No matter how hard you may try, damage to racking is something which it is hard to defend against. While racking is not inherently flawed in any way (unless poorly set-up) it is, like any form of equipment, susceptible to human error and wear and tear over time.
Racking damage can occur in many ways; sometimes it happens during assembly. If a poorly trained or unqualified company installs or reassembles your racking, then they could make costly mistakes. They may overlook important factors such as how your racking will be used and what exactly will be stored. This may in turn then cause your racking to become overloaded and weaken over time, threatening your stock and the safety of your employees. Another way that racking can be damaged is through human error, such as when racking is impacted by vehicles like forklift trucks moving around the warehouse – even with the best training and the most proficient drivers, accidents like this can still happen and even a small chip or crack could cause equipment to fail.
In order for you to protect yourself, you need to work with highly competent suppliers and installers to deliver your racking. You also need to ensure that your employees know how best to access the racking and that they are careful to avoid collisions when in transit around your warehouse.
That said, no matter how hard you do prepare, mistakes can still be made, and they may even occur without your knowledge. For instance, if you overload your racking beyond its capacity then over time it may create pressure cracks or hairline cracks. These cracks aren’t immediately obvious to you or your staff, but they could be reducing your load bearing capacity by around 40% which may hamper your productivity. This is one of the key reasons why it is vitally important to have regular reviews of your racking.
Continuing to use broken racking can reduce your productivity, yes, but there are even graver dangers too. Should an employee be injured by racking collapsing on them or should they be otherwise injured in any shape or form then you could be liable, as their employer, under the Corporate Manslaughter and Homicide Act (2007).
Logical Storage has a team of experienced specialists who can inspect racking, make recommendations on how to prevent damage as well as performing remedial works such as racking repair to damaged equipment.
So don’t delay, book yourself in for a racking inspection at the beginning of the year and sleep soundly knowing that your warehouse is operating at maximum efficiency and in the safest way possible. Contact us on 0845 689 1300 to find out more or to speak to one of our team.
Racking damage is unfortunately part and parcel of running a warehouse and no matter how carefully you guard against it there is always the chance that something can happen under your nose which greatly reduces the load bearing capacity of your racking and as a result puts your employees in danger.
One of the biggest causes of racking damage is when a forklift truck driver accidentally knocks into racking. While you can guard against this with good training and safety lines, you can never completely remove the danger of human error leading to an accident. It’s important that you follow good practices and if a pallet is identified as being damaged you should quickly remove it from use and have it repaired before being put back into action. Continued use of damaged pallets can cause problems with your beams.
Damage to your racking, no matter how small, can have a huge impact on your systems and reduce the amount of weight that it can hold. This in turn can lead to a disastrous collapse which at the very least puts your stock at risk and at the very worst endangers your employees. If an accident were to happen in your workplace, would you be confident that you had done everything you could to prevent it? Under the Corporate Manslaughter and Homicide Act (2007) you can be found guilty of corporate manslaughter as a result of management failures and breaching your duty of care.
However, just because damage to racking is very likely doesn’t mean that there is nothing that can be done about it. By organising periodic reviews of your racking with a professional company you can quickly identify small signs of wear and tear before they develop into something much worse.
Logical Storage is highly skilled in spotting the often hard-to-find signs of racking degradation. We carry out regular reviews for a number of businesses helping them to keep their systems in good working order and to maintain their legal obligations under the Health & Safety Act. To find out more please call us on 0845 689 1300.
One of the biggest mistakes that any type of employer can make is to underestimate their legal responsibilities, namely their duty of care as described under the Corporate Manslaughter and Homicide Act (2007) and the Provisions of Use of Work Equipment Regulations (1998). Failing to protect your staff and to mitigate any potential risks can prove damaging not only financially but also to a business’s reputation if one of their employees is harmed in an accident.
While racking is a fantastic form of storage and can help businesses to optimise their operations, they are not immune from damage and must be regularly inspected for cracks and structural failure. This is why we regularly undertake racking inspections for businesses who are looking to stay on the right side of their Health & Safety obligations.
