Racking inspection: key facts
- HSE's warehousing guide, HSG76, describes a hierarchy: immediate reporting of damage by any employee, regular visual inspections (weekly or at other intervals based on risk assessment) and an expert inspection at intervals of not more than 12 months.
- A nominated person responsible for racking safety (PRRS) sets the inspection frequency for your site and keeps a formal written record of the visual checks.
- The expert inspection is carried out by a technically competent person: a trained specialist in your own organisation, a specialist from the rack supplier, or an independent qualified rack inspector.
- Under PUWER regulation 6, employers must inspect work equipment exposed to deterioration at suitable intervals and after exceptional circumstances, and keep a record until the next inspection is recorded.
- HSG76 Table 11 grades damage green (monitor), amber (repair as soon as possible; don't reload once unloaded) and red (offload and isolate immediately). Amber damage not repaired within four weeks should be treated as red.
- High-bay racking: HSG76 says each annual expert inspection should cover at least 20% on a rolling basis, so all of it is inspected at least every five years.
- SARI (SEMA Approved Rack Inspector) is a voluntary industry qualification run by SEMA, the storage equipment trade association. It isn't a legal requirement.
What is a racking inspection, and why does racking need one?
A racking inspection checks storage racking for damage, missing parts, overloading and changes that could reduce its strength. Racking is made from relatively light steel sections, and HSE says any damage reduces its load carrying capacity: the greater the damage, the lower the strength.
Pallet racking looks solid, but HSE's guide Warehousing and storage (HSG76) points out it's made from relatively lightweight materials, so there's a limit to the abuse it can withstand. The skill of lift truck drivers has a great bearing on how much damage happens.
Most damage builds up slowly. A truck clips an upright. A pallet is dropped onto a beam. A beam lock falls out. Each looks minor; together they can leave a fully loaded run badly weakened. An inspection looks for:
- Impact damage: bent, twisted or dented uprights, bracing and beams.
- Missing or loose parts: beam connector locks, floor fixings, base plates, run spacers.
- Overloading: loads heavier than the load notice allows, or beams moved without the notice being checked.
- Changes nobody signed off: beam levels moved, bays added, mixed components from different makers.
- Causes of damage: tight aisles, damaged pallets, missing upright protection.
If you're still choosing a system, start with our guide to pallet racking.
Is racking inspection a legal requirement?
Yes, in effect. The law doesn't name racking, but PUWER requires employers to maintain work equipment and to inspect equipment that can deteriorate at suitable intervals, recording the result. HSG76 is HSE's guidance on how to do that for racking.
The duty comes from general health and safety law; the detail comes from HSE guidance. legislation.gov.uk shows PUWER as extending to England, Wales and Scotland. If your site is in Northern Ireland, check the Northern Ireland regulations.
| Source | What it says (in summary) | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 2 | Employers must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of employees, including safe plant, safe storage of articles, and the information, instruction, training and supervision needed. | Law |
| PUWER 1998, regulation 5 | Work equipment must be maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair. | Law |
| PUWER 1998, regulation 6 | Where safety depends on installation, inspect after installation and before first use, and after it's put up in a new location. Where equipment is exposed to conditions causing deterioration, inspect at suitable intervals and after exceptional circumstances. Record the result and keep it until the next inspection is recorded. | Law |
| HSE HSG76, paragraphs 642 to 653 | The three-level inspection hierarchy, the PRRS, the 12-month expert inspection and the red/amber/green damage classification. | HSE guidance |
HSE's page on inspecting work equipment says how often to inspect should be decided by risk assessment, taking account of the manufacturer's recommendations, industry advice and your own experience. It gives major modifications and known or suspected serious damage as examples of exceptional circumstances.
SEMA, the storage equipment trade association, notes that following HSG76 isn't itself a legal requirement, but following its advice is usually enough to comply with the law. If you do something different, you'll need to show it's at least as good.
There's also a paid European standard, BS EN 15635, Steel static storage systems: application and maintenance of storage equipment. BSI's description says it gives guidelines on the operational aspects relevant to the structural safety of storage systems used with heavy mechanical handling equipment. It sits alongside EN 15512, EN 15620 and EN 15629.
