Bartholomews Specialist Distribution, based in the South of England, have rolled out Rack Collapse Prevention’s safety system at their Chichester facility.
Bartholomews provide end to end logistics services specialising in supplying into major retailers along with B2B and B2C fulfilment.
Craig Attwell, the founder of Rack Collapse Prevention, said: “We were delighted they chose our racking safety system as it not only meets their current needs it offers flexibility to adapt to any future requirements.”
The installation team worked around Bartholomews’ warehouse staff and spent five days in the 20m tall ambient warehouse to connect around 134 frames at a racking height of some 16m and completed the work during normal working hours.
Rack Collapse Prevention uses specialist strapping suspended from the building's steel structure and attached to each leg. If a building's structure isn't suitable then a secondary structure is installed to form a support for the suspension cables and in all cases the structure’s integrity is never compromised.
In any impact event where a racking leg is damaged loaded racks experience considerable down pressure and over time will force the leg to buckle and lose its ability to sustain its intended load capacity, leading to collapse, and the potential domino effect to any other racking attached to it or in proximity.
Racking failure is amplified at height and with all forms of pallet racking comes risk. Rack Collapse Prevention’s safety system has been rigorously and independently tested by structural engineers and is recognised in major incidents to operate within roof structure load limits, with all buildings assessed prior to installation for suitability. Top supporting, the compromised rack load never gets transferred and has been proven in real-world racking impact events.
Richard Bartholomews Director commented: “Having been impressed with the RCP system we were keen to implement it where we have high volume counterbalance movements in the proximity of our racking system.
“The installation was seamless with minimal impact to the operation and Craig’s team were excellent to work with.”
Installed in ambient, chilled, and frozen warehouses and storage facilities across the UK, Europe, Ireland, and the Western Hemisphere, Rack Collapse Prevention’s safety system is also suitable for earthquake-prone regions.
