Storage costs and the cost per square metre of warehouses and buildings create a need to store more materials and products in smaller spaces. Racking and storage systems meet this need. Industrial racks are structural systems used to increase storage volume.
Automated storage systems can remove the need for forklifts and stackers to operate between racks, reducing costs and allowing former operating aisles to be used for storage. However, misuse, installation errors and environmental influences frequently cause accidents in industrial storage areas. Technological developments and legal requirements are both used to help prevent them.
Legal Requirements for Industrial Racking
Regular periodic inspections are important in preventing racking accidents. The article refers to the Regulation Amending the Regulation on Health and Safety Requirements for the Use of Work Equipment, published on 18 February 2023. Under the regulation, periodic inspection is mandatory at least once a year.
Inspections may be performed by mechanical, mechatronics or civil engineers; technical teachers with civil, mechanical or metalwork qualifications; or civil or mechanical technicians and higher technicians. Inspectors must be registered in EKİPNET. Non-destructive examination may be used, and any resulting report must be retained as an annex to the periodic inspection report.
Structural calculation reports are requested during inspection. Checks establish whether installation complies with the criteria in those reports and whether the correct connections have been used.
Loading conditions are checked against structural calculations that include external effects such as earthquakes. Inspections also examine protective measures, including impact barriers, the condition of the structure, and measurements of deflection or deformation against the tolerances in TS EN 15635.
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