If you are involved in the safety of your warehouse, you are required under Health & Safety legislation to have any storage equipment checked for defects on a regular basis.
Racking should be formally assessed on an annual or bi annual basis by a competent person. Factors to be considered on this assessment include the systems overall safety and suitability for the environment in which it is installed, and the products stored, as well as highlighting damage in need of repair.
An annual inspection generally costs between £200 & £1,200 dependant on the overall size or complexity of the system which, in comparison to the costs of a health and safety incident, can be insignificant. Incidents can lose businesses time, profitability and reputation, all of which can add up to a significant amount. Our SARI (Sema Approved Racking Inspector) qualified surveyor can help you prevent this by carrying out a free rack inspection. Get in touch today for details.
Racking Surveys – The Legislation
PUWER (The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations) 1998, is a vital piece of legislation as far as racking users are concerned.
The aim is to prevent or control risks to people’s health and safety arising from work equipment. Work Equipment is any equipment provided for the use at work including:- hammers, ladders, drills, power presses, circular saws, photocopiers, lifting equipment, motor vehicles and pallet racking.
In fact PUWER covers anything used in the workplace.
Regulation 5 – in the context of racking.
Initial integrity: New racks should be fit for purpose and therefore considered to have initial integrity; they do not need a third party assessment.
The purpose for its use: The ‘ORIGINAL’ design is reflected in the data shown on the load board.
Regulation 7: Regularly assess specific risks and ensure that equipment is suitable for use and that operators (users) are trained for their use.
How to Prevent/Control Risks
You must ensure that your equipment is:-
• Suitable for its intended use and the conditions it is to be used in.
• Regularly inspected by a competent person to ensure that the equipment continues to be safe for use.
• Maintained in a safe state of repair to ensure that people’s health and safety is not exposed to risk.
• As a general rule, rack surveys should take place twice a year, the gap between surveys should not exceed 12 months. These surveys should be undertaken by and competent person and records must be kept.
