The warehouse racking inspection is a way to ensure that your employees are moving safely around your storage facilities. Indeed, it is essential to keep this workplace in perfect working order at all times. The best way to ensure the maintenance of your racking is to inspect it at regular intervals.

The failure to conduct warehouse racking inspections puts your employees and goods at risk, but it also puts you at risk, because the director can be held responsible in the event of a workplace accident. In addition, your racking must comply with the standards of the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) at all times. To achieve this compliance, it is necessary to carry out inspections.

How often should a warehouse racking inspection be carried out?

Warehouse racking requires special and regular attention. It is possible to distinguish between two types of inspections:

• Routine inspections

Routine inspections must be carried out every day by the workers as they use the racking. The director of the company must have educated their employees about the importance of these inspections beforehand. They must also encourage the employees to report any incident that they deem abnormal as soon as possible.

Besides a daily inspection, a more thorough inspection of the wear and tear of the racking must also be conducted frequently. It is advisable to do this once every two weeks or at least once a month, according to the size of the warehouse. This makes it possible to repair any current problems that could become serious hazards for the workers.

• Annual inspection

The annual inspection is a detailed examination that must give rise to a precise report on the overall condition of the racking. Each piece must therefore be inspected, then classified. It is possible to use a colour coding system for this classification. Example: green if everything is in perfect condition, orange if there is a malfunction that needs to be repaired, and red in the event of a serious hazard requiring immediate intervention, repair, and securing.

The points to check during the warehouse racking inspection

Several points must be checked during your warehouse racking inspection. Here is a non-exhaustive list:

• The condition of the racking structure: Do you see signs of wear, deformation, or erosion on the structure? Could these lead to a reduction in its capacities?
• The load present on the racking: Does the weight of the goods stored on the different shelves match what they can support?
• The connection devices between the racking elements: Check the condition of the connection elements between the beams and frames, as well as the presence of the necessary safety locks.
• The racking ladders: Check the condition of the racking ladders. They must not show any deformations, and they must remain straight. Indeed, elements moving around these structures can sometimes collide with the ladders and deform them. If a deformation is visible to the naked eye, it must be repaired quickly.  

The warehouse racking inspection is therefore recommended to ensure the safety of your goods, your employees, and your customers. If you are already convinced of the importance of the warehouse racking inspection in maintaining this level of safety and you are willing to invest in the maintenance of your work tools, MSK Canada can support you. 

To maintain your storage facilities or bring them up to standard and to implement an action plan, MSK Canada is at your service. We can provide you with a detailed report that will indicate the corrective measures to be applied to your storage system. In this report, among other things, you will find the load capacity by level, the load capacity by frame, the load arrangement to adopt, and the proper usage practice.