One of the most common reasons for racking to become damaged is through a lack of planning. If items are too heavy or stored in a way which does not properly distribute their weight then they can overload the structure which will then begin to break down over time. So it is important to make sure you don’t exceed capacity and overload your racking.
Another reason for damage is when forklift drivers accidentally reverse or accelerate into a racking system and cause damage to its structure at speed. Collisions can be quite common in a warehouse so where possible you should look to implement protection such as column guards and make sure that aisles are wide enough and are clear of any obstructions.
Particularly bad damage to racking can cause a structure to collapse altogether. This can be brought about from broken beams, racking that isn’t properly secured to the floor and generally poor racking systems that are badly designed.
The best way to avoid your racking becoming damaged is to regularly undertake racking inspections which minimise the risk of an accident which can damage stock, injure employees and incur financial loss.
We can provide your business with a detailed and comprehensive report of your racking which highlights any damage, missing components or structural imperfections putting you at risk. We will also prepare a detailed AutoCAD drawing which highlights locations requiring attention. If you would like to find out more please call us on 0845 689 1300.
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.
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.
As with anything in life, things can get old, not operate properly and have just generally seen better days. People get old and can’t do the things they used to, technology gets old and needs replacing and general items might not operate exactly as they should due to the passage of time. With all of these though there are some preventative measures that can be taken to improve and delay the effects of time.
Your racking is no different and general use can lead to it slipping in terms of racking safety. You need to ensure that your warehousing and storage facility is operating efficiently. This involves ensuring all the correct working practices are being enforced and that mechanical equipment, floor marking, signage, lighting and layout are all appropriate to maintain the safety of all your racking.
If something does go wrong with anything in your warehouse then it can have a detrimental effect on your business. An example is if you have one poor component on your racking, it could have a big impact on your operations if left untreated and you don’t ensure its safety it could lead to bigger problems. Preventative Maintenance is the best course of action with regards to making sure your warehouse continues to operate.
A warehouse with rows and rows of pallet racking can become a dangerous area to work if the health and safety guidelines are not followed. Racking safety must be a high priority in any warehouse or storage area as the size and weight of pallets can cause injury if not used correctly. There are several important safety factors that warehouse owners and employees need to consider with pallet racking safety and some of these are listed below:
- Conduct regular pallet rack inspections to make sure there are no loose components and take the time to report any pallet rack frame damage. The damage can be anything that would make the frames fall
- It is the owners legal responsibility to convey and communicate the need to check the storage racks.
- Never climb on the pallet racks during or after they have been assembled as they are not designed to be climbed on.
- Make sure that the correct motorized equipment is always used.
- The aisles in the warehouse must not be obstructed at any time. This is a health and safety requirement as pallets stored at the end of the aisles can cause problems loading and unloading, but also when manoeuvring with machinery. In the event of an emergency exit all aisles need to be clear.
- Never overload or exceed the recommended load specifications of any pallet racking system.
- Make sure that pallet rack inspections, or rack audits, are performed on a regular basis by a qualified professional to make sure that all aspects of the system are operating effectively and safely.
All industrial based warehouse companies have a form of storage which enables employees to pick and pack an order easier, but more importantly to the company, quicker and therefore more efficiently. Imagine a retail outlet has several thousand orders a day and therefore the need for efficient storage is paramount. These orders need to be picked, processed and dispatched in record time. This is why warehouses invest in pallet racking and storage facilities to cope with the rush of orders.
Often in a peak processing time employees might be more concerned with getting orders out rather than concentrating on their safety in the workplace. This is why companies have to ensure the racking safety processes are adhered to with racking inspections. The way the warehouse operates and the volume of processing is taken into account when planning out a warehouse as well as many other factors.
Rack inspections are critical, but also highlight if any racking safety issues need to be amended or if any pallets or racks need any rack repair.
There are so many different types of pallet racks from drive-in racks, which allow a forklift truck to drive directly into the stacked rows through to push-back pallet racks that focus on depth and space is organised by depth rather than width. However, whichever pallet rack system is in use, the basic principle should always apply and racking safety is adhered to and followed.
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