By Barri-Leon Malherbe – Africa’s One & Only SARI
Due to increasing demand and necessity within the African racking industry, Barpro Storage SA offers a set of courses encompassing and emphasising the importance of Rack Safety.
Barpro provides these services through collaboration with Africa’s only SARI.
What is a SARI?
A SARI is a Sema Approved Rack Inspector, an individual who is accredited and trained by SEMA (Storage Equipment Manufacturers Association) based in Birmingham , UK.
What is the outcome of the training which Barri does on site in South African warehouses?
- The effects of pallet racking accidents on a business & its people
- The necessity of rack inspections
- Type & Frequency of Inspections, responsibilities of suppliers and users
- Racking components and the role they play
- How to use the Barpro rack inspection tool to complete internal inspections
- Completing the paperwork, record keeping and reporting
- Practical completed within the warehouse
- Appointment of a PPRS (Person Responsible for Rack Safety) who will be responsible for internal inspections and reporting.
In the UK warehouse owners are responsible for rack safety within their warehouses. Staff are trained to recognise dangerous situations and to take the correct action. This has led to a significant drop in rack collapses. Barpro’s objective is for Barri-Leon to introduce the same system in South Africa.
What is a Rack Safety course?
Barpro Storage offers a comprehensive course in order to assist in the prevention of rack collapses in warehouses and cold stores, Barpro developed a Rack Safety Awareness training programme providing the necessary information and tools to conduct weekly inspections internally.
We urge that in all warehouses and freezer stores that there should be a trained or competent person (PRRS Person Responsible for Rack Safety) who checks the racking at least on a weekly basis for damage.
To assist within this process, Barpro manufactures “The Barpro Rack safety testing tool” which is a quick and easy way of assessing if damaged rack frames must be emptied immediately and the damaged components replaced.
The course features a comprehensive overview of the composition of racking systems and how to identify and treat damage. This comprehensive overview is achieved through a 1-Day session which comprises both Theoretical & Practical training.
Why?
Barpro Storage has and always will be innovative, one of the innovations which we offer is that of Rack Inspections, again, through Africa’s only SARI. It is Rack inspections which inspired and displayed the necessity for rack safety awareness training, due to the amount of high-risk damage commonly see during these inspections.
“Are we so set in our ways that we think we can still load on top of these damaged parts, or is it a case of ‘’we don’t know’?” – States Barri-Leon.
An example below of how a cold store’s operators still knowing deposit pallets onto visually damaged beams.
Barri-Leon Malherbe states – “We don’t know if this is done with closed eyes from the driver’s point of view or if it is just a case of the driver not knowing what can happen if such a beam collapses”?
This is exactly why we have founded and are pushing this initiative; it is the lack of regard and education which currently plagues the African warehousing market. Through our Rack Safety Awareness programme, we aim to educate and assist all warehouses in creating effective, efficient and Safe Environments.
For more information regarding Rack Safety training and Rack inspections, please contact:
