Electronic forms for racking inspection assist in AS-4084 compliance

Steel racking used in warehouses and factories to store heavy pallets are susceptible to stress and damage, which could lead to collapse. Organisations and warehouses using steel racks are required to regularly check the racks for signs of stress or damage to ensure compliance and safety.

The automation of the rack safety inspection process based on the Australian standard (AS 4084-2012) is yet another example of how paperless inspection application has been used to streamline safety audits and provide both time and cost benefits.

The steel rack inspection checklist based on this Australian standard can be easily translated to a paperless form to enable inspections to be conducted on mobile devices such as iPads, tablets or smart phones.

Results of the inspection including images of the defective parts are sent from the mobile device to a central database for storage, analysis and reporting.

Reports include notification of damages and colour coded reports as per AS 4084.

Red- (unload immediately) – Racking which is severely damaged and should be immediately off-loaded and isolated from future use until repair work is undertaken.

Amber- (repair) – racking is damaged but not sufficiently to warrant immediate off-load of the rack.

Green- (monitor) – racking which is damaged but does not pose an immediate safety risk.

Some of the checks that can be done using the mobile devices are: • Upright damages. • Baseplates. • Floor fixing. • Horizontal and diagonal braces. • Beam loads (e.g. connectors, safety locks, stress, deformation, etc.) All Android and Apple mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) will allow for photographs of the defect areas on the racks to be captured and attached to reports. Voice recordings can be made with each inspection and steel racks can be identified using RFID or barcodes to save time for the inspector.

For more information contact: naamans@pervidi.com