How often should racking be inspected?
HSG76 sets three levels: report damage immediately, carry out visual inspections weekly or at other regular intervals based on risk assessment, and have a technically competent person carry out an expert inspection at intervals of not more than 12 months.
| Level | Who | How often | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Immediate reporting | Any employee who sees damage or a safety problem | As soon as it's seen | Your damage reporting system |
| Visual inspection | Arranged by the PRRS | Weekly or other regular intervals based on risk assessment | A formal written record |
| Expert inspection | A technically competent person | Intervals of not more than 12 months | A written report to the PRRS with observations and proposed actions |
The 12 months is a maximum, not a target. HSG76 says the PRRS should set the frequency for the site, taking into account how the racking is used, the size of the warehouse, the equipment and the people involved. A busy multi-shift site with reach trucks in narrow aisles may need expert inspections more often than a quiet store.
Don't wait for the next booked inspection after a bad impact or a reconfiguration. PUWER regulation 6 asks for an inspection after exceptional circumstances, and after equipment is put up in a new location.
High-bay and automated racking
You can't see the upper levels of a high-bay installation from the floor. HSG76 says these systems need:
- an immediate written reporting system run by the maintenance engineer responsible for the system day to day
- an expert inspection every 12 months covering at least 20% of the installation on a rolling basis, so the whole installation is inspected at least every five years
- an appraisal of what the inspection finds by the PRRS, to decide if a wider inspection is needed, and contact with the racking manufacturer if there's any doubt about the racking's integrity
For normal racking, HSG76 says inspections are made from ground level unless there are signs of problems higher up.
Who is the PRRS, and what should the weekly check cover?
The PRRS is the person your business nominates as responsible for racking safety. They decide how often inspections happen, make sure regular visual checks are done and recorded, receive damage reports and the expert inspector's report, and make sure actions are carried out.
HSG76 doesn't say who the PRRS must be. It's often a warehouse or operations manager. Pick someone who knows the racking and its load notices, has the authority to offload a damaged bay, has training to recognise damage (SEMA runs a racking safety awareness course covering in-house inspections), and has a deputy for holidays and shifts.
HSG76 also says employees should be trained in safe use of the racking, and that there should be a system for reporting damage. Make it easy for drivers to report damage without fear of blame, or it won't get reported.
What a weekly visual check looks at
Weekly visual check: things to look for in each aisle
- Uprights: dents, bends, twists or splits, especially in the bottom metre and on end frames and aisle corners
- Bracing: bent, kinked or missing diagonal and horizontal braces
- Beams: visible bending, damage to the ends or connectors, beams that look lifted or not seated
- Beam connector locks: present and engaged on every beam end
- Base plates and floor fixings: missing anchors, plates lifted, cracked or damaged floor around the foot
- Upright protection and end barriers: damaged, loose or missing
- Load notices: in place, readable, and matching the racking as it's now laid out
- Loads: pallets overhanging, damaged pallets, loads that look heavier than the notice allows
Write down what you checked, what you found, where (aisle, bay, level) and what you did. A dated photo helps. HSG76 asks for a formal written record, and the expert inspector will want to see it.
Who can carry out an expert racking inspection?
HSG76 says a technically competent person: a trained specialist in your own organisation, a specialist from the rack supplier, or an independent qualified rack inspector. SEMA's SARI qualification is the industry's own scheme for expert rack inspectors, but it's voluntary.
There's no legal licence for racking inspectors. HSE's general guidance says an inspector needs enough knowledge and experience to know what to look at, what to look for and what to do if they find a problem.
HSG76 lists three types of technically competent person:
- A trained specialist in your own organisation. Works for large operators with real in-house expertise and the freedom to offload a busy bay.
- A specialist from the rack supplier. They'll know their own product and its load data, but may know less about other makers' racking on site.
- An independent qualified rack inspector. Inspects whatever is on site.
What SARI means
SARI stands for SEMA Approved Rack Inspector. SEMA describes it as a qualification for people who inspect storage equipment as a significant part of their duties. To qualify, a person passes a two-part SARI course, a written exam and a practical assessment, and then has to keep up continuing professional development to keep the qualification. HSG76 itself mentions the SARI scheme.
