Our first question this month asks about Sprinklers and our second about Drilling Racking.

Sprinklers

Q. If we have racking almost going up to roof height (approx. 6m) Are there are regulations that call for sprinklers to be mandatory?

A. Not as far as we are aware, however we are not experts in the storage of plastic packaging!

We would have thought it comes down to the specific risk assessment for your operation together with discussions with your insurers. If there is a possibility of a serious fire the Insurers might make the provision of sprinklers a term of their continuing cover. This might be the case if your premises are close to neighbours who also might be at risk. We have experience some years ago of an insurer demanding sprinklers in a lemonade warehouse due to the inflammable nature of the plastic bottles in store. This was challenged and demonstrated by practical test that the bottles melted in fire and the released lemonade created in effect a self-extinguishing store!

Not entirely convinced that the practical test was not almost as expensive as installing sprinklers in the first place and then demanding a premium reduction from the insurers due to the reduced risk!

The other thing to consider is the effect on the business of even a small fire. These days there is a reluctance for fire crews to fight a fire involving toxic chemicals in a confined space unless lives are at risk, an issue that has been illustrated in the press with a large fire in an automated warehouse. If backup storage is not available elsewhere it could put a company out of business.

Drilling Racking

Q. Is it acceptable at all to drill new holes into racking to attach signage?

A. Not going to be much help to you here as ‘it all depends’! Really the only person who can give you a categoric answer on this one is the engineer who designed the rack.

Generally however if it is a small hole (say 2 or 3 mm diameter) that has been drilled into a section and that hole has then been filled with an equivalent piece of steel say from a self-tapping fixing then the effect is so small that no one takes too much notice of the issue. If it is a large hole or there are many small ones it becomes more significant and people do become concerned.

It is often possible to fix signs to racking using the existing holes in the upright with cable ties and double sided ‘sticky tape’ on the bracings such that new holes are unnecessary. Similarly, extra horizontal frame bracings can be fitted to the frame at appropriate positions to suite individual signage or to allow a sheet of hardboard or plywood to be fixed which will allow various signages to be fixed to this as required.

SEMA Annual Safety Conference 2019 – a date for your diary The 2019 SEMA Safety Conference has been scheduled for Thursday, 31 October; the venue will be the National Motorcycle Museum, Solihull.

For full details and a booking form contact SEMA at enquiry@sema.org.uk SEMA Technical Enquiries We hope you find the above articles, and those in previous editions, interesting. 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

SEMA runs a one-day safety course on Rack Safety Awareness and Inspection. These courses are aimed at end users, giving an indepth look at the need for inspections, how to conduct an assessment and what actions to take when this is completed. These courses are normally held at the SEMA headquarters but arrangements can be made to hold them at the delegates’ premises.

SEMA Approved Rack Inspectors Qualification

This 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, demonstrating to end users that SEMA Approved Inspectors maintain a high professional standard.

SEMA Publications

SEMA has 26 publications in stock – Codes of Practice, ‘Guides’ and European documents – all of which are available from our Offices. For further information on these documents contact SEMA or visit our website, www.sema.org.uk. and click on ‘Codes of Practice’.

SEMA USERS Club

SEMA runs a USERS Club designed to be of benefit to purchasers and users of storage equipment. Members receive newsletters, access to specialised events and discounted rates on publications and codes of practice.

SEMA

www.sema.org.uk

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