The SSI Schaefer Group is the world’s leading provider of modular warehousing and logistics solutions. SSI Schaefer designs, develops and manufactures systems for warehouses, industrial plants, workshops and offices. Its portfolio includes manual and automated solutions for warehousing, conveying, picking and sorting, plus technologies for waste management and recycling. Solutions from SSI Schaefer improve the productivity and efficiency of customer organizations – not least through the highly precise monitoring, visualization and analysis of operational metrics for proactive intralogistics management.
Managing Director
SSI Schaefer offers highly sophisticated, turnkey systems. As an international player, it can deliver one-stop solutions to all four corners of the earth. Its comprehensive portfolio encompasses design, planning, consulting, and customer-specific aftersales services and maintenance.
Jaap Vos, Managing Director, SSI Schaefer Limited spoke to Warehouse & Logistics News.
First of all, what does your role involve day to day? Are you directly involved in designing racking and shelving solutions for customers? What part do you play in ensuring safety is built into the solutions you provide?
As Managing Director, I am responsible for the UK subsidiary of SSI Schaefer. We are fortunate to have such a broad products and solutions portfolio so I am involved in a variety of day to day challenges supporting our team with driving the business forward to ensure we deliver design, quality and safety excellence through our storage solutions. And of course, as part of my role as SEMA President, I am actively involved in the Racking and Shelving Industry.
Who else in your business is specifically involved with designing racking and shelving solutions for customers and how do they factor in safety?
We have a dedicated team which works closely with all departments within our organisation. We hold regular meetings to discuss new and current safety issues across our portfolio including racking and shelving, and regular internal audits are used to identify any improvement opportunities. We provide all employees with meeting minutes and changes in policy and are trained in relevant aspects of Health and Safety specifically related to their job or in more general terms.
How important a factor is safety for the end user in your solutions?
A key element of my responsibility is to ensure we operate at the highest possible standards of safety. This means providing our customers with safe warehouse environments and ensuring our employees and subcontractors are safe when on site. An objective of ours, which aligns with what we as an industry, are trying to promote through the various SEMA activities.Too many people in this industry are complacent about safety.
What are you doing to clear ‘The Fog’ and make people aware of the need to think about what safety standards they are accepting in their businesses?
We incorporate this at the design stage, operating on two levels: firstly the product itself is designed in all instances to be ‘fit for purpose’ and the process of exhaustive testing is in place – backed up by rigorous quality assurance procedures – in all of our manufacturing plants. Secondly, the design of the system which incorporates the product is paramount. Therefore, a layout design will undergo scrutiny by a qualified structural engineer and environmental and building conditions are also assessed by appropriately qualified personnel, which enables us to determine if a proposed installation can proceed or if the solution needs to be modified in any way beforehand.
What are your core racking and shelving products and services: what are you best known for? How do they help make working in warehouses safer?
For more than 75 years we have actively developed systems which enable us to provide our customers with solutions tailored to the storage of both unique and generic products. Our core products are based on modular pallet racking and shelving storage systems as well as a diverse range of metal & plastic containers designed to suit any application.
Have you launched any new products and services in the past year? What safety innovations do they represent?
Without exception, our continued development across all products and solutions incorporates not only the latest in design innovation, but also the highest levels of safety. For example, the trackless Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV) fleet from SSI Schaefer have sophisticated built-in sensors which detect human presence within their operating areas and will momentarily shut down to avoid potentially fatal collisions.
Which industry sectors are your customers in? Can you name some of your recent major projects and tell us about them?
We operate across a wide variety of industry sectors, ranging from frozen food and pharma distribution to hanging garment retail and the automotive aftermarket. Warehouse systems for Sainsbury’s, Wiggle and University of Cambridge are some examples of major customer projects. These projects all involve the installation of pallet racking and shelving, some of which is serviced by automated pallet cranes. There are also elements of carton live storage, conveyors and controls with integrated peripheral equipment such as printers and label applicators.
Why should customers come to you as the first choice supplier in your specialist area?
We market ourselves as the ‘go to’ brand and, although we enjoy an enviable reputation for quality and innovation, we are also financially independent and committed to long term solutions for our customers. This means they can rely on our full support for their businesses for many years to come.
What is your company’s involvement in the 2019 SEMA Safety Conference – what are you doing on the day?
This year we will be well represented at the conference and as President, I personally will host the event which once again, brings together our members and a host of prominent speakers including industry experts, health and safety officials and key authorities on safety matters.
How does your involvement in SEMA help you as a company? How does it benefit your customers knowing you are SEMA members?
As an active member of SEMA we work with our industry peers to find opportunities to improve all aspects of our industry. This ranges from ensuring products are tested to standards, to safe installation and inspection and repairs. It certainly acts as an accreditation and ensures our customers that we adhere to strict policy on safety and quality which, together, gives them confidence in their decision to choose Schaefer as a supplier.
What specific aspects of storage safety do your products and services comply with?
SSI Schaefer’s products and services adhere to all relevant UK and European safety standards, which can be found at BSI online. We are always up-to-date on changes in health and safety legislation and we have OHSAS 18001 approval with BSI. A non-exhaustive list of standards and regulations our products comply with are: Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, BS EN 15629:2008 – Steel static storage systems, BS EN 15095:2007+A1:2008 – Power-operated mobile racking and shelving, carousels and storage lifts, Safety requirements. BS EN 528:2008 – Rail dependent storage and retrieval equipment, Safety requirements. From a servicing perspective, our company is ‘Safe Contractor’ accredited.
What guidance do you most frequently give your customers on how to assess risks and improve storage safety?
We promote attendance of SEMA-led courses in rack safety awareness and maintenance. Additionally we are able to offer various training courses which incorporate a strong Health and Safety element and are certificated.
Which warehouse safety standards do you comply with?
In addition to the product standards already mentioned, I would refer to Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER), Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) and SEMA codes of practice.
What safety training do you offer your customers? Do you offer on-site training at customers’ premises?
For some customers we offer training either at our offices or on site, particularly if electro-mechanical automation equipment is included as part of the installed solution. Where applicable, we offer working at height, rescue at height training and comprehensive in-house product training to our customers for all products we supply. Training courses incorporate a strong Health and Safety element and are certificated.
Do you publish customer case studies on how your products and services help make warehouses safer generally?
We continue to produce many case studies which underline the benefits of warehousing system efficiency, which in turn, leads to a safer operating environment. A number of these are available via our website.
Do you have any pilot sites where people can see your products in action?
We are fortunate to have numerous customer reference sites throughout the UK and Europe which, together, offer potential customers the opportunity to inspect examples of our solutions. We also have a large demonstration and test facility in Germany and a smaller one in Austria, to which customers are openly and routinely invited.
Are you promoting your safety message at any other trade events coming up?
Our event calendar is now complete for this year however we will be taking our message to a number of key industry exhibitions throughout 2019 which set out to cater for manufacturing and distribution across a wide range of industry sectors.
Where do you see your company going from here in terms of product development and attention to safety concerns?
With increasingly higher safety standards in warehousing operations, more built-in safety features will be coming to the fore, particularly within our automated storage product portfolio. It is not only a matter of safe operating but certainly also design solutions in such a way that they can be safely installed and maintained in the future. This is a continuous development cycle.
SSI Schaefer Ltd
01264 386600
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