Health & Safety

Racking with a galvanised finish is normal for external applications and will last much longer outside. Any new racks you purchase should be designed to suit this environment with a galvanised finish.

The inspection checks for external racking are similar to internal racking; however, the design and the protection coating can be significantly different.

Stakapal design the racking to ensure that it is acceptable for the additional wind loading and the racking is installed by trained installers who are members of SEIRS (Storage Equipment Installers Registration Scheme). The design often requires the use of different floor fixings and possibly also base plates (for Pallet Racking) compared to the standard fixings used on internal racking.

The normal painted finish provides very little corrosion protection for external racking which therefore rusts in quite a short period of time. Some companies produce beams or arms that are not painted internally and can rust from the inside out.         

A competent ‘third party’ rack inspector, preferably a SARI (SEMA Approved Rack Inspector), should be able to give an opinion as to whether the racking will last for another year or whether it needs to be replaced.

Our Dedicated Technical Engineers will visit your site providing a free site racking survey service guiding you through the complete process from concept to completion. 

Racking should only be installed by competent people in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. A programme of installation training is run under SEMA’s (Storage Equipment Manufacturers Association) Storage Equipment Installers Registration Scheme (SEIRS).

Whether you require a third-party sign-off depends on the hand-over certification and the competence of the installer of the racking. If it is installed by a company who are competent to install the racking and they provide suitable documentation that confirms that the racking has been installed with SEMA and the racking manufacturers requirements, then an additional official check may not be required.

Please note there are 3 types of inspection:

• Immediate Inspections

Immediate reporting of all damage and areas of concern to a ‘Person Responsible for Racking Safety’ (PRRS). This should follow a documented procedure with records kept of the action taken as a result of such reports. All warehouse/yard staff should be encouraged to report damage immediately.

• Regular Inspections

The PRRS should ensure that documented inspections are made at weekly intervals based on a risk assessment of the operating conditions of the warehouse or yard area. The inspection should be carried out by a suitably trained individual. The SEMA one day rack safety awareness training course is considered appropriate training for the regular Inspection.

• Expert (Annual) Inspection

Undertaken by a SEMA approved racking inspector (SARI)

Firstly there is not as far as SEMA are aware any ‘law’ that states you should not drive underneath loads in Drive-In racking though it is not a good idea and is potentially dangerous!

All the SEMA guidance ‘recommends’ operating procedures that should not make this necessary. In placing pallets, it is normal to place the first pallet in a lane on the floor at the back, second one goes on runners immediately above the first one and so on until the height of the system is filled. The next pallet is located in front of the first pallet and then filled with others in top of it and so on down the lane.

In taking pallets out of the system remove the top pallet in a vertical stack first followed by the next one from the top and so on. If this is followed it should never be necessary to drive under a pallet which we like you would consider to be potentially dangerous.