The potential for critical racking damage can never be over stressed, for in some companies it can mean business extinction when collapses occur. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that there are strict laws and guidance rules governing their installation, maintenance and alterations yet damage and collapses occur too often for comfort and the causes are not just racking centric. They also involve truck driving practices and pressures to meet delivery schedules. Racking damage risks can also vary according to the type of racking chosen. Drive-in racking, for example, is notoriously accident prone, relatively speaking. So what are the basics to keep the racking as safe as possible?
All racking in the UK must comply with the SEMA standards, though companies might do better to adopt racking that meets the European norm. During installation of new racking warehouse operators should make sure that whether or not the task has been sub-contracted by the racking manufacturer that the installer is SEIRS accredited. It has been known for subcontracted installations to collapse during erection, causing serious injury and attracting heavy fines.
There is an extra hazard with second-hand racking even though such purchases can be attractive to save costs in a difficult business climate. The problem is that unless buyers are fully aware of how and where it was used previously they can never be truly confident of its condition. It is easy to conceal previous damage by new paint, and internal defects caused by the previous environment could remain undiscovered until it is too late. That said, however, it would be going too far to call for avoidance of second hand racking as some in the industry have done.
One of the most common causes of rack damage is collision with forklifts, so investment in rack and load protection should be considered. Floor-fixed posts and barriers around uprights and racking nets placed at the rear of stored pallets can prevent damage and falling products, or even a one-tonne pallet load, from displaced pallets within the racking. But there are other aids to safe racking usage which would not be normally considered as a racking safety device. These include the most appropriate type and level of lighting because a 60-year old forklift driver needs six times as much light as a 20-year old to discern objects clearly. Truck-based cameras and other presence or level detectors can also be useful, especially when loading/unloading at very high levels.
There is a temptation to alter racking without consulting the manufacturer or at the least an adequately trained installer. It may be simple to raise a beam level but it could reduce the racking’s load capacity by up to 80%. No such alterations should be made without proper consultation. It could be argued that the legal requirement for annual racking inspections is inadequate. Weekly or even daily inspections by staff would be more responsible. They do not take long and require only a basic understanding of racking safety. This would supplement the HSE’s guidance on rack safety, which calls for immediate reporting of damage and defects, visual inspections, and expert inspection to be carried out at intervals by competent persons.
Finally, warehouse operators should look at good housekeeping issues and how they can keep racking safe. Slippery floors, for example, can cause forklifts to skid into racking and bring down an entire block like a collapsing house of cards. Sometimes floor problems and how they relate to racking can occur very slowly and almost imperceptibly, like when a floor dishes owing to poor subsoil conditions beneath the warehouse slab. This is particularly concerning for VNA operations as leaning racking can collide with truck masts. Fortunately, remedial methods like those that use foam injection techniques are now available at much lower costs than pile driving.
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