Testing of racks: a technique

Shelving is a warehouse construction, which is used to store various materials, goods and equipment. Their safety depends on the safety of their staff. When the construction collapses, the loss may amount to thousands, millions of rubles. To prevent negative consequences of disruption of the integrity of nodes and elements of the system, the racking test is periodically conducted.

There are a number of peculiarities of such a process. Different methods are used. How the structural strength testing process is organized and carried out will be discussed later.

Necessity of verification

The test of racks (GOST 55525-13) is made for a number of reasons. First of all, when creating a new design, there may be certain errors in the casting of its elements. In this case, the structure can not withstand the intended loads.

To avoid the destruction of the structure, the manufacturer tests the objects it creates. At the same time, he fixes the facts of miscalculation during the technological cycle. Errors in the drawings are eliminated.

Also, the manufacturer must establish the correspondence of the real indicators of the rack to the declared characteristics. This allows you to prevent an accident during the operation of the facility. In this case, you can significantly reduce the likelihood of not only the appearance of economic damage, but also injury or even death of warehouse employees. This is one of the most effective environmental measures.

At what time do they check?

Instruction for testing the shelves involves testing in four main cases. The first time such testing is carried out in production. When a new design is created according to new drawings, a test facility is made. It is subjected to testing to identify design errors. If all the requirements are met, the product goes to mass production.

After manufacturing a batch of similar systems, several test units are selected from them. If the characteristics of the warehouse equipment comply with the standards, all products created are commercially available.

Before installing the shelves, the storage conditions are checked. After installation, the strength of all connections of each shelf and support is also tested. During operation, the product is also periodically checked. The approximate frequency is every two years. This procedure is performed until the facility is written off the balance sheet of the company.

What does attention pay attention to

There is a certain list of issues that the auditors pay attention to. The results are documented. For this, an act of testing the racks is made, a sample of which is presented below.

Deviations from horizontal, vertical level of racks and beams are investigated. At the same time, the features of warehouse shelving must be taken into account.

The error in the deviation of the cross-section of the load-bearing elements is determined. Such deviations provoke very high loads. Also, researchers necessarily evaluate the appearance of beams, racks, shelves, pallets.

It is important to pay attention to the integrity of the welds left after welding, or threaded joints (using bolts). The compliance with the standards for the pitch of the bearing supports and crossbeams is tested. At the end of the check, the indicator of the carrying capacity of the rack is stated to meet the characteristics stated in the passport.

Visual inspection

After the inspection by the manufacturer and the user, a test report for the racks is compulsory. It indicates the data of the conducted studies. This is an official document, the registration of which is regulated by the relevant standards.

To understand the entire verification procedure, it is necessary to consider in more detail the stages of its conduct. First, a visual inspection is performed. The evaluator evaluates the quality of the materials. He must examine the surfaces of all the elements for defects. The protective layer, which prevents material from destruction, must remain intact. It should not be chipped or scratched.

After that, the geometry of the beams and support pillars is evaluated. Their value must meet the standards. If there are traces of oxidative reactions on the surface of metals, their degree is established. We take into account the presence of burrs, delaminations and other defects.

Welds

Before the testing of the racks, the joints of all elements of the system are inspected. They can be fixed to each other with screws or welded. In these places, as a rule, the structure is most susceptible to the negative effect of the load. Therefore, the quality of welded seams is determined by special methods.

This can be an ultrasonic, acoustic, luminescent or chemical method. Each of the selected techniques allows you to assess the state of joints. At the same time, the presence of sags, inclusions of slag or incomplete penetration is excluded on the seams. There should be no cracks or cuts on the joints.

Also, the test establishes the cleanliness of the welds. They should not be scaled or contaminated. Otherwise, the system will quickly disintegrate.

If the connections are assigned to a screw type, their screed is evaluated. Pair elements (nut and bolt) must be firmly tightened.

Test procedure

In carrying out quality control and the strength of the shelving, in addition to visual inspection and evaluation of the quality of joints, other methods are used. They are addressed only after a satisfactory external condition of the structure. In this case, the rack is tested for load.

This check is carried out in two directions. In the first case, the composite elements are subjected to a vertical load, and in the second - to a horizontal load. These are effective techniques that allow an objective assessment of the condition of the shelves.

The vertical load is fed to the beams. It exceeds by 25% the maximum permissible weight limit that an object can withstand. The data is taken from the passport of the structure. In the process of the study, the deflection parameters are measured. It must not exceed the boundary of 1/200 of the length of the beam.

The horizontal load of the shelves is 50% of the maximum value. Perpendicular deflection should be minimal.

Completion of the audit

After the testing of the racks, the residual deformation is measured. Again, a visual inspection of the object is performed. Welds or screw connections are also re-examined.

Upon completion of the audit, an act is drawn up. It contains all the measurement parameters. Also, the audit establishes the level of risk. The European system of standards is most often used for assessment. It assumes three levels of risk.

If the equipment is assigned to a green zone, it has minimal damage, which does not affect the structural strength of the structure. The amber zone includes racks that have little damage. However, their operation is permitted. If the object is in the red zone, its use is dangerous and is strictly prohibited.

Benefits of verification

Today, the racking test is carried out without fail by all warehouse organizations and manufactures producing similar equipment. This allows you to assess the state of the object of study, as well as approximately calculate the period of its operation.

In the metal beams, crossbeams and pillars, stress accumulates over time. In this case, the surfaces are periodically subjected to mechanical damage. This does not improve the condition of the shelves. If you do not pay attention to the defects in time, you can not avoid the collapse of the structure. It is the test that makes it possible to determine the impossibility of operating the structure before fatal consequences.

In the process of verification, the features of operation, maintenance of shelving by warehouse personnel are also taken into account. For example, leased warehouses need to be checked more frequently, because they are usually not operated in a gentle manner.

Having examined the procedure for carrying out the test of the racks, it is possible to qualitatively assess the state of the structure. This will protect the object from destruction, trauma and death of people.