Rack up your warehouse storage installation credentials with quality MEWP hire and stay safe working at height
Whether you’re installing new racking in an industrial unit, dismantling and relocating warehouse storage to new premises, installing a mezzanine floor or repairing existing racking units, you’ll need the right work-at-height equipment, SEIRS installers and training to do the job safely and efficiently.
Here are a few tips to ensure your customers stay happy and you avoid racking up any problems along the way:
Be clear on the type of warehouse storage solution your client needs
It may sound obvious, but it’s vital to establish your client’s precise racking requirements long before you arrange MEWP hire and book in your Storage Equipment Installers Registration Scheme (SEIRS) installers.
Many racking installation companies offer a full warehouse storage solution: this can include a design and planning service to ensure clients get the most appropriate racking system for their particular warehouse or storage unit, the manufacture and supply of bespoke or ready-made racking units and the safe installation of the final product.
A broad range of warehouse storage solutions exist and can be tailored to meet each client’s bulk storage requirements, from adjustable pallet racking and mobile racking to push-back and drive in racking systems. Whatever type of racking system your client chooses – and whatever level of service they require – if it includes installation, you’ll need to ensure you have access to a reputable MEWP hire supplier offering quality platforms to enable you to fit out and install the full range of racking systems on the market.
Hire in quality MEWPs suited to the job
We appreciate that many racking installation companies sub-contract work to specialist SEIRS installation engineers, so if you’re shelling out a couple of hundred pounds a day for each engineer, you need to be sure the right work-at-height platform is available and delivered when you need it.
Horizon Platforms has an enviable reputation for on-time delivery of quality work-at-height platforms: 97% of our MEWPs are delivered on time and in excellent working order. Our fleet of clean, compact scissor lifts are particularly useful for racking installation work. With extendable decks, pipe racks and power to the basket, our battery-powered scissors help make light work of warehouse storage installation, allowing two-person teams to install racking quickly, safely and efficiently from 6 – 60ft, anywhere in the UK. Platforms can be delivered the same day if needs be and flexible hire periods are available, from a single day to long term hire contracts.
Make sure your MEWPs are used by IPAF trained operators
HSE guidance on warehousing and storage states that everyone involved in working at height should have “the ability to do the work safely” and advises that “training may be needed”. It goes on to say that “some access equipment may require specialist training, eg a mobile elevating work platform (MEWP).”
Such specialist training comprises an IPAF-approved training course delivered by expert IPAF instructors and demonstrators who are dedicated to ensuring trainees get all the insights and practise they need to safely and skilfully carry out work-at-height tasks. Our courses achieve a 96% pass rate and are available from Horizon’s state-of-the-art IPAF-approved training centres in Wakefield and Warrington.
Only use fully qualified SEIRS installers
The HSE guidance on warehouse safety states that the job of raising, uniting, and anchoring iron and steel frames, beams, girders, joints, columns, decks, and other structural members to form racking units should only be carried out by “competent people” and points out that it “is not sufficient to assume” that someone is competent and working safely. In 2015, the HSE went a step further by making it a legal requirement for warehouse owners to ensure that people working in their warehouses are “competent”; anyone caught flouting the rules can face hefty fines and prosecution.
The HSE recommends using contractors who are approved by the storage industry regulatory body, the Storage Equipment Manufacturers’ Association (SEMA). SEMA was the driving force behind the introduction of the Storage Equipment Installers Registration Scheme (SEIRS) which offers safety training and qualifications to individual installers and racking installation companies.
Reputable racking installers will carry a SEIRS card as a demonstration of their commitment to safe working practices and a guarantee that they qualify as a “competent person”.
How Horizon Platforms can help
Our hire experts have a wealth of experience in supplying MEWPs to racking installation companies. They’ll ask you a series of quick and easy questions; your answers will give them all the information they need to recommend the best scissor lift to enable you to deliver your warehouse storage solution on time and to budget. Call us today.