Building Consents (Compliance) - Explained
Barely a day goes by that I’m not asked about pallet racking compliance.
Pallet racking installations require a building consent from your local authority (Council). The process involves assessing both the steel parts and the racking design to confirm that it meets the requirements of the NZ building code (2004) and BRANDZ guidelines.
There are a series of engineers reports that need to be completed and submitted to council as part of the application process:
Racking producer statement one (PS1) – an assessment of the racking design by a NZ based structural engineer.
PS2 – peer review by a second NZ based structural engineer of the PS1.
PS3 – supplied by the racking company to confirm an installation is completed correctly by suitably experienced and qualified individuals.
PS4 – as built check by the PS1 engineer
Amended fire report, amended to insert the racking plan.
Amended emergency lighting report, amended to insert the racking plan.
Slab capacity check, to ensure that the building slab can take the weights.
Costs for the process vary depending on the scale of the project, Elite Racking typically charges between $20,000 - $35,000 + GST to manage the process, supply all the engineers reports, and pay the council fees. There may be additional works and/or reports requested by council or identified in the reports, these works and/or reports incur additional fees and are the responsibility of the customer. If council chooses to request additional information, they charge extra for their time in processing the request for additional information, and the extra cost is the responsibility of the customer.
There is an exemption from the building code for temporary storage solutions such as shelving or stillages that are not fixed to the ground and are hand loaded (not forklift loaded). Shelving under 3m high and at least 900mm deep does not typically need to be fixed to the floor and would therefore not require a consent, assuming it is not loaded/unloaded by forklift.
The final decision regarding the requirement for consent ultimately lies with Council as does the granting of a building consent.
