Beware of falling objects

Two bills in the California Senate affecting rack safety are likely to be of interest beyond the state's borders.

     In recent earthquakes, it has been observed that objects falling off of racks and shelving has become a common occurrence. This is especially apparent in facilities open to the public, especially retail outlets, which carry and store a variety of small objects. Since 1975 in California, the Seismic Safety Commission has been responsible for many earthquake-related research and risk assessment activities. Since the passage of the Seismic Safety Commission Act in California that year, the Commission has investigated earthquakes, researched earthquake-related issues, and recommended to the Governor and Legislature policies and programs needed to reduce earthquake risk to the general population of the state. Until now, the Commission's activities have been primarily of concern to the people of California. However, two new Senate bills regarding storage rack safety that have been presented to the Commission for its review have the potential to be of interest beyond the state's borders. Here's a quick summary of the two bills and how they would affect current practices.

     SB 629 - Intends to reduce potential risks to workers and the public posed by falling items during earthquakes. This bill would require the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) to investigate the storage racks in warehouse-type retail facilities in order to assess risks to worker safety. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal to investigate the storage racks in warehouse-type retail facilities in order to assess risks to public safety.

     SB 486 - Requires an owner of warehouse-type retail facilities to secure merchandise stored on shelves higher than 10 feet above the sales floor by installing safety devices such as rails or fencing. Moreover the owner would be required to annually submit to the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, a report of all serious injuries or deaths occurring to customers at the establishment during the preceding year.

     An initial public meeting to discuss these bills was held recently in San Francisco. I attended that meeting as a structural engineer responsible for designing racks in industrial and retail facilities and on behalf of the Rack Manufacturer's Institute (RMI).

     During the lengthy discussion of the bills, several key issues were brought up: 

• The need for an annual inspection of facilities affected by the bill and the filing of a report of any unacceptable conditions; 
• A definition of exactly what constitutes "unacceptable conditions"; 

• Who is trained to do the inspection · Who would fine a violator; 

• How would product be safely secured in the racks; 

• What effect would securing the product have on the rack structure; 

• What additional testing may be needed to fully support the new requirements; 

• What would constitute overloading of racks and how would this be policed; 

• The need for periodic maintenance programs; 

• Education of store employees -education of the public;

     We, as an industry, need to address these issues, find possible solutions, make suggestions and be involved in sounding them off to the right parties before they regulate our industry.

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