Your Pallet Rack inspection experts
cam|industrial offers professional pallet racking inspections all across Canada. Monthly and yearly inspections and repairs in your warehouse are important elements in maintaining a safe racking system. CSA recommends an expert pallet rack inspection be performed on an annual basis and and internal inspection be performed monthly. If you’re unsure if you need an inspection, see our article for an in-depth look at the importance of regular inspections, as well as the regulations surrounding your pallet rack system.
As members of many Professional Engineering Associations across the country, our Engineering Services adhere to strict policies and are of the highest quality and practice. The safety of your facility is our number one priority, and your inspection will be completed with the utmost care and accuracy. Our experienced Engineers will check for any and all potential rack damaged components to make sure all your rack systems meet and exceed rack safety optimization, ensuring occupational safety standards for everyone in your facility.
Safety inspections that meet full compliance are highly recommended and a critical asset to your facility’s regular operations and the safety of your workers.
Pallet Rack Regulations
As a business owner, or as a person with responsibility for storage racks or a pallet rack system within a business, you should be aware of the regulations governing these structures. The regulations have been established by industry experts and professionals and outline the requirements to ensure consistent safe practices, mitigate hazards, and prevent accidents.
The laws, regulations and building codes for a pallet racking system vary from province to province and each municipality. Select a province below to view a summary of the pallet rack regulations and links to each provinces’ building codes.
The best way to ensure safety and protect yourself from liability is through compliance with all relevant regulations and through regular pallet rack inspections to maintain compliance over time. The expert team at cam|industrial is here to help.
Employer responsibilities for workplace safety and pallet racking storage structures are governed by Occupational Health and Safety, with CSA defining the design requirements. Engineers and designers are required to follow various building codes and municipal regulations with respect to the assembly and maintenance of pallet racking storage structures.
View Pallet Rack Regulations for more information on the Canadian Standards Association and Provincial requirements and codes.
Frequency of Inspections
CSA A344-17 User guide for steel storage racks recommends the following in regards to frequency of inspections:
8.1.2: A rack inspection program should be developed that includes routine inspections (typically monthly) and a more rigorous expert inspection that is performed by persons with special knowledge and training with respect to structural engineering concepts and rack inspection procedures.
8.1.6: The frequency of both routine and expert inspections should be determined by a risk assessment done by a health and safety professional, the rack vendor, or engineering consultant specialized in rack inspection. In general, the routine inspections should be conducted monthly, and the expert inspections performed annually. The frequency should, as a minimum, ensure compliance with local regulations. Note: the frequency of inspections can change over time depending on the outcome and findings of successive inspections.
The Road to Compliance
We recommend the goal for your Rack Inspection and Maintenance plan should be to achieve compliance with OHS, which includes ensuring the system meets CSA and Building Codes requirements. Depending on the condition of the system and the information available to validate capacities; this can be a substantial undertaking. For this reason, we offer several options that provide a phased approach to compliance if time and budget require. We also recognize and respect that business owners and supervisors, who carry the responsibility for the safety of their racking structures, have varying levels of risk tolerance.
Option 1
If you have immediate safety concerns or a limited budget, you can start here. The goal of this inspection is to identify and address any immediate or significant hazards. A qualified person, as defined by CSA, can perform this inspection, and make immediate recommendations to repair, replace, and unload as needed. This level of inspection is common in the market and is typically performed by a salesperson or service technician.
Option 2
With this inspection you will receive a detailed report that has been reviewed and stamped by a Structural Engineer, providing an additional level of risk reduction and quality assurance. The report includes a deficiency listing with pictures that show the current condition of all deficiencies to assist in monitoring the deficiency over time. The inspector will provide engineering-based observations and recommendations regarding observable load conditions, operating procedures, maintenance concerns, and preventive measures.
Importantly, the dimensions of all system components are recorded during the inspection which is necessary to determine system capacity when time or budget permit, and also for seeking repair and replacement components.
Option 3
With this inspection you will receive everything included in Option, 2 plus capacity tables and capacity plaques for every row and every bay type in the system. Documentation of the system capacity is necessary for OHS compliance, as an Employer must ensure that system is designed to support the load.
Option 4
This option provides everything from Option 3, plus CAD drawings of the system. CAD drawings provide a visual reference for the layout of the system along with the racking elevations within it and locate the deficiencies, damages & observations on a plan view drawing. Through these options, we can work with your timeline and budget to develop a personalized Road to Compliance through inspection, remediation of deficiencies, and engineering. Clients who adopt this approach, and perform annual inspections, have a substantially reduced annual inspection and repair cost with diminishing risk. If you are unsure which program is right for you, contact us to determine the option that will suit your requirements and level of risk tolerance. If you know which inspection your facility needs, you can contact us by using the Schedule buttons below.
Racking Inspection Process and Deliverables
The extent of work required at your facility will depend on your existing documentation, racking configuration, rack condition, product mix, and your comfort level of risk tolerance to ensure the system is safe.
The first step is to determine what information and documentation you already have, the size of the project, and your needs. From there, we will provide a proposal to do the work.
A thorough inspection will be carried out to confirm the details of your system and identify deficiencies, rack damage and missing components.
Drawings will be updated or created, and system capacities will be calculated based on the field inspection data.
A detailed report will be provided from our engineering group that includes: drawings, capacities, engineering notes, deficiency list with images, material take off for repairs and replacement components, and a quotation to supply and install the replacement components.
If you proceed with the recommended repairs, we will supply and install all components.
If repairs have been performed by a cam|industrial expert, the workmanship of your set-up will be reviewed by our engineering group.
Your report will be updated to identify the repairs that have been completed and will then be stamped by our engineer group.
In between yearly expert inspections, owners should perform regular inspections on a monthly basis as well to ensure safer operation of their warehouse racking.
Get Help When you Need it
Most businesses need help with more than just their annual expert inspection. At cam|industrial, we partner with companies to support all their pallet racking needs from annual inspections, assessing and repairing damage, and designing systems that help you as your needs change. Email us today with any questions or to find out more.
FAQ
Do I need an annual rack inspection? What are the direct costs in the event of an accident due to a pallet rack failure? Find the answers to these questions and more on our FAQ page.