In my recent inspections, I encountered several warehouses and cold stores around Southern Africa with operators of MHE depositing pallets on damaged beams. Not just superficial or unseen damage but damage you can see ( note photo ).
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. Maybe the instruction comes directly from a supervisor or manager that don’t know the seriousness of the situation.
Then you get beams that are damaged already being installed- the damage varies from a beam being bent to one of the lugs being broken off.(note photo).
The same goes for frames. Frames that are seen to be damaged are still loaded.
We are unfortunately not all engineers and do not understand the principles of structural integrity – but when something does not look right- it probably isn’t.
We do a training course for exactly that reason. They will be directly responsible for seeing the damage and reporting it to the PRRS (Person Responsible for Rack Safety ) – who in return can categorize the damage into Red, Amber, or Green.
SEMA DAMAGE CODES & TOLERANCES
Till next time.
Contact Barpro’s SEMA Rack Inspector for more advice on rack safety and inspections :
Barri-Leon Malherbe
SEMA Approved Rack Inspector – Reg: 0344
Mobile: 082 565 3970
Office: 021 5529190