If you run a warehouse in Ontario, you’ve probably heard “PSR” and “rack inspection” used as if they’re the same thing. They aren’t. One is a legal requirement before a racking system goes into use. The other is ongoing maintenance that keeps it safe once it’s loaded. Mixing them up is one of the most common compliance gaps we see when we walk into a facility.
Here’s how the two fit together, how often each one is needed, and what to do if your racking is already showing damage.
What is a PSR (Pre-Start Health and Safety Review)?
A Pre-Start Health and Safety Review, usually called a PSR or PSHSR, is required under Section 7 of Ontario Regulation 851 (Industrial Establishments). For racking, it’s a review completed by a licensed Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) before a new or modified racking system is put into use. The engineer produces a written report confirming the system meets the applicable standards, or listing what has to be fixed before it can be loaded.
A PSR is typically triggered when you:
- Install a new racking system
- Relocate or reconfigure existing racking (for example, changing beam levels or bay layouts)
- Install used racking whose original design and load data can’t be verified
- Increase the loads the system will carry
The regulation includes an exemption when a rack is designed and tested in accordance with current applicable standards, but in practice proving that for an existing or mixed-component system usually takes an engineer’s review anyway. When in doubt, get the PSR. Keep the report on file: a Ministry of Labour inspector or your joint health and safety committee can ask to see it.
A PSR is not a one-time pass for life
This is where many facilities get caught. A PSR confirms the racking was safe when it was installed. It says nothing about the forklift hit last Tuesday, the upright that’s been leaning a little more each month, or the beam that’s quietly been overloaded since you changed suppliers.
Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, employers have an ongoing duty to keep equipment in good condition, which includes repairing or replacing damaged rack components. That’s where regular rack inspections come in.
How often should pallet racking be inspected?
The Canadian standard for steel storage racks (CSA A344) recommends that racking be inspected at least once a year by a qualified person. That annual inspection is the minimum. How often you should really be looking depends on how hard your racking works:
- Daily or weekly: quick visual checks by trained staff and forklift operators. Look for bent uprights, dislodged beams, missing safety locks and damaged base plates.
- Monthly or quarterly: a documented walk-through by a supervisor or someone trained in rack damage assessment, especially in busy, high-turnover operations.
- Annually (at minimum): a full inspection by a qualified rack inspector, with a written report that rates damage and sets repair priorities.
If you run multiple shifts, have narrow aisles, or move a high volume of pallets, plan on inspecting more often than once a year. Damage builds up fastest where the forklift traffic is heaviest.
What inspectors look for
A proper rack inspection goes well beyond a glance down the aisle. Expect the inspector to check:
- Uprights for dents, bends, twists and tears, particularly in the bottom metre where most impacts happen
- Beams for deflection, damage, and missing or broken safety locks
- Anchors and base plates for looseness, shearing or missing hardware
- Bracing for bent or missing members
- Load signs (capacity plaques) that are present, legible and accurate
- Plumb and alignment of frames
- Overloading and improper pallet placement
Damage is usually ranked by severity, from components that can stay in service and be monitored, to ones that need repair soon, to bays that must be unloaded immediately.
What happens if damage is found: repair or replace?
A damaged upright doesn’t automatically mean tearing out the whole bay. Engineered rack repair kits can restore a damaged upright to its rated capacity, often without unloading neighbouring bays and with far less downtime than a full frame replacement. Whether repair or replacement makes more sense depends on where the damage is, how severe it is, and what the system is carrying.
What you should never do is straighten a bent upright with a forklift or a hammer, or simply keep using it. Steel that has been bent and bent back has lost strength, and it won’t show until it fails.
The bottom line for Ontario warehouses
- New, moved or modified racking: get a PSR stamped by a Professional Engineer before it’s loaded.
- Existing racking: have it professionally inspected at least once a year, more often in busy facilities.
- Between inspections: train your team to spot and report damage, and fix it promptly.
Need a PSR or rack inspection in Southern Ontario?
TC Industrial Supply has more than 30 years of experience with pallet racking across Ontario, from new installations to PSR inspections and repairs. If you’re installing or reconfiguring racking, see our PSR rack inspection and certification services. If your last inspection turned up damaged uprights, our rack repair service can often fix them without tearing out the bay.
Questions about your specific situation? Contact us or call 519-489-2574. We’re based in Kitchener and serve warehouses across Southern Ontario.