According to Polish law, specifically the Labor Code, the employer is obliged to provide their employees with safe work tools. One of the basic work tools in a warehouse is storage racks. Therefore, before allowing warehouse staff to work, the employer should be sure that the storage racks do not pose a threat when used in accordance with their intended purpose. The Regulation of the Minister of Labor and Social Policy of September 26, 1997, on general health and safety at work regulations, published in the Journal of Laws number 169 of 2003 under item 1650, is the main executive act binding the employer regarding the application of health and safety at work regulations. Chapter 4 “Internal transport and storage” provides only enigmatic requirements for storage racks, described in paragraphs 68 to 70.
The regulation requires, among other things:
• ensuring that the mass of the stored load does not exceed the permissible load of the equipment intended for storage
• posting clear information about the permissible load of the equipment intended for storage
• adequate strength of the racks
• adequate stability of the rack structure
• protection against the racks tipping over
• ensuring proper distances between the racks
• such a selection of racks that the method of placing materials on them and removing them does not create a hazard.
So much for dry legal acts. Practice, however, looks different. The warehouse is examined in terms of the correctness of the design and execution of the building structure. It is good if special emphasis is placed on the acceptance of the warehouse floor on which the goods stored in the warehouse will be collected. Documentation of the electrical installation is submitted, along with the results of measurements carried out by persons with appropriate qualifications.
And the racks? The racks are standing straight, after all, it is visible. Are they really? What should the practice look like? The supplier should declare the compliance of the delivered solution with the requirements of the Polish standard PN-M-78321:1988 “Free-standing storage racks. Requirements and tests”. This standard was established on June 20, 1988, and has been in force since January 1, 1989. The declaration should contain, in addition to the full name of the declared object of compliance (i.e., the PN-M-78321:1988 standard), the name and type of the rack/racks that have been assembled, the date of issue of the declaration, and the company name. The declaration should be signed by a legal representative of the company. The issuance of the declaration should be preceded by the supplier, or an independent entity, carrying out appropriate measurements of each of the delivered racks. Such a measurement should include at least:
• deviation from the vertical of the rack uprights
• the width of the aisle between the racks, and if the warehouse has been organized with racks assembled in parallel, then also:
• the displacement of two opposite rack columns relative to each other.
The deviation from the vertical of the rack uprights is responsible for the stable storage of the stored goods. This parameter should also be monitored during the operation of the rack. The width of the aisle between the racks and the displacement of two opposite rack columns relative to each other affect the safety of warehouse operations.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 4/2008.