SEMA draws a distinction between two kinds of inspection:
- A damage-only inspection gives a list of damaged items and where they are.
- A SARI inspection, as SEMA describes it, goes further. It also covers the suitability and compatibility of the equipment, the rack configuration type and manufacturer, identification of components, and whether the load notice actually applies to the rack it's fixed to. That last point matters after racking has been moved or altered.
SARI is a voluntary industry scheme; the law doesn't require it. Whoever you use, ask what their inspection covers, not just what it's called.
What does a racking inspection report contain, and what do red, amber and green mean?
The report lists what the inspector found, where, how serious it is and what action is needed. Damage is usually graded with HSG76's traffic-light system: green means monitor, amber means repair as soon as possible, and red means offload and isolate immediately.
HSG76 says the expert inspector should give the PRRS a written report with their observations and proposals for any action needed. SEMA says SARI inspectors classify damage using a traffic-light system showing the action needed and the timescale. A useful report normally includes:
- the date, inspector and qualification, and which areas were (and weren't) inspected
- a location for every defect (aisle, bay, frame, beam level), its risk category and the action needed by when
- wider findings: wrong or missing load notices, mixed components, alterations, missing protection
- photos of significant defects
The damage grades come from Table 11 in HSG76:
| Grade | What it means | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Green: surveillance only | Within the limit that needs no reduction in capacity and no immediate repair. The component is safe and serviceable. | Record it as fit for further service. Mark it for re-examination at future inspections. |
| Amber: hazardous damage, remedial action as soon as possible | Damage serious enough to need repair, but not so severe that the rack must be offloaded straight away. | Arrange repair as soon as possible. Once the load comes off the damaged part, don't reload it until it's repaired. Isolate it, for example with dated labels. If it isn't repaired within four weeks of the original grading, treat it as red. |
| Red: very serious damage, immediate action | A critical level of damage. | Offload the area immediately and isolate it until it's repaired, usually by replacing the damaged component. For example, offload the bay while the inspector is there and rope it off. |
HSG76 refers to SEMA's guide to the conduct of pallet racking and shelving surveys for the detail behind these grades. If your weekly check finds damage and you aren't sure how bad it is, offload the bay and get it assessed.
How do you prepare for an expert racking inspection?
Give the inspector access to every aisle, the original design and load information, your weekly inspection records and damage log, and details of any changes since the last inspection. Plan when trucks and stock movements will pause so they can work safely.
Before the visit:
- Gather the paperwork. Original layout drawings, load notices or load data from the supplier, the last expert report and evidence of the repairs done since, and your weekly check records.
- List what's changed. Beam levels moved, bays added or removed, racking relocated, new truck types, heavier products. These are the changes most likely to make a load notice wrong.
- Agree the scope. All racking or named areas? For high-bay sites, which 20% this year?
- Plan access. The inspector needs to walk every aisle safely. Agree when trucks will stop in each zone and who will escort them.
- Have someone available to offload. If red damage is found, HSG76's example is to offload the bay while the inspector is there. Have a driver and spare locations ready.
- Make sure the PRRS is on site for the walk-round and debrief, so findings go straight to the person who acts on them.
Let the inspector see the racking as it's normally used, loads and aisle conditions included.
What should you do after the racking inspection report?
Act on red items immediately, isolate amber items and get them repaired within four weeks, update load notices where needed, record every action, and look at why the damage happened so it happens less next time.
Work through the report in order of risk:
- Red items. Confirm they've been offloaded and isolated. Don't wait for the written report if the inspector flagged them on the day.
- Amber items. Isolate them so they aren't reloaded once emptied. Order parts or repairs and write the four-week deadline next to each one.
- Load notice and configuration findings. Get correct load information from the manufacturer or a competent designer. HSG76 says components shouldn't be altered (for example, welded) or removed without consulting the manufacturer.
- Repairs. Use compatible parts fitted by competent people. Record who checked each repair before reloading.
- Green items. Add them to your weekly check list so you can tell if they get worse.
- Close the record. HSG76 says keep a record of inspections, damage and repairs, for example in a logbook. PUWER requires the inspection result to be kept at least until the next one is recorded.
