Certificates of Compliance for racking structures are a common request from warehouse managers in South Africa. The differences between Barpro rack inspections and Certificates of Compliance need explanation. Certificates of Compliance are issued by a racking company/structural engineer and certify that a particular racking installation has been designed to support a specified height, weight and size of pallet. It is an engineering certificate. Unless the pallet specification and/or load beam positions change, the CoC issued when the racking is installed should continue to apply. As part of a Barpro rack inspection carried out by our SARI (Approved Rack Inspector), Barri-Leon Malherbe, he must confirm that racking complies with the original Certificate of Compliance i.e. that beam levels and/or pallet specs have not changed from those contained in the CoC. He does this by checking the racking against information on load notice boards, which should be prominently displayed on the racking itself. TYPICAL LOAD NOTICE BOARD If there are no load notice boards or if the racking does not comply with the information on the load notice boards, Barri must see the original rack drawings or confirm the specifications with the company that supplied the racking. In approximately 80% of first inspections these load notice boards are found to be absent. Sometimes the rack drawings are available on site. Sometimes the original rack supplier can supply copies of the drawings. If so, then Barpro can supply new load notice boards. If the original rack design is not available or Barri considers it to be inadequate by current racking safety standards or if rack frames/ beams have been replaced with components from different rack suppliers then a new Certificate of Compliance must be obtained before he can sign off on the inspection. Barpro can assist warehouse managers in obtaining a new CoC. Pending the finalization of a new CoC Barri can still do a rack safety report or alternatively just a report that denotes damaged components and their location. Barri’s job is to check the racking for safety , identify damage that must be fixed and ensure compliance with the Certificate of Compliance as described on the load notice boards. If beam levels have been changed from those noted then the existing CoC needs to be reviewed and a new one signed off by a structural engineer or the beams moved back to where they should be. Likewise, if the pallet weights and sizes have changed. A Coc may not include the damage per location , this is why we recommend a qualified rack inspection through Barri , as he will provide a detailed damage report. Once correct load notice boards have been attached to the racking, either Barri or warehouse staff trained by Barri via his one-day rack safety courses can inspect the racking on a regular basis as is currently done in UK warehouses. Any racking damage will then be recorded and repaired. For more information contact Barpro Storage SA
