Welcome to SEMA

SEMA Services & Suppliers

Warehouse owners often assume that the importance of racking safety only applies at the point of purchase – a job left to your supplier. However, in our experience, adopting key safety factors at all stages over the lifespan of your racking will make a big difference to workplace safety.

This commitment to safety begins early, with the design, supply, and installation of your equipment through to working safely and inspecting the racking. Fortunately, the work of SEMA and our technical committee provides guidance and information that can help you navigate best practices for your storage equipment.

Yet, in a market flooded with racking companies, identifying trusted providers can be challenging. Membership with SEMA isn’t bought—it’s earned as a mark of excellence. To join, our Members undergo independent audits that check their work meets the highest industry standards. The assessment checks that each supplier meets the required standards and has the correct legal and insurance documentation in place. As a result, members are storage equipment experts who support the work of SEMA to ensure you meet your Health and Safety requirements.

Storage Equipment Installation

In an industry where most racking installers ‘learn on the job’, it can be difficult to establish the skill level of your installer. Nevertheless, Health & Safety requirements expect you, as the client and owner of the racking, to check your installer’s competence.

To address this, we run the SEIRS training programme. The course aims to raise standards within the industry by training installers on correct installation methods to SEMA standards and Codes of Practice. Installers are only awarded their card once they have passed a rigorous assessment process, providing a clear benchmark that any SEIRS-qualified installer meets the highest industry standards. Therefore, before you let anybody install your racking, ask to see their SEIRS card.

SEMA Training

A well-designed racking system built and installed to SEMA Codes of Practice, used safely by the workforce, and maintained correctly has been proven to deliver a robust return on investment over many years. However, to meet your Health & Safety requirements, it's important to ensure your racking delivers on its true potential over the lifetime of your equipment.

At SEMA, we believe that training is central to best practices and upholding your commitment to safety. This is why we are recognised as a governing training body of the UK storage industry.

The training starts at the start of your racking journey through our SEIRS course, designed for installers of racking equipment. Those who attend the SEIRS course are instructed and assessed to ensure they meet SEMA Guidelines and Codes of Practice.

Once it's finally up, through our Rack Safety Awareness course, we can train your employees on how to work safely in areas with racking and prepare a member of your team to conduct the weekly inspection.

Finally, we run our SEMA Approved Racking Inspector training courses for professionals who conduct third-party racking inspections and want to uphold a high-quality standard in their work. All courses are run at our dedicated training centre.

Storage Equipment Inspection

An important part of any warehouse is your racking structure. While it may appear solid, any small knocks or bumps on the warehouse floor can significantly reduce the integrity of your racking and its load-carrying capacity. Left unchecked, even small damage can quickly become a severe problem and put your employees at risk of injury.

This is where conducting regular inspections plays its part. To make sure your equipment remains structurally sound, the HSE and SEMA recommend adopting a 360o approach.

First, it begins with employee training. Through our Rack Safety Awareness course, they'll know how to work safely in areas with racking and can identify any damage. Moreover, the course can also prepare a member of your team for performing the more in-depth weekly inspection. We run two courses that cover either pallet racking or cantilever racking.

To complete the inspection circle, you need a qualified racking inspector to conduct the rigorous Expert inspection. To support this, SEMA operates a nationwide network of SEMA Approved Racking Inspectors (SARI), the industry benchmark for expert inspections and trusted by warehouse owners across the UK.

SEMA Guidance & Support

Navigating the storage equipment industry to find the correct information for your racking or shelving can be confusing. For this reason, SEMA created a library of Safety Guidance documents, Codes of Practice, and Technical Bulletins.

Although, these resources are not only for engineers, but also provide practical advice and outline the responsibilities of designers, suppliers, and end-users. The information we provide will guide warehouse owners through each stage in the lifetime of your racking, from the design, supply, installation, and maintenance to ensure you tick the boxes when meeting HSE Health and Safety requirements.

SEMA members can also actively work to help you mitigate risk and they are regularly updated on technical developments within the industry. Each member contributes to a central repository of intelligence leading to continual improvement which is shared appropriately among the membership.