Avoiding a shutdown: Racking maintenance and inspection best practices for 2025

In Ontario, the Ministry of Labour (MOL) is currently conducting a province-wide initiative to audit workplaces for compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) and related regulations around material handling equipment, including racking systems. These inspections are part of a broader effort to reduce injuries and fatalities in warehousing, manufacturing and logistics environments.

For facility managers, safety officers and operations leaders, this campaign serves as a crucial reminder: racking inspections and proactive maintenance aren’t just best practices, they’re essential for compliance and business continuity.

At North American Steel, we’ve worked with hundreds of clients across Canada who were caught off guard by a safety audit, or worse, an incident that prompted one. With racking standards and enforcement becoming more stringent, it’s no longer sufficient to assume your storage systems are “good enough.” Here’s what every facility should be thinking about in 2025.

The risk of downtime is real

A failed MOL audit doesn’t just come with paperwork and fines. It can result in a stop-work order, significant disruptions to warehouse operations and long-term reputational damage. If critical racking systems are flagged for safety violations, unloading and replacing them often becomes the only option—bringing operations to a grinding halt.

In today’s tight supply chain landscape, even a few days of unplanned downtime can have ripple effects throughout your distribution or production schedule.

Know the standards—and stay ahead of them

Canadian racking systems must be designed, installed and maintained according to CSA S345 (design and construction pf steel storage racks), CSA A344 (user guide for steel storage racks) and the latest local building codes. Increasingly, inspectors are also evaluating against ANSI/RMI standards for safe use, capacity labeling and seismic design.

But here’s the challenge: standards evolve. Engineering tolerances that were acceptable 10 years ago may not meet today’s expectations, especially in regions prone to seismic activity or with high-density storage demands. Retrofits, reconfiguration or building expansions may unintentionally introduce risks that go undetected until an audit (or worse, a collapse) occurs.

Best practices for racking safety in 2025

To stay ahead of both regulation and risk, we recommend the following best practices:

1. Conduct annual third-party inspections

Bring in certified racking inspectors who can assess your systems against current CSA and OHSA standards. These audits help identify damaged components, improper installations or overloading scenarios before they become liabilities.

2. Document and maintain inspection records

Keep detailed inspection logs, repair reports, and engineering documentation on file. This not only supports compliance but also demonstrates due diligence in the event of an MOL audit or incident.

3. Ensure racks are installed to engineered drawings

Too often, racking is installed or reconfigured without reference to stamped engineering drawings. This can void capacity ratings or introduce instability. Ensure your layout matches the specifications, including beam levels, anchor bolt placements and load signage.

4. Prioritize staff training

Forklift operators, maintenance personnel and floor supervisors should be trained to recognize racking hazards (like leaning uprights, missing clips or impact damage) and know how to report them.

5. Plan for growth—safely

If you’re expanding storage capacity or changing product types (e.g., moving from palletized goods to oversized loads or cartons), bring in racking engineers early. Overloading or under-designing for new uses is a common pitfall that triggers audit failures.

A proactive approach is the best insurance

At North American Steel, our approach has always been to design and install racking systems that meet or exceed OHSA and CSA standards, backed by stamped engineering, load calculations and ongoing client education. But even the best systems degrade over time and that’s why ongoing maintenance and inspection is so critical.

In an era where audits are becoming more common and more rigorous, staying proactive isn’t just about avoiding fines, it’s about protecting your people, your inventory and your operations.

If you haven’t reviewed your racking system lately, now is the time to take a closer look.