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With No Falls Week upon us, it’s the right moment to talk about something we do regularly, and something MEWP operators and managers don’t always consider. Working at height is one of the most dangerous occupational tasks and falls from height remain the leading cause of workplace fatalities in Great Britain (HSE data). These are … Continue reading “The Vital Part of MEWP Safety Rarely Practised”
\n","status":"publish","uri":"/the-vital-part-of-mewp-safety-rarely-practised/","featuredImage":null},{"id":"cG9zdDo0NDY1","date":"2026-04-20T12:01:19","title":"Easily Manage MEWPs Across Multiple Sites with HireHub, Your 24/7 Partner","excerpt":"For mechanical and electrical contractors, fit-out companies, and industrial door specialists and commercial maintenance businesses managing large, high-stakes projects, keeping track of dozens of Mobile Elevated Work Platforms (MEWPs) across multiple live sites isn’t just an administrative task, it’s a critical operational necessity. But it comes with it challenges due to the many moving parts. … Continue reading “Easily Manage MEWPs Across Multiple Sites with HireHub, Your 24/7 Partner”
\n","status":"publish","uri":"/easily-manage-mewps-across-multiple-sites-with-hirehub-your-24-7-partner/","featuredImage":null},{"id":"cG9zdDo0NDU2","date":"2026-04-17T09:19:50","title":"How 24/7 MEWP Support Prevents Work-at-Height Project Delays","excerpt":"No matter what work-from-height project you’re undertaking, delays that occur because of faulty MEWPs (mobile elevating work platforms), late deliveries or a lack of support from a supplier can have a significant impact on project and business outcomes. And if you work through the night, when this happens, the last thing you need is to … Continue reading “How 24/7 MEWP Support Prevents Work-at-Height Project Delays”
\n","status":"publish","uri":"/how-24-7-mewp-support-prevents-work-at-height-project-delays/","featuredImage":null},{"id":"cG9zdDo0NDUx","date":"2026-04-13T08:57:00","title":"What to Do When Your MEWP Breaks Down on Site","excerpt":"While hiring a MEWP (mobile elevating work platforms) from Horizon Platforms guarantees a hassle-free experience 98% of the time, there are unfortunately occasions where a powered access platform may break down due to unforeseen or unexpected circumstances. But what do you do when you’re in the middle of a job and your access platforms stops … Continue reading “What to Do When Your MEWP Breaks Down on Site”
\n","status":"publish","uri":"/what-to-do-when-your-mewp-breaks-down-on-site/","featuredImage":null},{"id":"cG9zdDo0NDQ4","date":"2026-04-10T11:39:54","title":"How to Renew Your IPAF Licence","excerpt":"IPAF PAL Cards are valid for 5 years. When it expires, you need to complete a renewal course to remain certified to operate mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs) such as scissor lifts, cherry pickers and push around platforms. This article explains what the renewal process involves, when to do it, and why it matters. Why … Continue reading “How to Renew Your IPAF Licence”
\n","status":"publish","uri":"/how-to-renew-your-ipaf-licence/","featuredImage":null}]},"wpCategories":{"nodes":[{"id":"dGVybToyMzU=","name":"Case Study","slug":"case-study","uri":"/category/case-study/","count":5,"seo":{"fullHead":"\nHealth & safety should always be your number one priority when installing a warehouse storage solution. Large fines can be incurred if your practices are found to be less than robust. That’s why the HSE’s Guide to health & safety in the warehouse and storage industry – known by those in the industry as HSG76 … Continue reading “Racking Installation Safety Requirements and Guidelines”
\n","status":"publish","uri":"/racking-installation-safety-should-always-come-first-when-you-work-at-height/","featuredImage":null,"content":"\nHealth & safety should always be your number one priority when installing a warehouse storage solution. Large fines can be incurred if your practices are found to be less than robust.
\n\n\n\nThat’s why the HSE’s Guide to health & safety in the warehouse and storage industry – known by those in the industry as HSG76 – is a must-read for racking installation companies, SEIRS (Storage Equipment Installers Registration Scheme) installers, and anyone involved in delivering a warehouse storage solution.
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThat said, this detailed guide comprises a whopping 155 pages covering a broad range of health and safety issues to be aware of if you work in the warehouse and storage sector. So, to provide a more palatable overview, we’ve explored the key warehouse racking regulations to bear in mind!
\n\n\n\nUsing a mobile elevating work platform (MEWP) to install your racking system is one of the safest ways to work at height. However, there are a few basic racking safety requirements to consider before getting to work.
