Safety Legislation
Making sure your warehouse operation complies with relevant health and safety legislation is not just a legal obligation, it is good practice. Doing so will avoid accidents, provide a longer lifespan for your storage system and protect the materials handled, stored and transported. There are a number of acts and regulations relevant to warehousing and the safe use of storage equipment, each with their own applicable sections. Where pallet racking is concerned, these include, but may not be limited to:
The Health and Safety at Work Act, 1974
- Section 2 - General duties of employers to their employees
- Section 7 - General duties of employees at work
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, 1999
- Regulation 3: Risk Assessment
- Regulation 13: Capabilities and Training
Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations, 1992
- Regulation 5: Maintenance of workplace, and of equipment devices and systems
Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations, 1998
- Regulation 5: Maintenance
- Regulation 6: Inspection
- Regulation 22: Maintenance Operations
Manual Handling Operations Regulations, 1992
- Regulation 4: Duties of employers
- Regulation 5: Duties of employees
Work at Height Regulations, 2005
- Regulation 10: Falling objects
- Regulation 12: Inspection of work equipment
These acts are freely available for reference at
www.legislation.gov.uk and relevant Approved Codes of Practice are available for free download at
www.hse.gov.ukHSG 76 - 'Warehousing and storage - A guide to health and safety' is a Health and Safety Executive produced manual that gives advice as to how these legislative acts apply to warehouses and storage facilities, as well as best practices and procedures. Of particular relevance within this guide are:
- Clause 600 - Designation and marking of storage areas
- Clause 634 - Racking installation
- Clauses 639 and 640 - Racking Protection and Retrofitting upright protection
- Clauses 641 to 654 - Rack inspections and maintenance; their suggested frequency, reporting and carrying out by competent and qualified persons
INDG 412 - 'Warehousing and storage - Keep it safe' is a shorter guide produced by the HSE to aid companies in reducing accidents and give brief advice on responsible practices.
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