Like the old adage, belt-and-braces, in the racking world, beams-and-braces are essential to keep your valuables safely stored away.

In this edition of Rackaware, a national car part manufacturer asked RISC to undertake their annual inspection at one of their midlands facility and report on the condition of the pallet racking. The result was plenty of attention on our two featured racking components, beams and braces.

What we did

There were several areas to look at in the inspection including 7 metre high Link51 Pallet Racking, a 2 storey Mezzanine Floor used for storage and a single storey Maintenance Mezzanine.

The inspection was carried out according to SEMA guidelines by our SEMA inspector with a visual examination of the racking components, based on a survey of damage from ground level.

What we found

During our inspection we found a total of 4 RED risk (immediate unloading required) and 35 AMBER risk damages (unload after 4 weeks current use). Of those all 4 RED and 26 AMBER fell into 2 categories… Beams and braces!

Many of the fitted pallet support bars had become detached from the beams – some of these could easily become completely detached meaning they would fall out and potentially cause injury.

To compound the problems, 90% of the screws were missing from the support bars. Simply… a few minutes installing correctly or maintaining them could save the shame of the potential injury and all the legal implications that goes with it.

Proper attention to the racking can mean the difference between a dangerous racking collapse and a safe working environment.

It wasn’t all red and amber risks for the warehouse though. We were delighted with the condition of the mezzanine floors, in particular the guarding fitted to exposed columns for protection.

Our Recommendations

Not only did we provide a detailed SEMA racking and shelving survey we recommended that a maintenance program was initiated to re-fix the pallet support bars (and re-instate the missing ones).

Furthermore we recommended it would be prudent to use 2 fixings on the front of the bars for additional strength and also to fit 1 on the rear to prevent them from twisting in the future.

The good and bad of pallet racking

Get in touch

Want your beams and braces in order?
Talk to us about your requirements for your annual rack inspection, don’t forget we can also carry rack safety awareness training for that extra peace of mind. Get in touch