Promoting industry standards
October 01st 2005 For nearly 30 years, the Storage and Handling Equipment Distributors’ Association (SHEDA) has been championing small businesses in the industry. Faced with China’s colossal manufacturing strength, there are some tough times ahead and so there has never been a more important time for the association. The Essential Guide to Handling, Storage Distribution met up with Sheda chairman Ken Miller (pictured right) at his Birmingham office to find out what the UK industry can do to try and weather the storm.
So Ken, what does SHEDA do?
SHEDA is the trade association representing independent specialists and installers within the UK storage and materials handling industry.
It was formed nearly 27 years ago to encourage best practice in the industry. Most of the companies involved were relatively small businesses and there was no way of them having an idea of the bigger picture within the industry.
One of the founding members, Dennis Wakefield, wanted to make it easier for companies to catch a glimpse of that picture and to establish a badge of approval.
Three decades on, we have a well-established and strong support network in the way of advice, guidance and a government lobby.
We now have nearly 60 members across the UK, most of which are small companies with turnovers of less than £1 million. More often than not, they still don’t have the capacity to keep up-to-date with changing legislation, health and safety regulations and the like.
That’s where we come in.
What resources does SHEDA have?
SHEDA has a Council of 10 members, all of whom have substantial industry knowledge and expertise, largely through their years of experience. Together we can provide members with help and advice, from simple problems with loading capacities to more complicated issues around government regulation.
SHEDA works hand in hand with the Storage Equipment Manufacturers’ Association (SEMA). Together we have produced Codes of Practice in order that we can spread best practice across the industry. Through them, we also have an influencing role, lobbying the government on industry issues, concerns and interests.
For instance, we are currently working with the Health and Safety Executive on the Working at Height legislation.
How else do members benefit?
We provide members with regular updates on industry developments through newsletters and the website. We also provide a reactive service, helping companies out with specific problems when they need a second, or third, opinion.
Being part of the association boosts a company’s image too.
Customers can have confidence in members because the SHEDA ‘badge’ represents professionalism, quality of design and installation to industry standards and codes of practice. This gives SHEDA members an edge over their competitors.
Members also promote industry standards within their quotations and communications with customers. The SHEDA logo acts as a seal of quality, helping to build customer confidence in the quality of service the members provide.
What is SHEDA’s greatest achievement? We’ve created recognition for a trade that previously didn’t have an identity. Most industries have a trade association, but the storage and handling distributors didn’t. We have opened up discussion about topics that may not have been widely known and by opening up these issues, we have found solutions to them.
Without Sheda’s sensible approach to working at height issues, the number of accidents within our industry could have increased. We have looked seriously at the issue of people being injured and then stranded at the top of pallet racking and come up with best practice in dealing with it. We are confident that serious injury has been reduced because of SHEDA’s involvement in these issues.
Where is SHEDA directing its resources right now? Our immediate concern is the current Working at Height legislation.
We have tried to bring a common sense approach to the regulations by working through Sema with the Health and Safety Executive.
Our industry is very different to the construction industry, but regulators often blur the boundaries. As a result, construction industry practices are immediately referred to when legislating for our industry. But they don’t always translate directly.
For instance, working on top of pallet racking is not the same as working at the top of scaffolding.
We have been helping the regulators to understand the quirky differences of when you should be harnessed and when you can’t be in order that they can come up with guidance that is pertinent and useful to the storage and handling industry.
What challenges are facing the storage and handling industry at the moment?
Without a doubt - China. The country’s manufacturing strength is a steam engine that is forging ahead that no-one can or will stop.
The sheer volume of goods we are importing from China will continue to grow and this will play a major role in changing the storage and handling industry over the next five to 10 years.
UK manufacturers have already set up plants in China, India and the Far East. They wouldn’t be doing that unless they were convinced about the long-term benefits.
In this environment, smaller companies will find it hard to survive unless they are part of the bigger picture. They will need to be part of a network that can help them to react to this fast-changing economy.
Associations like SHEDA can only bolster these companies’ defences. We can keep members up to speed with changes, provide them with the techniques and information to respond and make sure, through Codes of Practice, that they are competitive, modern and forward thinking. More articles from Storage & Handling Equipment Distrbutor Assoc (SHEDA): | 
