How To Prepare For A Pallet Racking Inspection

According to AS 4048:23, pallet racking safety inspections need to occur at least every twelve months and be carried out by a competent person. This is for the benefit of everyone working in a warehouse. While well maintained pallet racking is perfectly safe, pallet racking that hasn’t been installed properly or isn’t properly maintained can be dangerous to warehouse workers. Even if nobody gets hurt due to poorly maintained pallet racking, goods being stored can be damaged. At a minimum, there can be serious repercussions for the owner of a business who is using unsuitable pallet racking.

If you already know what happens at a pallet racking inspection, you may be wondering about how to prepare for it. Knowing that a racking inspection is actually a relatively simple process means that there isn’t a lot of preparation work that needs to happen. That being said, it’s good for both you and the inspector if your warehouse is ready for the inspection; that way things can go a lot smoother.

Stay Ahead Of Maintenance Issues

Regular wear and tear happens all the time, especially in busy warehouse environments. If you conduct regular pallet racking inspections yourself, you can either be prepared when it’s time for your pallet racking inspection or even get something fixed before it’s noticed by an inspector.

Ultimately, pallet racking inspectors are obliged to make note of all damage, and may require racking be unloaded if the damage is substantial enough. If you stay ahead of maintenance issues, can often prevent them from becoming so bad that the pallet racking needs to be completely unloaded. Basically speaking, get racking issues fixed before you’re required to due to an inspection.

Get Your Basic Warehouse Safety In Order

Beyond damage and maintenance issues, pallet racking inspectors also look for things like correct safety signage on and around pallet racking. Take an upcoming pallet racking inspection as an opportunity to make sure the general safety of your warehouse is in order: check to make sure load and safety signs on racking is present; make sure other safety signs are in place; make sure fire extinguishers are in place. Don’t use your regular pallet racking safety inspection as just an opportunity for pallet racking safety. Use it as an opportunity for warehouse safety.

Make Sure The Warehouse Is Tidy And Racking Is Unobstructed

Your pallet racking inspector will need to inspect all racking bays and many different aspects of your pallet racking. Because of that, they’ll need access to most of your warehouse. Having an untidy warehouse or objects blocking areas the inspector will need to get to will just slow them down, and ultimately slow your team down.

If the pallet racking inspector needs to get a warehouse team member to help them move something or get them access to something, that team member now isn’t doing their regular job. Making sure the inspector can perform their job easily will makes it easier for everyone.

Just Operate Your Warehouse As Normal

Some people get stressed about inspections of any kind and think there’s a lot they need to do to prepare for it, but that’s not often the case for a pallet racking inspection. Ultimately, you want your warehouse to be safe, and so does the pallet racking inspector. It’s the pallet racking inspectors job to know warehouse safety and all the regulations around pallet racking. It’s then their job to tell you what you need to do to get your warehouse as safe as it can be.

Because of this, it’s important to operate your warehouse as you usually would during a pallet racking inspection. This way, if you’re making any mistakes, you can understand better what needs to be done in the future, and ultimately make a better warehouse for everybody.