Logical storage solutions blog

Racking and Health and Safety – what you need to know!

The Health and Safety Executive offer important guidance when it comes to keeping your employees safe. A failure to follow guidelines has historically seen business owners face large fines and legal damages when their actions, or inactions, have led to employees being injured.

Health and Safety guidelines should cover every aspect of your operations and racking is no exception. The most relevant advice for businesses utilizing racking is often the HSG76 Warehousing and storage: a guide to health and safety. This offers key information for managers and supervisors around health and safety in warehouses and storage facilities to help reduce injuries and improve occupational ill health targets set by the government.

One of the key points raised in the guidelines is the importance of having regular racking inspections carried out by trained experts. Racking needs to be properly maintained once it is installed and used properly. This means that it should never be overloaded or climbed upon (as is stressed in HSG76) and it is important to also guard it from damage by vehicles such as fork-lift trucks that use your warehouse.

Even the smallest amount of damage can have a big impact on your racking safety. Small fractures of hairline cracks can significantly impact the integrity of your racking and could lead to one or more of your employees being struck by falling objects or trapped under a collapsed structure.

With proper maintenance, racking is one of the most formidable types of storage that you can have and can make a huge impact on the productivity of your business. However, if handled badly and not regularly reviewed it can also slow down your operations and the day to day running of your business.

Logical Storage is highly skilled in spotting the often hard-to-find signs of racking degradation. We carry out regular reviews for a number of businesses, helping them to keep their systems in good working order and to maintain their legal obligations under the Health & Safety Act.  To find out more please call us on 0845 689 1300.