Rack Safety, Design Pivotal In Growth Of MHI’s Oldest Industry Group

This rack safety article by Stephen Murdock originally appeared in the fourth quarter 2020 issue of MHI Solutions magazine. It appears here in its entirety with permission.

The Rack Manufacturers Institute (RMI), officially the oldest Industry Group in MHI, has seen its share of changes through the years—especially when it comes to rack safety and design. With 2020 being its 62nd anniversary, that equates to decades of knowledge compounded and built upon each year in order to ensure the safety of racks used in the material handling industry.

Carlos Oliver, president of MHI member Frazier Industrial Company and president of RMI, said the group’s formation was “to provide industry-wide support for testing and development of a specification for the design and use of storage rack systems.” Members support the use of the RMI code and manufacture products in accordance to RMI specifications.

Rack Adapts to Changing Markets

As the world markets continue to grow, rack systems and their designs must adapt too. That means continual re-evaluations of manufactured, marketed, and used racking.

Specifically, Oliver feels RMI will play a pivotal role to industry growth for years to come.

“RMI will continue to test and modify the industry specifications as needed for market conditions. As concerns are raised by the industry for safety and design, the RMI will undertake new testing to address those issues. Specifically, the design of rack structures for the ever-changing seismic occurrences and the introduction of new methods of handling are constantly being considered,” he said. “The design and safety practices have changed for the better,” he assured.

Notably, Oliver’s most memorable experience since joining RMI was when the International Building Code (IBC) adopted RMI’s specification as methodology for the design of storage racks. “I’m proud to be part of the ongoing efforts of RMI,” he said.

Building Code Includes Storage Rack

Director of engineering for Frazier Industrial Company, Dan Clapp, has seen several positive changes take place since attending RMI meetings in the early 1970s. “The Uniform Building Code (UBC) had decided to include storage rack structure in the design requirements of the building code. They tried to fit rack structures into the same set of seismic design requirements as buildings but they did a poor job.”

In the mid-1970s, RMI, with a grant from the National Science Foundation, sponsored theoretical calculations and full-scale storage rack seismic tests on a platform able to simulate seismic ground motions. Ultimately this resulted in the first seismic design parameters and publication in the UBC Building Code.

Since then there has been much research, testing (both subassembly and full-sized storage racks), and peer reviewed and published scientific papers worldwide. That allowed RMI members to continually update and improve the RMI standard. “This specification has evolved, revised and improved over the ensuing years and its use continues today,” said Clapp.

R-Mark History

In the early days, storage rack designers felt a disconnect between the RMI specification and what the industry used when designing product.

“In 1999, RMI developed the R-Mark program. This was a voluntary seal that, after an independent design process review, could be put on storage rack information, along with a professional engineer’s (PE) seal,” noted Clapp. “This indicated that a licensed PE reviewed the design and certified to the end-user that the storage rack system was in compliance with the RMI specification.”

Clapp, a New Jersey native, appreciates the opportunities afforded to him over the years. “I got involved with the technical aspects of storage rack design, participated in the RMI Engineering Committee and became the chairman in 1999. The Committee was responsible for the development of the technical aspects of storage rack design. Since the Engineering Committee included delegates from each of the rack manufacturers, we spun off a Specification Advisory Committee. RMI members also tasked this team with standards development and revisions. I was also fortunate to do a lot of rack research, assisted by Teoman Pekoz, a professor at Cornell University. This work led to several RMI specification revisions,” Clapp said.

In the coming years, the industry veteran hopes to see better understanding of storage rack behavior in the areas of higher seismic activity. “RMI is trying to sponsor instrumentation of storage rack systems for measurement of actual system behavior. The committee will use that data to update the seismic design requirements. The procedures are in place. However, we have been unable to secure facilities that will allow this monitoring. I feel that this data will be the paradigm shift in seismic design of storage racks,” he concluded.

Standards Enforcement Improves Rack Safety

John Krummell, president and CEO of MHI member Advance Storage Products, is proud of the change and growth in the industry. He’s been involved in RMI for more than 25 years.

“Back in the old days, the rack industry was a bit of the Wild West. Standards were loose and there was little enforcement. Roll forward to today and the national building codes incorporate the rack design standards developed by RMI. This ensures that all rack systems installed meet common design and safety criteria,” Krummell said. “In addition the industry developed the R-mark certification process. This gives rack manufacturers the ability to prove to their customer that they understand and work to the national design standards.”

Rack systems can last for 20-plus years. Therefore, several years ago RMI started placing a heavy focus on helping customers understand the importance of proper maintenance and repair of their rack.

“The first step was the release of Guideline for the Assessment and Repair or Replacement of Damaged Rack – Version 1. It provided a practical guideline for the proper repair or reuse of rack systems. In our commitment to lifecycle, RMI continues to publish articles in the RMI Rack Safety blog (rmiracksafety.org). These provide an easily accessible repository of knowledge. Through the years, it has been exciting to see the continued focus on providing standards, guidelines, and practices. These help ensure the design and manufacture of rack systems meets a consistently high standard,” Krummell concluded.

Editors Note: Dan Clapp was interviewed for this article prior to his untimely death in July. MHI and the Rack Manufacturers Institute would like to express our deep sadness at Dan’s passing. We thank him for his tireless dedication, generous spirit and dedicated service to this industry.