Look at the cause
If the same frames get hit year after year, a repair just resets the clock. Look at aisle widths, driving at peak times, lighting, pallet quality and protection on aisle-end uprights. HSG76 notes that adding upright protection can sometimes reduce clearances and even increase damage, so look at it case by case rather than fitting guards everywhere.
How do you choose a racking inspector, and what should you ask?
Ask what qualification and experience the inspector has, what the inspection covers (damage only or configuration and load notices too), how damage is graded, what the report looks like, and how they keep the inspection separate from any repair work they quote for.
Expert inspections vary more than you'd expect. Before you book, ask:
- Who will do the inspection, and what qualification do they hold? If they say SARI, you can check what that involves on SEMA's site.
- What does the inspection cover? A list of damaged items, or also load notices, configuration, component identification and compatibility?
- How do you grade damage? Ask whether they use the HSG76 red/amber/green classification and SEMA's survey guidance.
- Can we see a sample report? Check defects are located clearly enough to find.
- How will you handle red damage on the day?
- Do you inspect other manufacturers' racking? Important if your site has a mix.
- Is the report separate from any repair quote? And can we get repair prices elsewhere if we want to?
Inspection and repairs from the same company
Many inspectors work for companies that also supply and repair racking. That can be convenient. Some businesses prefer an inspector who doesn't sell repairs, so the inspection and repair quote are clearly separate. Either can work. What matters is a report graded against a recognised method, and your freedom to compare repair prices.
Inspection pricing is covered in a separate guide. If you're also planning new racking, our pallet racking cost guide explains how racking quotes are built.
Related guides
Racking inspection: frequently asked questions
How often does racking need to be inspected?
HSE's HSG76 says staff should report damage immediately, a nominated person should arrange visual inspections weekly or at other regular intervals based on risk assessment, and a technically competent person should carry out an expert inspection at intervals of not more than 12 months. Busy sites may need expert inspections more often.
Is an annual racking inspection a legal requirement?
The law doesn't name racking or a 12-month interval. PUWER requires employers to maintain work equipment and to inspect equipment exposed to deterioration at suitable intervals, recording the result. HSG76 is HSE's guidance on how to do that for racking, and it recommends an expert inspection at intervals of not more than 12 months.
Can we inspect our own racking?
Your own staff can and should carry out the weekly visual checks, ideally after racking awareness training. The expert inspection can be done in-house only if you have a genuinely trained, technically competent specialist. Otherwise use a specialist from the rack supplier or an independent qualified inspector.
Does a racking inspector have to be SARI qualified?
No. SARI (SEMA Approved Rack Inspector) is a voluntary industry qualification. HSG76 asks for a technically competent person. Many businesses ask for SARI because it's a recognised, checkable standard involving a course, an exam, a practical assessment and ongoing CPD.
What does amber damage mean on a racking inspection?
Amber means hazardous damage that needs repair as soon as possible but not immediate offloading. Once the load is removed from the damaged part, it shouldn't be reloaded until repaired. HSG76 says amber damage not repaired within four weeks of the original grading should be treated as red.
What should we do if the inspector finds red damage?
Offload that area immediately and isolate it so it can't be used until it's repaired, usually by replacing the damaged component. HSG76 gives the example of offloading the bay while the inspector is present and roping it off.
How long should we keep racking inspection records?
PUWER requires the result of an inspection to be kept at least until the next inspection is recorded. HSG76 recommends keeping a record of inspections, damage and repairs, such as a logbook.
Do we need an inspection after moving or changing racking?
PUWER requires inspection after equipment is put up in a new location, and after exceptional circumstances such as major modifications. If beam levels change, check the load capacity and load notice with the manufacturer before reloading, as HSG76 advises.
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources on 12 November 2026:
- HSE: HSG76 Warehousing and storage, a guide to health and safety
- HSE: Inspection of work equipment
- Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, regulation 6
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 2
- SEMA: What is a SEMA Approved Racking Inspector
- SEMA: Warehouse racking inspection
- BSI: BS EN 15635 Steel static storage systems. Application and maintenance of storage equipment