Is Your Warehouse Earthquake-Prepared?

We all know New Zealand is susceptible to seismic activity. We have around 14,000 earthquakes a year. About 150 of these are large enough to be felt (the others we only know about because they are recorded by seismographs). Businesses in earthquake susceptible regions need to make sure their warehousing is earthquake-prepared

Why should you prepare?

When you think of the safest place to be during an earthquake, a warehouse is way down the list – and for good reason. Warehouses are often full of heavy equipment, palletised goods, hazardous chemicals and tall shelving stocked with merchandise.

This is why it’s critical for a warehouse to be prepared. Being prepared will reduce your risk of substantial inventory losses. But most importantly, it can prevent serious injury or death. Safety of employees in the workplace is a concern to most employers. But it’s also a legal obligation. Humans always come off second best when hit by heavy items falling from above.

How do you prepare?

Your building

Is your building in an area that is at high risk for earthquakes? New Zealand has strict building codes and much of our building stock is ‘earthquake prone’. From July 2017, property-owners had to act if local authorities considered a building earthquake-prone. A building is earthquake-prone if it has a seismic capacity of less than 33 %NBS (%New Building Standard). To determine your building’s %NBS, you’ll need an Initial Seismic Assessment by an NZ Chartered Professional Engineer. To upgrade your %NBS rating you may need a retrofit design solution.

Warehouse contents

When it comes to all things non-structural, look around your warehouse for the things that have the potential to do a lot of damage. This includes shelves, light fixtures, gas cylinders, water storage and anything else that could do considerable damage if it fell, broke or burst.

Anything you determine to be a risk should be properly secured.  How you should go about doing this will vary based on what you’re securing. If you have any doubts, it is best to err on the side of caution and call in an expert.

Racking and Shelving

Is your racking and shelving designed and maintained to withstand violent shaking without falling over?

It’s a good idea to bolt storage shelves to the floor and anchor the tops to the ceiling with steel channel bars. Ensure chemicals are secured.

The Seismic Restraint of Building Contents standard has a variety of options for restraint of goods. For example, it recommends that items stored on shelving systems in supermarkets above 1.8 metres should be enclosed with sliding gates. Store the heaviest items on bottom shelves. Items stored above 1.2 metres and weighing more 5kg must be restrained to prevent them from falling to the ground or on employees working beneath.

Engage a consulting engineer

WorkSafe New Zealand recommends businesses should engage a consulting engineer to review their racking and shelving systems’ verification and certification to ensure they are compliant.

Palletised Goods

In frequently-occupied areas palletised goods should be restrained to prevent them from creeping and falling from the racking system.

To reduce any toppling, the height of shrink-wrapped pallets should not exceed two times their base. The shrink wrapping should extend around the base of the pallet so that the goods and the pallet form one unit. Pallets should be in good condition. Broken pallets should be discarded. 

Hazardous Substances

Extra care needs to be taken when shelving hazardous substances. If incompatible hazardous substances fall from shelving and packaging is broken, chain reactions such as the release of hazardous gases or sparks leading to a fire could occur. Keep extra supplies of hazardous substance stock in segregated areas. Store filled gas cylinders as close to the ground as possible, or securely enclosed in a cage that allows air to circulate through. 

Regular inspections

Your racking and shelving should be inspected regularly. You should check for damage from forklifts, bent supports and missing bolts. Any damage should be repaired as soon as possible by a qualified contractor.

Safety Training

 In addition to training your warehouse staff to store items safely, an earthquake plan should be put in place before an event occurs. Because warehouses are hazardous during earthquakes, determine a safe place where your employees can all fit and practice earthquake drills at least once a year. A safe place may be an office with a sturdy ceiling or a loading area where there are no shelves nearby. Make sure your employees know to move to the designated spot quickly and orderly as soon as shaking is felt.

Don’t wait. Be Prepared

Earthquakes in New Zealand are not a question of if, but of a question of when. As we well know, they can occur anywhere at any time. Ask yourself, “are you prepared?”. If you don’t think you are, take the steps necessary to become so.

Want advice on making your warehouse Earthquake-Prepared?

If you’d like a no-obligation chat about improving your warehouse’s performance during a seismic event, give us a call today.