When & Why Would You Need a Warehouse Racking Inspection?
Why has there been an emphasis on warehouse racking inspections in recent years? Although nothing has been mandated yet, OSHA has recommended that warehouse racking units receive regular inspections.
Transcript
Why Warehouse Racks Must Be Inspected?
– Are warehouse or pallet rack inspections required by OSHA? How often should you inspect them? How much do warehouse or pallet rack inspections cost? We’re answering all these questions and more. Let’s get into it.
When Do You Need To Inspect Pallet Racking?
– Why should you inspect your rack? You should inspect your racking at least once a year, and/or if it ever gets moved or reconfigured, or if you do have an incident, it’s good to have the racking inspected, just make sure that you understand clearly what cause and effect has occurred.
My name is Marc Smith. I’ve been with Mazzella’s Warehouse Solutions Group for about a year and a half. I have been in industrial equipment sales for about 13 years, and prior to that, I was in operations for about 15 years, managing warehouses and distribution settings.
Are Warehouse Rack Inspections Required by OSHA?
Due to the drastic increase in fatalities in warehouse environments over the last three years, OSHA’s strongly encouraging that third-party outfits perform these inspections for companies around the United States.
OSHA does not require that storage rack is inspected on a periodic schedule. However, US law does stipulate that company management is required and responsible for maintaining a safe workplace for its employees.
What Do Inspectors Look for During Rack Inspections?
During a rack inspection, we focus our attention on structural integrity, primarily damage within the columns and the beams. We also focus on any modifications that have been made to the rack, as well as safety clips and fasteners, if those are missing and/or in place, and is the racking properly anchored to the floor. Those are the four, five, six items that we pay closest attention to.
How Often Should You Inspect Warehouse Racking?
You should have your rack inspected at least once a year, but depending on the application, some customers do it as frequently as quarterly.
Racking can absorb quite a bit of damage throughout its life. However, it’s those instances of compromise that you need to take note of and visually inspect regularly to make sure they don’t get worse and don’t become a safety concern.
Regardless of what product’s being stored, the systems themselves need to be safe and secure. So it could be paper, it could be plutonium, the storage systems need to be maintained, anchored, and secure.
Are You Legally at Risk If You Skip Rack Inspections?
The General Safety Clause that OSHA mandates outlines safety requirements for storage systems, and storage rack and pallet racking is included with that mandate. You are not susceptible to fines if you don’t inspect your pallet rack. However, if you have an incident, that will be one of the first questions that they ask.
“How often is your racking being inspected and by who, and what are you doing with that action?” Because again, US law stipulates that management needs to provide a safe workplace.
So if you’re not inspecting storage systems and you have a storage system failure, I would think that would be an infraction, a pretty easy infraction.
Who Sets the Standards for Rack Inspections?
Pallet rack standards and conformity starts from the Rack Manufacturer Institute. They’re the governing body over storage rack.
Can You Inspect Your Racks In-House?
Companies should use a third party for their inspections to ensure that the proper training and experience and compliancy is being put forth in the inspection to make sure nothing gets missed. A company can perform their own inspections if they’re properly trained and they understand the compliancy items that Rack Manufacturer Institute has outlined.
Another reason that companies outsource their safety inspections is to reduce or eliminate biases. Oftentimes, when you’re working around storage systems every day, you have a looser eye on really some of the safety items that may exist, and in addition to that, there’s a lot of compliancy items that Rack Manufacturer Institute outlines for storage systems. So if you’re not up to date and familiar and trained on those items, you could be missing some items.
Our safety inspectors are competent and qualified due to their experience in the industry, as well as their training with the Rack Manufacturer Institute.
How Much Do Rack Inspections Cost?
The cost of an inspection varies on several variables, so there’s no set pricing. We do have levels of inspections, and those levels are determined based on the quantity, the age, the location, the application, and the different types of racking. So there’s multiple variables that go into the cost justification for proposals.
Most one-day rack inspections start around $5,200, but based on the complexity of the system and what’s being asked with regards to engineering, potentially, that price could raise or lower.
Why Rack Inspections Should Be Part of Your Safety Plan
Rack safety inspections are vital to the safety of any workplace. It’s important that it’s done frequently enough to where employees and management alike feel safe in storing their products, that they maintain a safe workplace.
– Inspecting your warehouse should be part of your normal safety protocols. Should an accident or collapse occur due to unchecked issues or damage, your company can be susceptible to OSHA fines, loss of product, unscheduled downtime, lawsuits, or worse, you could be responsible for the death or injury of those working in your warehouse.
Mazzella offers rack inspections, along with engineered warehouse solutions. Whatever your material handling needs, we are here to help, from lifting and rigging to overhead cranes, inspections, service, and training. We are your one-stop lifting shop.
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Warehouse rack inspections are not mandated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), but they are recommended, and with good reason, as failing to do so could have disastrous consequences.
There are countless viral videos showing what happens to racking systems when struck by forklifts or overloaded with product. These structures can collapse, often causing a domino effect that damages / destroys millions of dollars of products.
Most importantly, should a completely preventable racking failure occur, people could experience severe injury or even death.
In the United States, the law stipulates that company management is responsible for providing a safe workplace for their employees. Putting workers at risk of injury can expose employers to serious liability in the event of an accident.
By controlling or eliminating hazards in the workplace, you help reduce the risk of an accident. Think about how quickly the costs of a workplace accident or fatality can add up, including:
- Lost wages
- Workers’ compensation
- Low employee morale
- Decrease in productivity
- Workforce shortages
- Potential legal fees and OSHA fines
In this article, we’ll answer the following questions:
- Why are racking inspections becoming more common?
- What is examined during a rack inspection?
- When do racking systems need to be inspected?
