We start off this month with a question on the replacement of a damaged upright and if this is something that any general maintenance man could attempt. Our final question looks at using racking imported from a supplier and how that fits in with UK regulations.

Sema-logoCould anyone replace a damaged upright

Q. We have a damaged upright that needs replacing in the middle of some high bay racking. We have a spare and our Managing Director feels that our in house/handyman should be able to replace it. From a health & safety point of view I have a few reservations:-

1. Is this legal?

2. What is considered Best practice?

3. What qualifications should an outside contractor have to undertake this type of work?

A Yes you are correct in having reservations about the maintenance work being undertaken by an in-house maintenance / handyman who may not have the specific experience to undertake the work correctly or safely.

Racking supports heavy loads and any incorrect maintenance can result in a potentially dangerous situation. Racking should only be maintained by competent people and in strict accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations.

There are a variety of good training courses available including:

Racking installation training, run by SEMA under SEIRS (Storage Equipment Installers Registration Scheme).

SEIRS safety training courses are Storage Industry specific installation training courses. They have been designed by professionals in the industry and are based upon SEMA’s Installation Guidelines and associated Codes of Practice. (See SEMA website).

SEMA Managing Rack Maintenance Course

Although not considered as a qualification to undertake rack maintenance, this one day course shows delegates how to maintain racking structures inclusive of the correct maintenance procedures and an illustration of what team skill sets are required. (See SEMA website http://www.sema.org.uk).

Reputable external contractors would normally have staff trained under the SEIRS system and it could be well worth while confirming this when selecting a contractor for this type of work. Often external contractors will be much quicker than internal staff in carrying out damage replacement particularly with the more complex work such as the high bay uprights you mentioned due to their familiarity with dealing with similar problems.

Specific site courses to train in-house personnel to undertake maintenance of the racking structure are available fromsome companies who will run specific courses on site to train in-house personnel to undertake maintenance of your particular racking structure

Racking from overseas

Q. We produce glass containers and have plants in Austria, the Czech Rep., Poland, and the UK.

We have a supplier of racks from Poland which produce them in accordance to following EU norms which are also valid for UK:

For rack construction:

EN 15620:2010, EN 15629:2010, EN 15635:2010, EN 15512:2010

For materials:

EN 10149-2:2000, EN 10327:2006, EN 10025

Is it possible to install those racking systems in our plant in UK? And if so what conditions must be fulfilled?

A. The short answer to your query is yes, as long as it is standard adjustable pallet racking and does not carry any floors that people can work on as this would come under building law in the UK. you can buy your rack from wherever you like and as long as you provide English language load safety notices on the ends of runs so that operatives can identify how to use the rack safely then you have done what is legally required.

You may however have a longer supply chain and in the event that you need replacement components to repair damage that may occur in the future this could take substantially longer to obtain.

In the event of a serious incident it is easier to involve a supplier who has assets in the UK and more importantly a reputation in the UK that they wish to uphold. It is worth remembering that all SEMA members in the UK are obliged to have their design processes independently assessed as part of their obligations under SEMA membership and this carries with it a higher level of reliability that may not always be present with suppliers from other countries.

SEMA is delighted to be working with WLN on the storage Question and Answer Column which is published in WLN on a monthly basis. On the WLN website is a list of previously published columns which we hope you find useful.

Please note that SEMA Users Club members also have access to a comprehensive range of additional storage related questions and answers.

SEMA Technical Enquiries

If you have a query send it to us by fax or email and we will do our best to have it answered by one of our technical experts.

SEMA Rack Safety Awareness and Inspection Courses

These courses are aimed at end users, giving an in-depth look at the need for inspections, how to conduct an assessment and what actions to take when this is completed.

SEMA Approved Rack Inspectors Qualification

Aimed at professionals who conduct rack surveys as an integral and significant part of their duties.

SEMA Publications

SEMA has 26 publications in stock – Codes of Practice, ‘Guides’ and European documents.

SEMA USERS Club

SEMA runs a USERS Club designed to be of benefit to purchasers and users of storage equipment.

www.sema.org.uk

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