Frequently Asked Questions

Not in those words — but in practice, yes. There is no clause in NSW law that says “inspect your racking every 12 months”. What the law does say is broader and harder to avoid.

Under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) a person conducting a business or undertaking has a primary duty of care to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that workers are not exposed to risks. Loaded steel racking is plant in your workplace. If you cannot demonstrate you know its condition, you cannot demonstrate you are managing that risk.

The way you demonstrate it is the standard. AS 4084.2:2023 calls for a formal inspection by a competent person at intervals not exceeding 12 months, and SafeWork NSW points to AS 4084 as the benchmark for meeting your duties. So the inspection is how you satisfy a legal duty — the duty is the law, the 12 months is the standard.

AS 4084-2012 has been superseded. The standard was split into two parts in 2023:

• AS 4084.1:2023 — Design. How racking is engineered, including updated seismic design, testing methods and structural analysis.
• AS 4084.2:2023 — Operation and maintenance. How racking is used, loaded, inspected and repaired once it is standing in your building. This is the part that governs your day-to-day duties.

Part 2 gives noticeably more guidance to end users and inspectors than the 2012 edition did, particularly on damage assessment and methods of repair.

Older racking does not become illegal when a standard is updated. It was designed to the standard of its day, and it is assessed on its condition and its actual capacity. We audit racking of any age or brand.

It is a measured engineering inspection, not a walk-through with a clipboard. Our process:

• Inspection of the site to update or create site layout drawings, plotting and positioning all racking.
• Identifying the racking — manufacturer, all measurements and specifications.
• Inspection against the Australian Standard to determine damage, non-compliance and unsafe practices.
• Compiling a detailed report with site layout, all racking ratings, and what needs rectifying. Reference photos are included where they make the point clearer.
• A quotation for any rectification work required.
• Once issues are rectified, a Certificate of Compliance can be issued and your Permissible Working Load charts updated with audit numbers and inspection dates.

Against the standard, we check:

• Correct installation — safety clips in place, Dyna bolts correct, levelled and squared, Permissible Working Load sign attached, minimum bracing present.
• Damage to beams, posts, bracing, footplates, standoffs and row spacers.
• Safe storage practice — Australian Standard pallets locking over the beams, imported pallets supported by mesh decks or gluts, and weight limits being observed.

Outside racking gets all of the above with particular attention to rust.

Cantilever fails differently to pallet racking, so it is checked differently:

• Correct installation — safety clips, Dyna bolts, level and square, PWL sign, minimum bracing.
• Damage to arms, arm pins, columns, bases and bracing.
• Storage practice — product not protruding past the end of the arms, and correct overhang positioning.
• Column leaning — and identifying the cause, whether overloading or the base-to-column connection.
• Guide rails.

AS 4084 sets out what a periodic inspection must establish. In the standard's own terms, the inspection is to:

• ensure the correct application and use of equipment;
• ensure that the working load limits are adhered to;
• ensure that the racking installation has not been altered — a copy of the load application and configuration drawings is retained for this purpose;
• examine the extent of damage due to impact in the racking installation;
• examine the out-of-plumb of the racking;
• examine for any dislocation and deformation of sections and connections for uprights and beams;
• examine connectors for deformation or signs of cracking of the welds; and
• examine base plates and floor anchors.

That list is why an audit takes measurement and time. Out-of-plumb and weld cracking are not visible from a forklift seat.

The certificate we issue sets them out plainly. To maintain compliance you must:

• Not alter the racking configuration from the drawings in any way without approval — we check the effect against the manufacturer's technical data first.
• Not exceed safe working unit loads.
• Report any damage incurred, however minor, to the appropriate manager so its effect on safety can be immediately assessed.
• Conduct a safety audit inspection at least every 12 months.

Alongside that, you should have a damage reporting procedure in place and documentation showing inspection history and corrective action.

It is a signed engineering statement that the racking at your premises, identified by rack ID and audit drawing number, is in compliance with the European Racking Code FEM 10.2.09 and, where applicable, AS 4084. It names the next inspection due date.

You get one once any issues found in the audit have been rectified — not before. A certificate issued over known unrepaired damage would be worthless to you and to your insurer.

Our certificates are countersigned by our engineering consultant, who holds Dip.Eng.(Mech), Dip.Management (Project) and Cert IV OHS, and is a member of the National Safety Council of Australia.

The standard calls for a competent person — someone with the knowledge, training and experience to identify defects and judge their effect on safety. It is a capability test, not a licence you buy.

Your own staff can and should do routine visual checks and report damage as it happens. The formal periodic inspection is where independence and engineering judgement matter, because the person signing it is stating the racking is fit to carry load.

Our audits are carried out by a racking engineer with over 40 years in the trade.

Yes. Load signage must be displayed and kept current — it is one of the first things an inspector looks for, and one of the most common findings.

The information that should be available includes:

• the racking manufacturer's name, the supplier's name and trademark, and the installation date;
• the designer's name, company or individual;
• the working unit load limit;
• the total working unit load limit for each pallet beam level;
• the total working unit load limit for each bay;
• the maximum distance from base plate level to the first beam level, and between adjacent beam levels.

