Why Warehouse Racking Companies Should Be SEMA Approved – And What It Means for You
You’ve got an empty warehouse and you need to fill it with pallet racking.
What do you do?
- Jump online and find a warehouse racking company who can demonstrate years of experience within the storage equipment industry?
- Look for a supplier with an impressive website?
- Maybe you’ll go for a recommendation from a friend? You might get a few companies round and see which one ‘feels right’.
While these methods can work well when purchasing most products, you might need to change your approach when buying pallet racking. If your racking purchase doesn’t work for your warehouse it can quickly become an annoying and expensive system that doesn’t maximise your capacity and boost operations. However, there are far worse implications and a poorly designed, supplied and installed racking system could be dangerous.
We take a look at why choosing your racking supplier is a critical decision and how you can verify the warehouse racking companies you work with.
The dangers of choosing the wrong warehouse racking companies
Your pallet racking is performing the incredibly important job of holding up tonnes of stock above your employee’s head. If that heavy load falls unexpectedly due to an incorrect design, overloading or installation, it could seriously injure or kill anyone standing on the warehouse floor.
Serious warehouse racking accidents in the UK are still relatively rare. However, there have, in recent years, been plenty of incidents where forklift trucks and drivers have been trapped, merchandise destroyed, and workflows were brought to a standstill.
These accidents are usually down to one of three reasons:
- The design and manufacture of the structure
- The installation of the racking
- Poor maintenance
While you, as the warehouse owner or manager are largely responsible for maintaining the equipment in your distribution centres, the other elements are down to your supplier. Deciding which supplier to work with suddenly feels like quite an important decision.
The false economy of cost-reducing storage systems
Expense is always a consideration. But in the world of warehouse storage solutions, the phrase “buy cheap, buy twice” often holds true.
When appointing a partner for racking installation, a poor choice can expose you to serious risks – particularly if they don’t provide appropriate guidance on load capacity or fail to specify the right setup for your products. And if your business is growing, ill-suited foresight may result in a racking system that no longer meets your storage needs or can’t scale. This can increase the likelihood of misuse, overloading and potentially structural failure as time goes on.
Partnering with a subpar contractor can also affect day-to-day productivity gains. Inexperienced teams may miss chances to improve storage capacity, space use, layout, or picking flow. This can leave you with wasted space and slower work. Plus, without the right qualifications, racking systems may be poorly fitted, inadequately documented and unsupported down the line. There is also the financial appeal of second-hand pallet racking systems, but it may come at a higher price. If you lack traceable documents, guaranteed load capacities, and quality assurances for second-hand pallet racking systems, you might get storage equipment that does not meet PUWER or HSE rules. You should also be aware that, unlike new racking purchases, there are no requirements for the supplier to meet design standards such as SEMA Design Codes and EN 115512.
Go for second hand and it could result in replacing or reinstalling your racking sooner than planned – doubling your costs, potential downtime and hours lost organising its build.
What to expect from a quality pallet racking supplier
When you search online for pallet racking suppliers you will notice many boast they have accreditations such as ISO, CHAS, and SafeContractor. While these certifications are important when looking for companies that demonstrate health and safety compliance, they are not an indicator on whether their racking solutions will meet industry safety standards.
To check if your racking is meeting the necessary requirements, you need to do some background checks on your supplier.
First, check they are designing your racking to meet the requirements of either SEMA Code or the European Code EN 15512. Within the UK, these codes are used to ensure your racking meets necessary safety requirements and will work as intended for your business. These Codes cover load bearing capacity, material specifications, beam tolerances, and the correct aisle widths between racks and pallets.
However, checking your suppliers’ credentials doesn’t stop with checking their quality in designing your racking. You also need to check the following:
- Do they have the correct insurance documentation in place?
- Are they knowledgeable about the latest industry standards?
- Do they advise on correct loading procedures?
- Have they supplied and fixed to the end of your racking a Load Notice which is specific for your structure?
- What racking installation team are they using and have they been adequately trained? It is your responsibility to check!
- What after sales service is available from your supplier?
- Do they use trained inspectors who can visit your warehouse to perform the Expert Inspection?
What makes SEMA Members different?
