Our first question this month is raising a concern on Back Boards weakening the beams on pallet racking and our second is asking do they need extra checks for outdoor racking.
Beam and Boards
Q. I have just been made aware of some work that a maintenance engineer has undertaken and it is causing me some concern. They have installed a rear board on the racking to stop pallets being pushed through but in doing so have drilled through the beams. My concern is, has he weakened the beams in drilling through them, is it safe to have this type of back stop in the racking?
A. There will have been some weakening in the web however as it is towards the middle of the beam which is the least stressed area where compression forces in the top of the beam turn to tension forces at the bottom and the hole has also been filled with a tightened bolt the effect is likely to be small. If ever doing this again it would be sensible to try to keep the bolt size as small as possible. What concerns us rather more is that that this back board has been inserted apparently without consideration as to where horizontal forces caused by pallet impacts will end up. It seems that they will be transferred in some cases through the beams and on to the uprights, and in other cases direct to the rack upright which has to transfer this force to the ground through the frame bracing. In transferring this force to the diagonal bracings there will be a vertical component of that force that will need to be added to the existing product load on the rack and could result in a frame overload. This needs to be checked either by the original supplier of the rack who will have access to the original calculations to assist checking, or by a consultant who can in effect reverse engineer the system and confirm that upright overloading is not an issue.
Part of this problem might be that oversized pallets look as if they are being stored on the rack making rear impact between back to back pallets more likely.
Building Racking Outdoors
Q. I wish to install some static pallet racking outside. We already have indoor racking which complies with the SEMA code of practice and is inspected accordingly. Are there any extra checks we need to carry out on racking which is outside and how do we comply with regards to rusting of the uprights/beams?
A. The supplier should design the racking to ensure that it is acceptable for the additional wind loading and the racking should be installed by trained installers who are members of SEIRS (Storage Equipment Installers Registration Scheme). The design often requires the use of different floor fixings to the standard fixings used on internal racking.
The normal painted finish provides little corrosion protection for external racking which therefore rusts in quite a short period of time. The beams are not painted internally and can rust from the inside out. A competent ‘third party’ rack inspector, preferably a SARI (SEMA Approved Rack Inspector), will be able to give an opinion as to whether the racking will last for another year or whether it needs to be replaced. Racking with a galvanised finish is normal for external applications and new rack purchased for an external environment should be designed to suit this environment with a galvanised finish.
The 2018 SEMA Safety
Conference has been scheduled for Thursday, 1 November; the venue will be the National Motorcycle Museum, Solihull.
SEMA runs a one-day safety course on Rack Safety Awareness and Inspection. These 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 is aimed at professionals who conduct rack surveys as an integral and significant part of their duties. It involves delegates in undertaking an in-depth SEMA Course, together with an examination and practical assessment. CPD will be an important part of the qualification.
SEMA has 26 publications in stock – Codes of Practice, ‘Guides’ and European documents – all of which are available from our Offices.
SEMA runs a USERS Club designed to be of benefit to purchasers and users of storage equipment.
SEMA
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