\n\n\n\nHere, you’ll find ten essential racking safety rules to swear by, to keep you and your employees safe:
\n\n\n\nThe Health & Safety Executive (HSE) states that: “Any work at height…must be properly planned, appropriately supervised and carried out in a safe way.”
\n\n\n\nThe ever-present risks of working at height can be substantially minimised with proper planning and execution of work at height tasks (for instance, considering our cherry picker checklist, for use of boom lifts).
\n\n\n\nHere are just some of the dangers that can be encountered when working at height in the racking installation industry, together with some simple steps to ensure warehouse storage installation is carried out safely.
\n\n\n\nStanding on pallets on forklift trucks to work at height may be a tempting “quick fix”; but it’s also one which is highly likely to result in injury – and often serious. Forklifts are commonplace in many environments where work at height is undertaken but should only be used for the purpose for which they were intended: to transport materials and stock, never personnel.
\n\n\n\nEqually, installers should not be tempted to climb on racking units, unless the unit has been specifically designed for use as access equipment. Racking installers should choose a quality MEWP which is designed to enable quick and safe work at height from 6-60ft.
\n\n\n\nEven with the correct work-at-height equipment in place, without proper care and attention, operators can be crushed or trapped against ceilings and high roof beams. It is vital to ensure that anyone operating a MEWP is wearing the appropriate safety workwear, and has undertaken relevant IPAF training to ensure they are fully aware of the hazards that exist at height and possess the knowledge and skills to use their machinery safely.
\n\n\n\nRacking installers often carry items in the MEWP basket, which, if not secured properly or slip from someone’s hand, could drop from height and cause serious injury to anyone below. In addition, heavier items such as beams and girders that are lifted to height, ready for fitting, must be properly handled.
\n\n\n\nImportantly, the area directly below where a racking installer is working should be cordoned off to reduce the risk of injury from falling objects.
\n\n\n\nInstalling, moving or dismantling warehouse storage should always be carried out by qualified SEIRS installers or SAICs, using quality work-at-height mobile elevating work platforms. In his blog of 10 May 2015, then-President of SEMA (Storage Equipment Manufacturers’ Association), Matt Grierson, outlined how to choose the right racking installers, stating that:
\n\n\n\n“Finding a racking design and installation company that places health and safety at the heart of their business is no longer a lottery”… It certainly isn’t in 2025!
\n\n\n\nGrierson advised clients to use SEMA approved installation companies (SAIC); or individual installers who are SEIRS trained and qualified.
\n\n\n\nTo discuss the most suitable MEWP to hire when installing racking – from conventional pallet racking to push-back racking – call the hire experts at Horizon Platforms today. In addition, Horizon has an IPAF-approved training team, who can offer advice on the correct safety training course for your racking installers.
\n\n\n\nUpdated 29th April 2025
\n","slug":"racking-installation-safety-should-always-come-first-when-you-work-at-height","author":{"node":{"avatar":{"url":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/53cff1723be8bca85459ec3ae51ce0f3?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"name":"Malcolm Briggs","uri":"/author/malcolm/"}},"categories":{"nodes":[{"id":"dGVybTox","uri":"/category/company-news/","name":"Company News"}]},"tags":{"nodes":[{"id":"dGVybToxODU=","uri":"/tag/racking-installation-companies/","name":"racking installation companies"},{"id":"dGVybToxOTM=","uri":"/tag/racking-installers/","name":"racking installers"},{"id":"dGVybToxODc=","uri":"/tag/racking-units/","name":"racking units"},{"id":"dGVybToxODE=","uri":"/tag/sema/","name":"SEMA"},{"id":"dGVybToxODQ=","uri":"/tag/warehouse-storage/","name":"warehouse storage"},{"id":"dGVybToxODA=","uri":"/tag/warehouse-storage-installation/","name":"warehouse storage installation"},{"id":"dGVybToxODY=","uri":"/tag/warehouse-storage-solution/","name":"warehouse storage solution"}]}},{"id":"cG9zdDoxODY4","date":"2018-11-12T16:58:26","postedDate":"12th November 2018","yearMonth":"/2018/11/","year":"/2018/","month":"11/","title":"Racking installation | MEWP hire","seo":{"fullHead":"\nRack 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 … Continue reading “Racking installation | MEWP hire”
\n","status":"publish","uri":"/racking-installation-mewp-hire/","featuredImage":null,"content":"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.
\nHere are a few tips to ensure your customers stay happy and you avoid racking up any problems along the way:
\nIt 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.
\nMany 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.
\nA 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.
\nWe 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.
\nHorizon 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.
\nHSE 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).”
\nSuch 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.
\nThe 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.
\nThe 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.
\nReputable 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”.
\nOur 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.
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