employees’ equipment complies with PUWER. PUWER applies to any workplace where the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 – this includes shops, offices, factories, warehouses, hospitals, construction sites etc.
Warehouse racking, along with all other forms of storage equipment, is considered as work equipment, and therefore must comply with PUWER. If your equipment does not meet the standards set out in PUWER then you are potentially risking the lives of your employees, and exposing yourself and your company to prosecution.
The easiest way to ensure that you comply with PUWER is to get a Logical Rack Inspection. We give impartial advice as we do not work directly with original equipment manufacturers, we provide a comprehensive report, and we are highly experienced in the industry. Please give us a call on 0845 689 1300 to discuss one off, annual, bi-annual or quarterly rack inspections for your facilities.
In our previous blog post, we gave an overview of some of the most crucial pieces of legislation when it comes to health and safety of employees in the workplace, and why it is essential to have regular racking inspections. We are now going to look at some of the pieces of legislation in a bit more depth, starting with the Health and Safety at Work Etc Act 1974.
The Health and Safety at Work Etc Act 1974 is often abbreviated to HSW Act, HSWA 1974, HASAWA or HSWA. It is an Act of the UK Parliament, first introduced by Harold Wilson’s government in 1974 after four years of political wrangling as the UK went from a Labour government to a Conservative one and back to Labour. It is the primary piece of government legislation concerning health, safety and welfare regulation, encouragement and enforcement in the workplace in Great Britain. The Act sets out key principles for occupational health and safety, and brought existing legislation regarding health and safety, which was complicated and confusing, into one easier to understand act. The Act also allows the UK to comply with EU laws regarding health and safety.
The Act has 10 different sections. Section 1 sets out the aims of the act. This includes securing the health, safety and welfare of people at work as well as protecting other people from the risks to health and safety caused by the activities of the people at work.
Section 2, which is our main focus, sets out the duties of employers towards their employees, stating that” It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his/her employees”. It also states that the employer must have a safety policy and must make employees aware of it.
Section 3 lays out the duties of employers towards people other than employees, such as clients, visitors, contractors and the general public. Employers must be able to ensure their safety as far as reasonably practicable.
Section 10 created two bodies, the Health and Safety Commission and the Health and Safety Executive. They were merged in 2008 to create the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), who have responsibility for enforcing the act along with local authorities. Breaches of the act can ultimately lead to unlimited fines and imprisonment for up to two years. To read more about the act, click here.
If you have pallet racking in your warehouse, it is therefore essential to have a regular racking inspection carried out to ensure that you as employer fulfil your legal obligations under this act. To learn more about a Logical Storage rack inspection, click here, or contact us on 0845 689 1300 to discuss your needs.
Racking inspections are required to ensure that organisations meet their health and safety requirements and that they provide a safe environment for their employees. What is required of a UK organisation when it comes to health and safety is laid out in multiple pieces of legislation, with the key ones profiled below.
The basis of British health and safety law is the Health and Safety at Work Act etc 1974. Section 2 of this act states that “It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his/her employees”. This includes maintaining the workplace and equipment so that it is practical, safe and without risks to health, and ensuring that articles and substances can be used, handled, stored and transported safely.
This was built upon by the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992, a key feature of which was to require employers to carry out risk assessments, regularly review them, take appropriate steps to improve safety if it can be improved, and familiarise themselves with potential hazards.
The Provision and use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 covers any piece of equipment which is used by an employee at work. This includes racking. It requires that equipment is suitable for use, maintained so that it is safe and that people’s health and safety is not put at risk, and inspected to ensure that it continues to be safe to use.
However, until 2008, a corporation could only be found guilty of manslaughter if every part of the offence had been carried out by one senior person within the corporation who was seen as embodying the mind of that organisation. This meant that corporations rarely were convicted or punished for manslaughter. The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Bill, introduced in the House of Commons by the then Home Secretary Dr. John Reid in July 2006, changed that. It received royal assent a year later in July 2007 and came into force in April 2008. It created a new offence which is called corporate manslaughter in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and corporate homicide in Scotland.
Under the act, if the way an organisation’s activities are managed or organised leads to a person’s death and was a gross breach of a relevant duty of care owed by the organisation to the deceased, then an indictable offence has been committed. A gross breach is a breach of a duty of care by an organisation that falls far below what should reasonably be expected of an organisation. If a company fails to meet what is required of it in the above legislation and this leads to a death, then it can expect to be prosecuted under this act.
Logical Storage are an independent company that provide impartial advice. Our surveyors will provide a comprehensive report detailing any damaged or missing parts of racking or structural imperfections. Our team are highly experienced and will provide a summary of your operational facility and make recommendations regarding working practices, mechanical equipment, floor marking, signage, lighting and layout if required. Inspections can be annual, bi-annual, or quarterly. Please call us on 0845 689 1300 for a tailored proposal.
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