We update your PWL charts with audit numbers and inspection dates as part of completing an audit.

There are two, and they are different things:

• Maximum unit load — an individual stored item, for example one pallet of material that can be placed or retrieved in a single operation.
• Total rated capacity for each bay — the total weight of all unit loads on that bay.

You can be inside the unit load limit on every pallet and still overload the bay. There must always be some way of determining the weight of each unit load going into the racking.

Immediately, once you become aware that a notifiable incident has occurred. Under the WHS Act a notifiable incident is a death, a serious injury or illness, or a dangerous incident — even if nobody was hurt.

A racking collapse, or a partial collapse or structural failure that exposed anyone to serious risk, is a dangerous incident. The fact that the aisle happened to be empty at the time does not remove the duty to notify.

It varies by site, and we would rather quote honestly than publish a number that is wrong for you. The cost depends on location, whether site drawings exist, the availability of specifications, and the quantity of racking.

Engineering reports and layout drawings are available as optional extras. Call 02 4322 6300 and we will give you a straight answer.

Racking should be designed specifically for the size, shape and weight of what you are storing, and set up and maintained to the manufacturer's instructions.

Layout has to match your materials handling equipment — aisle width against the turning circle of the forklift doing the picking and replenishment. Get that wrong and you either cannot reach the stock or you spend the next decade repairing impact damage.

The layout also has to account for emergency access, adequate lighting and any manual handling.

Not safely on beams alone. Australian Standard pallets are built to lock over the beams. Imported pallets frequently are not, and can drop between them.

Where imported pallets are in use we fit mesh decks or gluts so the load is supported regardless of pallet type. Pallet type is one of the storage practice items we check on every audit.

Mesh decks sit across the beams to create a continuous supported surface. You need them when you are storing anything the beams alone will not safely carry — imported or damaged pallets, cartons, small or loose items, or where anything could fall through into an aisle below.

They also improve sprinkler performance and let you see what is on the level above.

Stand-offs hold racking off a wall or structure so loads and forklift tynes cannot foul it, and so the frame is not taking impact against the building. Row spacers tie back-to-back runs together at a fixed distance, which keeps the rows aligned and adds stability to the installation.

Both are checked for damage during an audit — a bent row spacer usually means something has been driven into the run.

Yes. Galvanised racking is the right answer anywhere the racking is exposed — outdoor yards, open-sided sheds, wash-down areas and coastal sites.

Outdoor racking is inspected for everything indoor racking is, with particular attention to rust. Rust at the base plate and floor anchors matters more than surface rust up the column, because that is where the load is transferred into the slab.

Whenever the product is longer than it is convenient to palletise: timber lengths, steel sections, pipe, conduit, sheet material and boards. Cantilever has no front column in the way, so a long load can be loaded and picked from the front without fighting an upright.

Galvanised for anything outdoors or in a corrosive, damp or wash-down environment. The coating is metallurgically bonded and will outlast paint in weather by a wide margin.

Powder coated for indoor installations where appearance and colour matching matter and corrosion is not the governing risk. It is a tougher and more consistent finish than wet paint.

Both are inspected the same way. The finish changes the corrosion risk, not the structural duties.

Capacity of a column is measured at the top arm. That is the reference point — it is not an average across the column, and it is not the sum of what every arm could carry in isolation.

Arm capacity, arm spacing, column capacity and base size all interact. Changing the arm level spacing on an installed rack changes its rating, which is why configuration changes need approval before you make them.

A leaning column is a symptom, and the cause has to be identified before it is straightened. In practice it is usually one of two things: overloading, or a problem at the base-to-column connection — loose or under-sized anchors, a damaged base, or a slab that is not carrying the load.

Straightening the column without fixing the cause just resets the clock. Column lean is a specific check item on every cantilever audit.

Only within the correct overhang for the installation — and product must never protrude past the end of the arm in a way that leaves it unsupported or projecting into an aisle or walkway.

Incorrect overhang is one of the most common unsafe storage practices we write up, because it loads the arm tip in a way it was never rated for.

Horizontal storage of long product where you need to separate it by type, length or grade and pick individual items without disturbing the rest — timber lengths, mouldings, tube, bar and profile stock.

It can be built with a mezzanine floor over the top, which recovers the airspace above the storage as usable floor.

Vertical or near-vertical storage of sheet and board product leaning against the frame — sheet steel, ply, glass, benchtops and panel stock. It keeps sheets off the floor, separated and accessible without laying them flat and having to dig through a stack.

Often, yes — but it is an engineering question, not a storage question. Putting a floor over racking changes what those frames carry and how the structure behaves. It needs to be designed, not improvised.

Come to us with the existing racking specifications and we will tell you honestly whether it can carry it or what would need to change.

Report it immediately, however minor it looks. Damage should go to the appropriate manager so its effect on safety can be assessed straight away.

Where damage exceeds the defined tolerances, that racking should be unloaded immediately and not used until corrective measures are in place. Not at the end of the shift — immediately.