Checking the credentials of your racking supplier can be an incredibly time-consuming process. Yet it is incredibly important to ensure your pallet racking works as intended and keeps your employees safe. SEMA created a group of similar pallet racking suppliers and manufacturers to help warehouse owners and managers. They all want to achieve a high standard of safety and quality within the storage equipment industry. That means they are equipped to support you on your project from start to finish.
What really sets our members apart is that fact that they can’t buy their Approved status. Each one has to earn it by demonstrating they meet our high standards.
The Membership Assessment Standard process is rigorous and we look at a wide variety of criteria including:
Does their work meet industry regulations?
Do they work correctly according to SEMA Codes?
Do they design for Uniformly Distributed Loads?
Do they supply correct Load Notices?
What health and safety certifications do they hold?
Do they follow correct health and safety procedures?
Do they have the correct insurance paperwork in place such as employers liability and public liability insurance?
Are they using trained installers?
Are they addressing how to reduce their environmental impact?
Do they have a policy for quality management?
Do they provide training for their team?
This Membership Assessment Standard (MAS) isn’t something we only conduct when a company is looking to join. Every five years each member must repeat the MAS to ensure they are meeting the necessary requirements. If a company doesn’t meet these quality thresholds, they’re asked to leave.
The added value of SEMA Approved Racking Suppliers
When questioning whether to use a SEMA Approved member over another supplier, you can break the advantages down into two key areas.
- Time saved - when you work with a SEMA Member you know we have already checked their credentials. That means you can spend less time chasing key documentation and more time getting on with operations.
- Reduced risk - we’ve already check that each member is working towards the correct industry standards to ensure your structure works safely, as intended and meets your individual needs.
We also deliver an extra level of quality and safety by expecting our SEMA Approved Members to only use SEIRS racking installers and SARI racking inspectors.
- What is SEIRS?
When ordering pallet racking, it’s easy to accept the installers recommended by your supplier are trained for the job. While some suppliers have their own in-house teams, it’s not uncommon for them to subcontract their installation work. This leaves you potentially exposed with no assurances on the quality of their work. While many racking installers do meet a high standard, there are still those who ‘learn on the job’ without being correctly trained or qualified. SEIRS is a rigorous training programme which delivers training on safe and high quality racking installation methods. - What is SARI?
At least once a year you must submit your pallet racking to an Expert Inspection undertaken by a trained professional to ensure you meet HSG76 and PUWER regulations. You can either opt for a ‘damage only’ check which lists damaged items and possible their location. Or have a safety inspection undertaken by a SEMA Approved Racking Inspector (SARI). Their report gives more details. It identifies racking type, equipment compatibility, damage to the structure, and if the floor fixing is suitable. Significantly for warehouse owners, their report adopts a traffic-light system which outlines damage levels and timescales for repair.
How to work with a SEMA Member
SEMA is made up of Approved manufacturing and supplier members who are suppliers of industrial racking, cantilever racking systems, warehouse shelving systems, mezzanine system, racking accessories, safety systems and rack protection. We check the work of our members to ensure they are working to the highest industry requirements. They must meet either SEMA or European FEM standards, safety & reliability requirements and correct insurance in place.
If you want to deliver assurances for your warehouse, why not work with a SEMA Approved Member. Our experienced members do more than supply, install, and inspect. They create bespoke solutions that help with growth planning, space use, stock rotation, avoiding bottlenecks, and keeping your setup ready for audits after assembly.
FAQs about SEMA Approved Members
- What does it mean to be SEMA Approved?
It means the supplier has passed the Membership Assessment Standard, proving they meet strict safety, design and installation requirements. - Why should I choose a SEMA Member over another supplier?
SEMA checks every member for compliance, insurance and training. Our members are incredibly qualified to provide you with bespoke solutions that meet the storage requirements for your warehouse. This reduces your risk and saves you the time of verifying credentials yourself. - Is second-hand racking safe?
We don't recommend warehouse owners install second-hand racking in their website. Our reason for this is down to the lack of traceability on the equipment which increases the element of risk.
What is the difference between SEIRS and SARI?
- SEIRS ensures racking is installed safely by trained professionals.
- SARI provides expert inspections to keep racking safe long-term.
Ready to Choose a Safer Racking Supplier?
If you want to reduce risks, protect your staff and optimise your warehouse space, working with a SEMA Approved Member is the safest choice.
To find out more and view our list of SEMA Members, click here.
