Accidents do happen

Preventing Catastrophic Accidents

From Happening in Your Warehouse

Understanding Warehouse Accidents

Companies often do not realised that accidents in warehouses happened more

frequent than they thought. While not all accidents amount to heavy losses, one of the most
catastrophic scenarios that can happen in a warehouse, and possibly every warehouse op-
erator's worst nightmare, is a Rack Collapse.

Why does Rack Collapse happen?

It could be due to a simple act of the forklift operator reversing into the edge of a large pallet
rack. What happens next? Within seconds the warehouse was turned into a wreck. As the
racks collapsed cross aisle creating a domino effect and eventually the warehouse turned a
catastrophic collapse with the risk of human injuries or at worst fatalities
Other possible causes include:

`` Poor or altered configuration of the racks without seeking professional assistance.

`` Under designed racking system, manufactured by unqualified companies.
`` No proper stowage of pallets, overloading the rack system beyond its engineered
weight capacity.
`` Use of mixed components from different manufacturers resulting in no form of rack
system compliance.
`` Copy products which have never been tested.
`` Use of substitute components instead of originals.
`` No proper rack maintenance and reporting system to monitor damages caused to
the rack system.
`` Not using pallet rack protectors.

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 Understanding Warehouse Accidents

Good Collapse Vs
Bad Collapse

While damages to the rack systems are

sometimes inevitable considering the amount
of forklift activities happening in the warehouse
on a daily basis, there are certainly ways that
can prevent catastrophic rack failures.

GOOD COLLAPSE
A good collapse is when a section of the rack is
damaged due to material handling driver error
where frames are damaged so severely that
collapse is inevitable. However, only that
particular damaged section of the rack
collapses. The rest of the rack system in the
warehouse remains intact and unaffected by
the rack collapse.

In this instance, damages caused to the

warehouse is minimised. This happens only
when the supplier of the rack system in the
warehouse has products manufactured
adhering to strict international industry
standards.

This is known as a vertical collapse where only

the adjacent bays either side of the frame is
affected.

BAD COLLAPSE
A bad collapse on the other hand results in tremendous damages. It creates a domino cross
aisle collapse when the damaged section of the rack system collapses, bringing down the
other sections of the racks which were originally unaffected by the rack damage.

This causes the warehouse operator to incur massive losses and greatly affect their day to
day operations. It could also result in personal injury or in the worst case scenario, death of
the workers.

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 Solution to prevent warehouse accidents

Choosing the right supplier

At SSI Schaefer, our pallet racking system is designed to comply with international standards
such as EN 15512:2009 and AS 4084:2012. The SSI Schaefer Interlock 600 Pallet Racking
System was designed by applying the latest product and manufacturing developments in
SSI Schaefer Europe and following the EN 15512:2009 Racking Design Code which uses
second order analysis for determining the bay load capacity and safety factor.

The EN safety factor of 1:1.54 based on second order analysis, is set deliberately high, so
even when a frame is severely damaged by the forklift, the beams will support the rack with
load, to allow pallets to be offloaded safely before isolating.

The European Norm (EN) 15515:2009 supersedes FEM 10.2.02, which was developed and
ratified by the worlds leading authority on storage system design. This standard,
EN 15512:2009 represents the culmination of more than 20 years of research and
development. It differs from the SEMA standard and the Australian Standard
AS 4084-2012 which was written based on
EN 15512:2009 and FEM 10.2.02.

Had this accident happened to racks non compliant

to either EN or AS racking standards, the frame would
probably collapsed cross aisle which would then cause
a domino effect to all adjacent racks, leading to a
catastrophic collapse which could endanger other
operatives lives.

OUR ENGINEERING TEAM

Interlock 600 was designed and developed using SSI Schaefers worldwide engineering
resources; involving people from the headquarters in Germany, the Malaysian
manufacturing plant, and consulting engineers SCL Ingegneria Strutturale from Italy who
oversee, guide and verify our testing and design methodologies.

OUR TESTING FACILITY

SSI Schaefer now has its own test
facilities certified by German test
centres and subsequently ratified
by Dortmund University in Germany.
Test samples were manufactured in
the Malaysia manufacturing plant
and tested both in-house and at the
Dortmund University under the re-
quirements of EN 15512:2009 and
AS 4084-2012.
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BEAM CONNECTOR TEST
Shown on the right is the test for the beam end connector to
upright. A force is applied under controlled conditions and the
stiffness of the connection is measured electronically and feed
out to a data graph.

FRAME UPRIGHT TEST

Shown on the right is the frame upright profile compression test.
A number of tests are conducted for the same profile size and
thickness, and an average of the failure load is each taken to
calculate the safe working load.

COMPUTER MODELING
EN and AS incorporate the use of the latest computer simulation
software programme, Finite Element Analysis (FEA). FEA is the
method of studying continuous physical systems, used in many
different fields including:
1) Structural Mechanics
2) Electrical Field Theory
3) Fluid Mechanics
The system breaks down the members into discrete elements
interconnected at discrete node points. This allows designers to
solve complex engineering problems.
A computer model is built of the different racking configurations
including the test data.
Inside the FEA computer model, various load simulations are
computed until the optimum design load configuration is found.
This lengthy process of re-running different load combinations
and designs is carried out automatically with specially written
additional software.

