nimonik expert ehs series: rack safety and compliance
TRANSCRIPT
Rack Safety& Compliance
Tony Mulholland&
Brian Rusciolelli
Kim Chanel Vallée-SéguinCommunications Manager, Nimonik
Brian RusciolelliLead Rack Inspector, Rack-Net-Works
Tony Mulholland P.Eng.Principle Engineer, Rack-Net-Works
• Terminology and introduction to storage racking
• Briefly introduce the various types of racking and their vulnerabilities
• Understand the Standards and how often racks need to be inspected (frequency)
• Describing the process of inspection and how to respond
• Capacity and ensuring racks are not overloaded
Rack Safety & Compliance Agenda
Rack Safety & Compliance:Components of Racking
Row Spacer
Beam Bracket
Beam Section
Post Protector
Diagonal Brace
Horizontal Brace
Post/ColumnPost/Column
Rack Safety & Compliance:Components of Racking
Baseplate/Shims
Post Protector
Diagonal Brace
Horizontal Brace
Post/upright/ column
Anchor
• Most common type of pallet rack
• Rack is arranged in a single or a series of rows such that every pallet loaded on the rack faces an aisle
• Common damage: front post in the lower 5’
• Collapse: rare, except for single rows (10 times as likely than a connected row)
Rack Safety & Compliance:Vulnerabilities of Selective Rack
• Tunnel use for passage of lift truck to place pallets on rails
• Rails run the length of the tunnel on both sides and support pallets on their edge
• Damage: rear frames and lower 8’ of all uprights
• Collapse: prone, especially if no transverse bracing
Rack Safety & ComplianceVulnerabilities of Drive In Racks
• Similar to selective rack except beam levels support a system of tracks and carts that allow the pallets to be moved to the rear.
• Damage: typically lower front post –carts can get hung up if not maintained
• Collapse: rare
Rack Safety & ComplianceVulnerabilities of Push Back Racks
• Rack usually consists of column with perpendicular arms used to support long items
• Damage: arms by dropping loads
• Collapse: rare, unless constructed in-house
Rack Safety & ComplianceVulnerabilities of Drive In Racks
• ANSI MH16.1 – Racking Manufacturers Institute (RMI)
• European EN15635 – European Committee for Standardization
• CSA – A344 Canadian Standards Association
• prime reference in Canada
• Meets or exceed most of the requirements of RMI & EN
• Today we will refer to A344 – 2016 even though it is not formally approved yet
Rack Safety & ComplianceRegulations & Requirements
• CSA A344 – clause 8.1.9 calls for routine inspections (typically monthly) as well as ‘expert inspections’.
• “Expert inspections are typically done under the supervision of a professional engineer, with the engineer taking responsibility for the damage inspection process and reporting.
CSA A344 - clause 8.1.5 addresses frequency inspections. The expert establishes the frequency of inspections based on a risk analysis.
Rack Safety & ComplianceRegulations & Requirements
• Damage comes in many forms and each situation can be unique – not easy to evaluate severity
• We use a method based on the CSA and European Rack Standard – and call it the RAG method (Red Amber Green)
• When doing expert inspections we also use engineering judgment to set the limit of structural imperfection
Rack Safety & ComplianceInspection Methods – RAG
• Damaged is measured over 500mm or 20” (not 1000mm as in the EN standard)
• Items in the chart are not all in the EN guideline and can vary from site to site
• Example of recognizing structural vulnerability is :
• 4 mm on diagonal brace of single row is more conservative than 5 mm on connected row
Rack Safety & ComplianceDamage Severity
• CSA A344 requires the expert to establish the damage limits for a particular site or structure
• Additional parameters can come into play that are specific to site, such as out of plumb, twisted posts, beam damage, etc.