- What kind of inspection reports will warehouse managers receive?
- What does a racking inspection cost?
Why Are Racking Inspections Becoming More Common?
In the last two years, OSHA has highly recommended companies use third-party partners to conduct rack inspections rather than an internal team member.
Before the recommendation, many larger companies conducted their own rack inspections with their own safety teams. Mazzella has seen companies take OSHA’s recommendation seriously. Our Racking Inspectors began inspecting maybe six facilities a year. Now, they’re doing six or more in a given month.
If your warehouse does not comply with OSHA regulations, you could be fined or forced to suspend your operations temporarily should an issue arise.
What Are Inspectors Reviewing In These Inspections?
What you can expect from a good third-party company is the inspector(s) doing a from-the-ground visual inspection of the system. They will not get into lifts or climb onto the system in an unsafe manner. This is all a visual inspection, much like you’d expect if you were buying a home.
The inspector will examine the racking systems of each storage bay and note any issues. They will highlight the location of any issues, as well as the damage or misuse. Then, they will make recommendations of what to do. Once the information is gathered, the inspectors will go back to their office and create a deliverable report that includes photographs taken on-site and suggested fixes.
Reputable companies should deliver their reports to you in 7-14 days.
Most companies should want these inspections at least annually. That could be increased to quarterly, depending on how much traffic and how experienced your forklift operators are. Forklift issues cause about 90% of the damage Mazzella inspectors have seen.
What Are Key Points of Emphasis During Inspections?
There are many points of emphasis for inspectors when examining racking systems. Those points include:
- Structural integrity
- Signs of physical damage
- Product application
- Improper rack loading
- Loose, missing, or damaged fasteners
- Missing components
- Modifications
Basically, third-party companies are there to ensure the rack is the proper type for the material being stored. Many times, when companies purchase an existing facility, they’ll “make do” with the racking systems already in place without asking, “Is this safe?”
Additionally, proper rack loading is important. Inspectors will look for overloading and improperly supported loads. If they look up, and you’re using a dangerous way of placing material onto the racks, they’ll note that somebody could get hurt.
Even though it’s not a structural issue, inspectors look for missing and damaged fasteners. That’s going to include floor anchoring.
Missing components could include the following:
- Pallet stops
- Crossbars
- Wall ties
Inspectors have found modifications to be a big reason for failed rack inspections. They’re looking for non-engineered additions or repairs to your system. Sometimes, they have seen plate steel welded to the frame of the structure after it’d been hit by a forklift. While the damage may appear to be fixed, that’s not typically the case.
Based on pictures and measurements taken, inspectors can determine capacity calculations. Those plans then can be sent to a third-party engineer, who will certify each elevation. However, this step is rare because engineering sheets could cost as much as $1,500 each.
How Do You Prepare for an OSHA Racking Certification?
A thorough third-party inspection is highly recommended before starting an OSHA certification process. The inspection report will provide your business with an accurate assessment of the condition of your warehouse racking systems, including:
- Proper installation
- Unsafe modification
- Missing fasteners
- Unposted capacity
This will allow for necessary measures to be put in place to address issues before your OSHA visit. If your warehouse doesn’t comply with OSHA regulations, you could be fined, or forced to suspend your operations temporarily.
When Do Racking Systems Need To Be Inspected?
Despite the demands of your daily operations, it’s critical your racking systems maintain their full integrity. When done correctly, rack inspection services are thorough, and performed by an expert to certify your racking systems comply with design and safety standards.
But when do racks need to be inspected? There are eight times in which a racking system should be inspected:
- New rack installation
- Compliance review
- Collapse or damage
- Regulatory audit
- Safety initiative
- Safety optimization
- Reconfiguration review
- Incomplete documentation
Mazzella experts suggest a minimum of an annual inspection of your warehouse racking systems. With forklift incidents being a main cause of racking system damage, if your facility pulls five pallets out of your racks a day, an annual inspection may be good for you.
If you have a high-volume facility, a quarterly inspection may be more appropriate. This includes warehouses that are moving five pallets in a short period of time (say for example five every 10 minutes). Your racks will likely see some impacts, especially with shift changes, personnel changes, and inconsistent operator experience.
What Does a Mazzella Racking Inspection Cost?
For a typical racking inspection, it will cost around $6,200. That total is going to cover a day of inspection, which is 90% of what most facilities require as far as our time needed to complete the work.
Additionally, that $6,200 covers all transportation expenses of the engineer or project manager being on site, coming back, and also, building the deliverable report.
How Can Mazzella Help with Your Warehouse Needs?
Mazzella has provided cutting-edge solutions for beverage and grocery distribution, retail, pharmaceutical, beverage manufacturing, electronics manufacturing, e-commerce, and general warehousing.
Our rack inspection service is thorough, and performed by a Mazzella expert, to certify your racking systems comply with rack design and safety standards.
Additionally, we have designed and implemented material handling and storage solutions for a variety of industries focusing on warehousing and manufacturing applications. This vast experience has provided us with a deep understanding of our clients’ most challenging requirements.
The systems we install include:
- Storage racks
- Mezzanines
- Modular offices
- Vertical lifts
- ASRS systems
- LED lighting
- Conveyors
We are driven by a highly experienced team of experts working closely with our clients utilizing our resources in concert with our clients. Our designers, engineers, sales engineers, and project managers are experienced professionals and as such, strive daily to provide our projects to our clients “On-Time and “On-Budget.”
Call us at 800.664.3380 or click here to learn more about our warehouse solutions!
Warehouse Solutions
Mazzella has designed and implemented material handling and storage solutions for a variety of industries focusing on warehousing and manufacturing applications. This vast experience has provided us with a deep understanding of our clients most challenging requirements.
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