Warehouses provide critical backbones to supply chains up and down the country. However, they can also be hazardous places to work in from day to day. A warehouse racking inspection will ensure that you are using the safest and most appropriate shelving and implements for your storage and work, while adhering to warehouse racking safety standards set by the government.
At Prodek, we specialise in the sale and provision of warehouse racking and rack safety inspections. Let’s take a look at why the safety of your racking is so essential.
Workplace Safety Protocols
Government-issued warehouse and workplace safety guidelines do not exist to make life difficult. They are stringently drawn up, over decades of experience, to ensure that warehouse operatives are working as safely as possible in all that they do.
Important guidelines that your warehouse must follow include the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, or PUWER. The PUWER act exists to ensure that you are not only using racking as your profession intends but that you are doing so with the right training and understanding of potential risk.
Acts such as PUWER, and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, recognise that the work warehouse operators undertake is highly sensitive. Racking must not only be used for its intended purpose but must also be fit for use. It must be of sound condition and must arrive with other health and safety measures to protect workers at all times.
At Prodek, we want to assure all our clients that a warehouse racking inspection is not a box-ticking exercise. It ensures that your employees and co-workers are safe at all times and that they do not wilfully endanger others while using racking.
What Does a Rack Safety Inspection Entail?
Whether you book a pallet racking inspection or an inspection on your cantilever racks, it is essential to know what to expect.
In line with PUWER and H&SWA requirements, we undertake close inspections of your warehouse racking to ensure that it is in good, working condition. Racking systems which are damaged or deteriorating may be at risk of causing severe injury in the workplace. It is not beyond the realms of possibility that fatalities may occur if racking is either misused or of a neglected standard.
We recommend booking a warehouse racking inspection as soon as required, though you should not leave a period of more than 12 months between each assessment.
Prodek dispatches trained and accredited inspectors to check your racking solutions. We will consider signs of wear and tear, load bearing problems, signs of improper use, and will make recommendations.
What Might Happen After a Rack Safety Inspection?
We will assess the outcome of your inspection and offer advice that you must put into effect immediately. On a three-point scale of risk, in the worst case scenario, the inspector will insist that you not only replace or repair your racks with immediate effect but that you also remove any stock in place to prevent accidents.
The next level of severity down will be to suggest replacing or repairing your racking in the short term, though there is no immediate cause for alarm. However, we will still insist that repair occurs within a window of time we recommend to you.
Lastly, if there is no cause for concern, we will effectively ‘pass’ your warehouse racks. However, this is no cause for complacency. You must continue to book safety inspections and ensure your racking is fit for purpose for the proceeding years of operation.
Failure to adhere to inspection recommendations may result in injury or fatality in the workplace, and potentially a loss of business reputation. If you choose to ignore said results and recommendations for repair, you may be placed at fault for any accidents which occur.
Book a Warehouse Racking Inspection with Prodek
Prodek is pleased to offer guidance and services from inspection professionals with years of experience. Our team of inspectors thoroughly analyse and report back on all racking systems they assess, from heavy duty racking and cantilever racks to pallet racking and vertical storage.
Whether your racking needs a small repair or replacing outright, Prodek will be in a position to recommend services to bring your warehouse back in line with PUWER and other health and safety protocols. We offer an end to end service – honest, detailed inspection and reporting, coupled with new racking supply or repair, as required.
Even during lockdown conditions, we continue to carry out as many of our services and inspections, where legally and safely possible, as we can.
If you are concerned that it may be time for a warehouse racking inspection, please do not hesitate to immediately call a team of professionals. Contact Prodek now on 0114 244 0100 for immediate support and more information.