The Importance of Pallet Racking Inspections

Safety in the workplace is paramount. Employers, regardless of the industry they’re in, are obliged, by law, to keep their workers safe and the same goes for the warehousing and distribution industry. Part of keeping employees safe in the warehouse includes ensuring walkways and doorways are free and that the right forklift training has been given.

However, one of the most important parts of warehouse safety includes the stability of the warehouse racking and shelving and this will include regular inspections, much like how your material handling equipment would be inspected. But what can make your pallet racking unsafe, why is it important and how can you implement pallet racking inspections in your warehouse?

What can make pallet racking unsafe?

Pallet inspections should be carried out once a year as an absolute minimum and this needs to be done in order to safeguard your warehouse, your stock and, most importantly, your employees. But there are some reasons as to why your pallet racking might be unsafe for use. For example, your racking could receive several knocks, bumps and abrasions on a daily basis which, in turn, weakens the racking and its stability.

Other things that could pose a risk to the stability of your pallet racking includes: not using the racking in the correct way, overuse and faulty parts and components, although the latter is extremely rare. So what else can make your pallet racking unsafe to use or be around?

• Visibility being restricted from the ground – racking is an extremely tall structure. This is to ensure the space, from floor to ceiling, is being fully-utilised, but this can make it difficult to see from ground level. Implement reach trucks, order pickers and even scissor lifts to make sure your employees are safe when looking at the pallets on the racking
• Incorrectly loaded pallets – the pallets themselves need to be loaded up properly. They should also be wrapped to ensure nothing falls off. If the pallet itself is packed well, then it makes it easier to put on and take off the racking
• Inaccurate placement of pallets – pallets being loaded onto or offloaded from racking needs to be done as safely as possible by trained and competent individuals. If they cannot do this then it could lead to pallets being loaded or unloaded incorrectly which poses a risk to the racking
• Inadequate operator training – employees need to be adequately trained to operate a forklift truck. This ensures safe navigation around even the narrowest of aisles as well as ensuring smooth loading and unloading of pallets off or onto racking
• Poor housekeeping – this includes boxes, stock, equipment trolleys or pallets being left on access aisles. This is because they obstruct and hinder operations which could cause accidents by way of collisions with pallet racking

Why is it important to carry out pallet racking inspections?

Warehouse racking inspections are important as it ensures the safety of your workers and protects your stock from breaks and damage. In turn, this prevents accidents and injury and, as a result, ensures your financial stability as you won’t have to pay out compensation or replace ruined inventory. As well as keeping employees and products safe, racking inspections are important for the following reasons:

It ensures Health & Safety Legislation is upheld

• The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 is required to be upheld by law
  The Management of Health and Safety at Work Act 1999 also needs to be adhered to as measures and responsibilities need to be complete understood by the entire workforce
• The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations Act 1998 is also important as it ensures workers are only using safe equipment at all times
• Pallet racking inspections are important as it enables full compliance with the aforementioned which, as already said, is required by law
• Failure to comply could lead to the closing down of your warehouse, hefty fines or even prison sentences in the most extreme of cases

It complies with moral issues

• Any warehouse owner will feel the moral obligation to keep their workers safe
• This prevents any harm coming to any of your employees, whether it be a minor injury, a more serious accident or even death
• Pallet racking inspections are important as it prevents any collapse or falling of the racking itself as well as ensuring pallets and loads are stacked on the racking correctly

It avoids financial problems should an accident or injury occur

• If you have not ensured that your racking is safe to use through regular inspections and something falls off and injures your employee(s), then you could face a lawsuit
• Such a thing could cost thousands of pounds as it could end up going to court
• Avoid incurring lawyer or solicitor costs and paying out compensation by complying with all of the Health and Safety Legislation and carrying out pallet racking inspections on a regular basis

How to introduce pallet racking inspections in your warehouse

The first thing you will need to do is choose a member of your team to undertake the responsibility of pallet racking inspections. However, the person you appoint then needs to go on a rack safety awareness course in order for them to be a competent inspector of pallet racking.

Usually, a warehouse owner or manager will choose someone whose main duties already involve similar responsibilities. The positions that will usually be offered the opportunity of becoming a pallet racking inspector include:

• Warehouse operatives
• Warehouse supervisors
• Warehouse managers

Usually, a risk awareness course with regards to pallet racking will take around half a day, with an average of about six trainees in one session. Trainees and qualified pallet racking inspectors will typically need a specific set of tools and equipment, including:

• A spirit level and/or a straight edge of 1 metre
• 500mm straight edge
• Steel rule
• Tape measure
• String line
• Tapered wedge

A trainee will quickly learn how to identify and locate any damages as well as measure the extent of it. They will then be trained on how to categorise those damages into different levels of severity. Green is for surveillance only, amber is for action as soon as possible and red signifies that action needs to be taken immediately.

Once the training is complete, they will be given a certification to prove that they have completed the necessary training and that their competence and knowledge in that particular field is second-to-none. This then allows them to take on the role as pallet racking inspector.