Hi all,

I'm looking for some different perspectives on one of my concerns about Racking Safety.

During 2022, I performed some racking inspections because I noticed the racking - several beams are damaged and workers/supervisors have not reported any near misses attributable to racking damage.

By doing this inspection 3 in total, I had the ability to repair the rack in time to avoid any injury or damage to the plant or equipment.

We have a risk assessment in place for FLT operation, which is reviewed when this NM occurs and shared with all relevant workers, but it appears that employees are ignoring this RA and have adopted unsafe practices.

I've noticed that some employees, including the warehouse supervisor, do not follow the procedure for operating and FLT correctly - they keep the forks BACK TILTED when picking pallets from the shelf, which, in my opinion, is the main reason why they are damaging the beams.

All operators are trained for FLT/CB and also a refresher program is in place every 3 years.

My question is, would you consider taking disciplinary action against employees who do not follow the proper procedure for picking and storing pallets? To help you understand the dangers of those pallets, consider that one pallet can weigh up to 710 KG and can be stored 3/4 metre above ground.

Even though we have this type of procedure and scheme bonus that could be affected by unsafe work methods, senior management in my organisation does not like the idea of "disciplinary actions."

How would you proceed in this case?, I'm curious to see how other health and safety advisers would see this problem.

Thank you

In my experience, what you describe is no different to many other places and I attribute what you say to the overall safety culture of the place. As Brian rightly pointed out, you should certainly investigate to try and identify what the root cause might be. You have a duty to speak out and to engage with the supervisor who is setting a bad example and try and find out the underlying causes as to why he chooses not to operate a FLT correctly and also why he doesn't monitor his teams use of FLTs, or why there is no challenge.

It is no doubt a challenging situation and you may well be met with the usual dismissive excuses. If you get nowhere with the operators or their supervisor / manager, then you must highlight it to the powers that be and have that recorded. Remind them of their duty of care and ask how they would rectify the situation. If you are still met with resistance from the Directors in reagrd to any improvements and a reluctance to affect positive change then you may want to cover your backside and seek an employer who does understand their accountability and responsibility in these matters.

Originally Posted by: AVELICAN

I've noticed that some employees, including the warehouse supervisor, do not follow the procedure for operating and FLT correctly - they keep the forks BACK TILTED when picking pallets from the shelf, which, in my opinion, is the main reason why they are damaging the beams.

Interesting as we discipline drivers who travel with horizontal / forward dipping forks whilst carrying a load.

Back tilt ensures the load cannot slide off in the event of sudden braking.

I would say your real issue is probably insufficient space having been allowed between the beams - if the pallet plus load is 1.2m tall sat on the ground you need an allowance over this between the beams to permit back tilt.

When designing our racking we took a standard pallet, ran the FLT to full back tilt, lowered the forks so the pallet edge was just touching the ground then measured the opposite (highest) side and added a tolerance.

I suggest having a read of the HSE publication HSG48.  You'll find it on their website and it is all about human failure and how to prevent and handle it.

I was always taught and instructed learners (many moons ago) so practice may have changed, that the only hydraulic operation carried out in racking was lifting and lowering.  The levelling off was carried out at travelling height prior to placing or moving away from the rack.  This reduces any potential to make contact with beams or shelving.

You can buy mast level indicators to assist operators.  SEMA also have guidelines on minimum clearance distances between pallets and racking beams and vertical uprights.