BEAM LOAD TABLE

The load configurations obtained are then summarised in tables,
for the use of project design engineers when designing various
projects.

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 Solution to prevent warehouse accidents

FULL SIZE BAYLOAD TEST

In addition to this accepted method of testing and
calculating the permissible loads as defined in EN
15512:2009 Racking Design Standard, SSI Schaefer
carried out an additional full size load test of a bay run of
racking as shown opposite.

The racking was loaded to its working load plus an

additional 50%. Then a lateral force was applied at the
uppermost (worst) position of the rack to simulate a
possible fork truck impact. Readings of the deflections and
out of plumb etc. were taken so as to compare against the
computer simulation model. They were taken within 5% of
the calculated values, so proving verification of the accu-
racy and dependency that can be placed on the method.

INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION
As stated earlier, all methods
of testing and design were
overseen or carried out by an
independent engineering
consultant who specialise in
structural racking systems
particularly storage systems.
The Schaefer Interlock 600
Racking System is certified to
meet the requirements of
EN 15512:2009 and
AS 4084-2012.

The Data Read Out shown here is an example of the graph read
out summary of the beam end connector test. It shows the
rotation of the connector as the load is applied to final failure.
With this data, the safe working loads and stiffness of connectors
can be calculated.

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Importance of Warehouse Safety
A reputable storage systems provider understands the importance of warehouse safety and provides
professional advice with aims to achieve that when designing the configurating of your warehouse racking
system.

SSI Schaefer offers a regular Racking Maintenance and Safety Program to ensure that the racking systems
operating in your warehouse stays within the original design specification, and will also send technicians to
physically check the systems for any damage caused by Mechanical Handling Equipment.

DAMAGE PALLETS
The quality, design and material of a pallet is a critical factor in the design
of pallet racking systems. Some pallets, in par ticular the plastic variety, are
excellent for block stacking but do not have sufficient strength in the
base-board structure to be used in pallet racking, without the use of
additional steel supports.

Use of the wrong type of pallet, or damaged pallets can lead to rack collapse.

EN 15620:2008, advise optimum frame dimensions for alternative types of

pallet. Please contact your nearest Schaefer Of fice, who will be pleased to
offer advice and testing procedures for different styles of pallets.

LOADING & UNLOADING

a. Use the right forklift.
The forklift must have the adequate capacity and
be capable of lifting loads to the required height.
b. Correct Fork Length
Correct fork length is critical to ensure load stability
and minimise rack damage
Forks must be of sufficient length to support all
pallet boards
Forks must not extend beyond the pallet boards
d. Entering The Rack
To safely deposit or retrieve a pallet the forklift
MUST approach the racking squarely and
not at an angle
DO NOT attempt to deposit or retrieve a pallet
when the forklift is not aligned correctly
DO NOT nudge a pallet to position it correctly
in the rack

c. Picking up Pallets
All Pallets must be picked up square to the forks
If pallets are not picked up squarely the effective
size of the pallet is increased
DO NOT nudge a pallet to square it up on the forks
+ in depth
+ in width
 Solution to prevent warehouse accidents

APPROACH
Load Placement
Incorrect placement of loads can be dangerous
Loads should be evenly distributed across the beam length
Pallets should be positioned correctly
Pallet weight should not exceed design load
Loads should be positioned evenly across the pallet

SAFE WORKING LOADS SIGNS

POSSIBLE DAMAGE POINTS ACCORDING TO EN

STANDARDS

BEAM DEFLECTION UPRIGHT DAMAGE

The maximum beam deflection in a loaded The maximum Upright Damage due to impact in
condition = SPAN / 200 the direction of the bracing (Front to Back) over a
Example 1000mm distance = 3.0mm
2700 / 200 = 13.5mm If the damage is localised, the allow-
able damage for a distance less than
1000m in length is pro-rata the above.
Example: 1.5mm over 500mm,
2.25mm over 750mm
Where possible always test over
1000mm span

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UPRIGHT DAMAGE BRACING DAMAGE
The maximum Upright Damage due to impact The maximum Bracing Damage in either
in the direction of the beams (Side to Side) direction or plane over a 1000mm distance
over a 1000mm distance = 5.0mm = 10.0mm
If the damage is localised, the The allowable damage
allowed damage for a distance for bracing less than
less than 1000mm in length is 1000mm in length is pro-
pro-rata the above. Example: rata the above. Example:
2.5mm over 500mm, 3.75mm 5.0mm over 500mm,
over 750mm 7.5mm over 750mm
Where possible always test over
1000mm span

OUT OF PLUMB
The maximum Out of Plumb due to impact or damage in either direction or plane
= Frame Height / 500
When measuring Out of Plumb, racks must be in an unloaded condition
This is for a manually operated equipment environment as tolerances are stricter
for guided or automatic equipment

USE OF RACK PROTECTORS

Under the EN standards, it is obligatory to use rack protectors with the pallet racking system to protect
pallet racks from structural damage caused by a forklift. Pallet racks are not designed to withstand
multiple forklift impacts. Even low speed collisions can lead to serious structural damage.
Protector Options:

Accidents are preventable

- ONLY if you chooses the right option...
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 Cer tified System Pro

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LIT/1412/A10171 by SSI Schaefer Singapore.

2014. Printed in Malaysia.
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We assume no responsibility for printing errors.