Record it. Coloured stick-on tags showing the location and level of damage are a simple, effective system, and they give you the documented history an inspector or insurer will ask for.

Both are legitimate outcomes, and which one applies depends on the component, the extent of the damage and where it sits in the load path. AS 4084.2:2023 gives considerably more guidance on damage assessment and methods of repair than the older edition did.

What is not legitimate is patching it yourself. Never make physical alterations to uprights, bracings, beams or components — welding on additional cleats or bearers, for example — without the approval of a competent person.

Replacement of uprights, bracings, beams, clips or other components should be done using parts from the equipment manufacturer. Racking brands are not interchangeable — connector profiles and beam-to-frame engagement differ, and a clip that almost fits is a failure waiting to happen.

Where alternative parts genuinely must be used, an engineering report should confirm they are compatible with the racking being repaired. We can arrange that assessment.

Not without approval. Modifications should only be made by a competent person working from the information the supplier provided, and must account for the effect on load limits.

Changing beam levels is the classic example — moving a beam up to fit taller stock increases the unsupported length of the upright and can substantially reduce the bay's capacity. The rack looks identical and is now rated for less than the sign says.

After any approved modification, operating procedures, signs and drawings must be updated to reflect it.

Yes — dismantling, transport, and re-installation at the new premises. Relocation is the point at which a lot of racking quietly loses its compliance, because it goes up in a new configuration on a different slab with no updated drawings and no new load signage.

We treat a relocation as an installation: the layout is designed for the new building, components are assessed as they come down, and you finish with current drawings and correct PWL signage.

Yes. No matter what brand or how old your racking is, we can help — audits, repairs, reconfiguration and relocations across any manufacturer's system.

Yes. Operating a forklift truck requires a high risk work licence — class LF for a standard forklift truck, or LO for an order-picking forklift. Licences are issued by SafeWork NSW after training and assessment through a registered training organisation.

A licence covers the operator's competence to drive. It does not make the layout safe — that is still the operator's, and your, duty to manage.

Impact damage is the single biggest cause of racking failure, and most of it is designed in rather than driven in. The things that actually work:

• Aisle widths that match the truck's turning circle, not the minimum the racking allows.
• Pallet protectors and frame protection on any upright exposed to impact — frames exposed to possible impact should have protection.
• Guide rails where trucks run repeatedly in a defined path.
• Adequate lighting, and clear separation of forklifts from people on foot.
• A no-blame damage reporting culture. Operators who expect to be punished stop reporting hits, and you find the damage during an audit instead — or after a collapse.

We work with specialist materials handling equipment including Combilift and Hubtex — multi-directional and sideloading trucks built for long loads, which is exactly the problem cantilever and pigeon hole racking exists to solve.

Long-load handling is where a conventional counterbalance forklift struggles and where the right truck transforms how much of your building you can actually use. Talk to us about the racking and the truck together — they are one decision, not two.

Our own saddle system for supporting product on racking. It is one of the things we developed in-house over decades of finding that the standard answer did not suit the job in front of us.

There is a short video of it in action on our videos page.

Pallet protectors, stackable stillages, stillages and jibs, mesh decks, pick slots, pallet racking stand-offs, row spacers, guide rails, safe working load signage and the saddle system.

See the accessories page for the range, or call us with the problem rather than the part number — there is often a better answer than the obvious one.

Stillages are steel containers for storing and moving product that does not suit a pallet — offcuts, fabricated parts, bulk components. Stackable versions let you build them up and recover floor space.

Jibs attach to a forklift or crane to lift long or awkward loads from a single point. Both are about handling the stock that does not fit the standard system.

The recurring mistakes we are called out to fix:

• Welding brackets, cleats or bearers onto uprights or beams to hang something off the rack.
• Drilling uprights — every hole removes section from the member carrying your load.
• Hanging services, lighting, conduit or signage off racking it was not designed to support.
• Fitting another brand's beams into your frames because they look close enough.
• Moving beam levels without recalculating and re-signing the bay capacity.

All of these are alterations. All of them need approval from a competent person first, and updated signage and drawings after.

We are at Main Road, Toukley NSW 2263 on the NSW Central Coast, and we service Australia wide. A great deal of our audit and installation work is done well outside the Central Coast — distance is a cost question, not a capability one.

David Hill Industrial Group is a family-owned business with 40 years in materials handling and warehouse design. Our racking engineer has over 40 years in the trade.

We are small on purpose. You deal with the people doing the work.

“We supply what you need — not what we have to offer.”

We listen first, then design the system that suits your site today and as you grow. If the honest answer is that you need less than you asked for, that is the answer you will get.

Chief morale officer, site inspector and the hardest worker on the payroll. If you visit the Toukley yard, expect a thorough welcome.

Call 02 4322 6300, or David direct on 0409 737 624. You can also email [email protected] or use the contact form.

Quotes are free and in writing. For an audit it helps if you know roughly how many bays you have and whether you have any existing drawings or specifications — but if you do not, we will work it out on site.