SEMA Safety Conference 2015 Review: Protecting your assets

By SEMA President, Matt Grierson

As SEMA members, we can only do our best to put zero harm at the heart of the storage industry. But thankfully, legislation is gradually placing the ultimate responsibility for safety firmly at the feet of the building owner and/or user.

Take the new 2015 CDM regulations. In April 2015, CDM fundamentally changed the requirements for managing health and safety on construction projects.

Clients are now regarded as the head of the procurement chain and the major influence on project standards and culture. What’s more, a project is deemed to be more than a construction site.

SEMA’s own conference presentations focused on the safe use of cantilever racking and the SEMA Rack Protection Code.

SEMA’s Mike Pace outlined three distinct types of cantilever racking which are; all-welded, adjustable and clamped arm). His top tips include:

while it is possible to provide a suitable paint system for external use, generally speaking, galvanised systems are optimum for external use as painted systems corrode; the higher up the rack, the greater the clearance needed; horizontally, the longer the bundle the greater the clearance between bundle and; don’t forget that sloping floors need increased clearances too. Most importantly, under no circumstances should unauthorised alterations be carried out on cantilever racking!

He said that all FLTs are not the same! Vehicles must be appropriate for the racking configuration and correctly maintained. The racking’s layout must facilitate manoeuvring space and zone definition between pedestrians and trucks. And in use, staff must be suitably trained and aware of procedures and risk assessments.

An official SEMA Load Notice shows the main points. It conveys key pieces of specific information and delivers reminders of the most important safety messages. The SEMA Load Notice cannot offer every last piece of safety information but carries general and specific information on safety and installation plus administrative details.

In 2015, the association published the SEMA Rack Protection Code which provides clear protection information for low level upright and frame protection including design and testing requirements and outlines suppliers’, installers’ and users’ responsibilities.

SEMA’s code uses the minimum value of 400Nm for corner protection from 75mm to top of guard with a minimum height of 300mm. If a higher value is required this can be specified. There is no requirement for a minimum gap between the protector and the floor fixed upright with the actual value being determined from the testing.

However, it is noted that testing will probably result in a typical gap of between 25mm and 75 mm. Additional corner protections is not necessary if frame protection is provided.

When products are tested, SEMA states that all connections and components shall model the most onerous intended use of the protection system. If the lightest duty upright, base plate and floor fixing is used, this may be considered acceptable for the upright range. A test has failed when there is any visible or measurable damage to the component being protected. The equipment shall be capable of measuring the variance of the bow of an upright over a metre to an accuracy of +/-0.25mm.

Need help to deliver a zeroaccident place to work? SEMA’s five groups work together as an organisation committed to promoting and extending the safe design, installation and use of storage equipment manufactured and supplied by our members. A cantilever module has now been developed and is currently being delivered to SEMA Approved Rack Inspectors (SARIs).

Tel: 0121 6016359

Email: enquiry@sema.org.uk