How SEMA Keeps Your Warehouse Safe
How SEMA Keeps Your Warehouse Safe
Have you ever heard of SEMA? There is a chance you might not know our name, but it’s almost certain that our work has influenced the safety of your warehouse. Whether it’s technical guidance that keeps your racking safe, working with one of our industry-leading members, or benefiting from a training initiative, we are involved at every stage of your racking’s lifetime.Read on, and we’ll explain how our work interlinks to improve safety and quality within the storage equipment industry.What happens when racking fails - the cost of non-compliance
It may be easy to view the racking in your warehouse as a simple tool on which you store your stock. But, in reality, your racking is playing an incredibly important role.Get the right system in place and your racking has the ability to maximise storage capacity, increase productivity, enhance inventory organisation and improve the flow of goods. Get it wrong and it puts your warehouse at risk.Poorly designed, overloaded or damaged racking can lead to structural instability and greatly increase the risk of a racking collapse. As a result, you face operational downtime, damaged stock, a section of your warehouse out of action reducing order output and risking the lives of your employees. What happens next is an investigation by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), your company featured negatively in newspaper articles, a hefty fine and, in the worst case scenario, even prison.None of these scenarios are ideal which is why you need to take the safety of your racking seriously.
Who is SEMA and why have you already benefited from our work
This is where SEMA comes in.The association was formed over 55 years ago by a group of storage manufacturers with the collective aim of sharing best practice and improving standards within the industry. Over the years, our work has included everything from guidance documents, verifying racking suppliers and industry-leading initiatives.Everything has one aim - to make lives easier for warehouse owners and managers.Here's a breakdown of our work:
Design codes = safe and efficient racking systems
When you design pallet racking and shelving for a warehouse, it needs to meet certain criteria. Stock must move seamlessly through the space, goods should be simple to locate and pack before everything effortlessly heads to the despatch bay.But the design of your racking also plays a crucial role in enhancing the safety of your warehouse by ensuring it:- Provides adequate clearances for forklifts and automation moving around the warehouse
- Provides clear zones which separate employees and forklifts
- Has correct loading capacity for your stock
- Meets fire safety regulations
- Works for the type and flow of your stock
How to choose a racking supplier?
When selecting a supplier for your new racking system, you shouldn’t only base your decision on whether they have the right products for your warehouse. You also need to check they are meeting essential industry standards.Ask the following questions:- Do they have the correct insurance documentation in place?
- Does their work meet industry standards?
- Do they have a quality management policy in place?
- Do they advise on loading procedures?
- Are their team trained in racking standards and installations?
- What environmental policies do they have in place and how do they manage waste?
Why correct racking installation is just as important as the design?
Ticking all the racking boxes in terms of a high quality and structurally safe design only succeeds if standards continue through to the installation of your equipment. The problem is, there is no mandatory qualification for racking installers in the UK. Anyone can turn up and start work on an installation project without any formal training. In reality, a lot of them still ‘learn on the job’.This puts you at risk of not knowing if they understand how to work accurately according to the manufacturer’s specification. You can’t even relax by trusting the team of installers provided by your racking supplier. While a lot of companies do have trained in-house teams, there are still a lot who subcontract the work leaving you exposed.To address this gap, SEMA set up the SEIRS training programme. This scheme provides a structured training format which covers key essentials such as installation methods, adhering to the guidance found in SEMA standards, Codes of Practice and Guide to Erection Tolerances. The scheme has been recognised for the benefits it brings to the industry and is referenced in the HSE’s HSG76 Warehouse & Storage: A Guide To Health and Safety. It is the only route for installers to obtain a CSCS card when installing racking on a construction site.Click here to find more information on our SEIRS training.Warehouse safety signage – Load Notices
Once in place, you racking must continue to operate as originally designed. One key step to achieving this is by avoiding overloading of the structure.When a SEMA Approved Member designs your racking, they calculate the loading configuration and maximum weight for the equipment. If the structure is repeatedly overloaded, it will weaken the structure leading to it failing with potentially tonnes of stock to collapsing to the floor where your employees are working.But here’s the challenge – how do you employees know the capacity of the racking and how to avoid incorrect loading? This is where a Load Notice comes in. This key safety sign, which should be clearly fixed to the racking, provides clear information on how to load the structure.To ensure consistency and compliance across the industry, we created our Code of Practice for SEMA Load Notices. This guidance provides instructions on the layout and information that should appear on SEMA Load Notice. Designed in line with the Health & Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations, our Load Notice includes safety messages, racking supplier contact details, beam load capacity and advice on avoiding uneven weight distribution.Click here to find a detailed explanation on SEMA Load Notices and what you should expect to find on the sign.Looking after your racking
Another step in keeping your racking working as intended is to recognise and report damage when it is found on your storage equipment. It’s for this reason that HSG76 and SEMA recommend implementing a continuous inspection process.The process starts by ensuring that anyone working in areas with racking has the skills and knowledge to recognise and then report if they find damage. The next step is to train a member of your team in how to conduct Visual Inspections by checking for structural damage, signs of wear and tear and whether correct loading is followed. They are also responsible for writing up a formal report on their findings which is crucial documentation the HSE will check if they inspect your warehouse.You also need to appoint a member of your team, typically a warehouse, facilities or health and safety manager, into the role of Person Responsible for Racking Safety (PRRS).
A PRRS will ensure you meet your legal requirements by taking responsibility for maintaining rack safety inspections, maintenance records, analysing damage data, identifying where regular incidents happen and then propose and implement required actions. Importantly, they will have the authority to ensure repairs are actioned.To help get your team ready for these roles and improve the safety of your warehouse we developed two training courses – Rack Safety Awareness (RSA) and Cantilever Rack Safety Awareness (CRSA) training. These one-day courses instruct on understanding weight limits and correct loading practices, racking legislation, categorising damage and the responsibilities of users.Looking to book one of our courses? We have our available training dates on our website.
