Racking as a machine

Racking has historically been treated as a one time capital purchase that doesn't need any sort of maintenance contract.  Monies were perhaps set aside each year to conduct some fixes or repairs but those budgets quite often were used up to rearrange or buy some more.  The truth is, racking is much more of a machine than people realized.  Racking systems quite often outlive several different management regimes and sometimes more than one owner as well.  Over time, the state of repair degrades and becomes accepted by those presently in charge.  It is inevitable that money will need to be spent maintaining racking, it's just a question of how much and when.  In general terms maintenance costs will run between 0.5% and 5% of the OCC (original capital cost) of the system.  Where you are in that range depends one several things:

1.  System design (aisle sizes, beam lengths, lift off, etc.)

2.  Racking style (roll form or structural) 

3.  Frame design (bolted lattices, set back design, independent protection). 

4.  Type of operation (grocery, pharma, electronics, etc.) 

That isn't the complete list but those are the major ones.  So for example, if your system had an OCC of $1,000,000 then you could spend as little as $5,000 and as much as $50,000 to keep it in good condition on an annual basis.

If racking is viewed as a machine from a maintenance perspective then different strategies can be considered to lower annual costs.  When typical machines become costly we look for ways to eliminate or reduce those costs; by buying a new one, refurbishing, modernizing, etc.  Racking is no different.  Perhaps the original system design doesn't really match the business anymore.  Maybe it makes more sense to replace sections of older racking with new racking of a better design.  Understanding your current costs and where the money actually went will help you strategize to reduce them. 

There is no reason that all operations can't have annual maintenance costs at 0.5% or less.  Just know that any racking system has a maintenance cost and its best to view it that way from day one.

How often should you inspect a racking system?

The short answer is "it depends".  Many variables determine how often you should inspect a racking or storage system.  If we start with what the law says; "employers must ensure that a racking or stacking structure will not tip or fall causing harm"(I'm paraphrasing), then we need to follow the trail from "how do I ensure that my structure will not tip or fall?".  There are applicable standards and guidelines in both the USA and Canada that the law references (allthough differently by province and state).  Basically, those guidelines require a racking system to be validated by an engineer competent in the field of racking and storage systems.  Any engineer's report or drawings will state that the system must be in "like new" condition or free of damage.  So if something is damaged then you are violating the design parameters set forth by the engineering.

It is certainly not practical to operate a racking system that contains "no damage" at any given moment in time.  So, the question of how often do you inspect is really a function of the rate of damage.  And the rate of damage in our experience is a function of aisle size, throughput, and management.   Small aisles will always result in more damage compared to the same operation with wider aisles.  High throughput rates will result in more damage, in particular if night shifts are involved.  Lastly, management plays a big role in terms of the culture of the operation.  Quite often we can tell how much damage to expect during an initial inspection just based on cleanliness.

So what it comes down to is the employers display of "best due diligence".  A high volume grocery facility will need a formal inspection, monthly.  A medium volume white goods facility might be fine with semi-annually.  Our approach is to not guess but base it on data.  If monthly inspections consistently produce lengthy damage reports then that frequency should be maintained.  If the reports are empty most months then perhaps quarterly should suffice.  The data allows you to just rely on the math.  I like health and safety walks as a team that take a few aisles every week and look for damage that is blatantly obvious.  And follow those with a more formal inspection that occurs on a frequency based on the averaged rate of damage.