• The charts below illustrate how these limits can be established for a site
Rack Safety & ComplianceDamage Severity
• Each damage requires a response, using the RAG Method this chart illustrates appropriate responses:
• Classifying and Tagging items as Red Amber Green sets up Immediate Action
• Immediate Action – unloading/locking out of service, avoid loading if possible, monitor for further damage
• Corrective Action is a secondary decision that deals with the repair or other remedial action
Rack Safety & ComplianceResponding to Damages
FIND ITEM
CLASSIFY & TAGRED
AMBERGREEN
UNLOAD
AVOID LOADING IF POSSIBLE
REVISE PRACTICES OR TRAIN
ONLY REQUIRES FUTURE MONITORING
HAZARD RESOLVED
REPAIR OR REPLACE
FIND | CLASSIFY | DETERMINE IMMEDIATE ACTION | SPECIFY CORRECTIVE ACTION | CLOSE OUT
• RAG Method requires inspection items be treated with a multi-stage RESPONSE:
• Categorize & Tag items as Red Amber Green thereby setting up Immediate Action
• Immediate Action – specify immediately put out of service, corrective action required, may require corrective action – monitor
• Corrective Action - a secondary decision that deals with remediation and prevention
Rack Safety & ComplianceResponding to Damages
FIND ITEM
CATAGORIZE & TAGRED
AMBERGREEN
immediate danger immediately put out of service
seek guidance as per clause 8.2.1.3.
remediation requiredmay remain in service
corrective action is required
REVISE PRACTICES OR TRAIN
minor deficienciesmay require repair, column protection, and/or modified
operating practice& monitor to ensure the condition does not worsen
CLOSE OUTHAZARD
RESOLVED
REPAIR OR REPLACE
FIND CLASSIFY IMPLEMENT IMMEDIATE ACTION SPECIFY CORRECTIVE ACTION CLOSE OUT
bad operating practiceinstruct the operators
• We recommend severity be represented by numbers 1 to 9 as it allows what is in effects “shades” of each color
1-3 GREEN 4-6 AMBER 7-9 RED
• The numbers are essentially a RISK index - a relationship between probability and consequence
Rack Safety & ComplianceAssessing Damages
high 4-6 7-8 9 9
moderate 4-6 4-6 7-8 9
low 2-3 4-6 4-6 7-8
minimal 1 2-3 4-6 4-6
minor significant critical catastrophic
Prob
ability or L
ikelihoo
d
Consequence
• CSA A344, clause 8.2 - The engineer supervising the expert inspections should establish time guidelines for corrective action
• The chart below is how severity can be assessed a response time
Rack Safety & ComplianceAssessing Damages
Total Unloading Partial or Center-to-center off loading
Rack Safety & ComplianceUnloading Types
• CSA and EN both require unloading if RED
• EN standard has special requirements on AMBER – do not reload
• There are two types of unloading (total and partial)
• CSA A344.1 clause 8.2.2 calls for method to clearly identify rack that is unsafe by “marking or tagging”
• Below is one way to tag out a level or bay
Rack Safety & ComplianceMarking Damaged Racks
Rack Safety & ComplianceCase Study – Training and Monitoring
• Racks inspected, plus employees were trained on Rack Awareness and Inspection
• Damage immediately was reduced -inspections continued
• Damage began to increase
• Additional training was provided and again damage incidents decreased
• Big gains - Increase in safety, and decrease in maintenance
• Inspection and training is a cost saver
206
85
34
87102
29
0
50
100
150
200
250
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
number of recorded deficiencies
• CSA clause 7.3 - the weight of loads placed in the racks must not exceed the load capacity of the rack structure
Rack Safety & ComplianceCapacity Signage
• Clause 7.3.1.2 - Load plaque need to include a reference to documents that establish the maximum permissible loading
• The method used should be selected based on the nature of the facility, and achieved by:• use of warehouse management software (WMS)• load plaques & awareness of the weight of the
pallets• trained operators using approved storage
procedures• insuring the capacity of the rack can support the
heaviest pallet in the facility
PLANNING YOUR NEXT STEPS
1. Arrange to have an inspection done by an expert third party
2. Ensure the capacity of racks is formally established by an engineer & review documents to ensure they are up to date
3. Set up a program to have staff conduct monthly inspections and ensure they are trained to do so
4. Make arrangements for having the damaged racks repaired or replaced. If repaired, ensure repairs are formally approved
5. Implement the recommendations of the Expert inspection (frequency of inspection, documentation, response time, damage limits)
