How to make complying with legislation easier.

If your Bradford business uses industrial warehouse storage systems, then the key piece of legislation that affects you is the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015.

This legislation lays out the requirements for choosing your warehouse racking installation partner, while the HSE’s warehousing guide provides more information about your responsibilities for checking and maintaining an existing industrial shelving system.

How to comply

As a business owner you are responsible for the safe design and installation of your industrial warehouse racking, although you can mitigate that responsibility by choosing suitably qualified and experienced contractors to do the work for you.

It’s worth noting that choosing an unsuitable contractor won’t provide protection – in fact it could lead to delays and fines - so always check your pallet racking contractor’s credentials.

Once installed, you have a responsibility to regularly check the industrial pallet racking system to ensure it remains safe. Whilst you can carry out this check in house, you should periodically (ie at least once a year) have a more detailed audit completed by a suitably qualified assessor.

Why does inspection matter?

The consequences of racking failure can be catastrophic and life threatening. And as more storage facilities use agency and temporary staff, so the potential for accidents involving people unfamiliar with the environment grows.

Regular inspection spots issues before they become problems, and helps distinguish the merely cosmetic from the structural.

What should you check for?

The simplest way to check your Bradford pallet racking is to carry out the same sort of walking inspection that we would employ.

Amongst the elements you should check are:

• Has the handling equipment changed since the industrial storage was originally installed?
• Is the floor on which your Bradford warehouse pallet racking is installed level and in good condition? Are fixings secure?
• If your Bradford industrial pallet racking is secured to the building, was the building checked to ensure it could support the load?
• Are all racks aligned?
• Are beam connector locks fixed at both ends of beams?
• Are maximum load notices on display? Are they correct?
• Are there any obvious signs of physical damage (ie dented, bent or twisted beams or uprights)?
• Is there enough protective equipment (eg column guards and rack end protectors). Does the protection need replacing?

If you find damage it should be logged and corrected. Rack-Master carries out a range of Bradford pallet racking compliance activities, from annual audits, to a second opinion when you’re unsure how to address a problem, to fixing identified issues.

For all industrial warehouse storage compliance issues in Bradford, call Rack-Master now on 01422 300 644 or email us at info@rack-master.co.uk

> Looking for a new pallet racking system?
> Looking for a new cantilever racking system?