PRSES: who they are, what they must do and why every warehouse needs one

A little-known role, a concrete duty

The UNI EN 15635 standard on the use and maintenance of storage equipment identifies a specific role: the PRSES — Person Responsible for Storage Equipment Safety. This is the internal company reference who oversees the condition of the racking and manages the system of checks.

The subject builds on the employer's general duty under Italian Legislative Decree 81/2008: racking is work equipment and must be kept efficient and safe. UNI EN 15635 provides the operational method for doing so; appointing and training a PRSES is the most orderly way to discharge that duty and to demonstrate it in the event of an inspection or an accident.

The inspection system

Type of inspection	When	Carried out by
Post-assembly inspection	When the racking is put into service	Installer / competent technician, checking verticality, alignment and tolerances (UNI EN 15620)
Periodic visual check	At regular intervals, typically weekly	PRSES or staff they appoint, with results recorded
Annual technical inspection	At least every 12 months	Expert technician, with written report, observations and proposed actions
Extraordinary inspection	After significant impacts, configuration changes or exceptional events	Expert technician

What the PRSES actually does

• Monitors the condition of the structures and collects damage reports from forklift operators, who are the first to see impacts;
• Carries out and documents periodic visual checks, classifying the damage found by severity;
• Schedules the annual technical inspection and any extraordinary inspections;
• Manages the control register and the documentation archive (drawings, load notices, reports);
• Ensures corrective actions are actually carried out on time, with immediate withdrawal from service of severely damaged components.

The critical point: being able to recognise damage

The value of the PRSES lies not in the appointment but in the ability to read the condition of the racking. A dented upright, a misaligned diagonal, a connector with deformed hooks or a base plate that has lost contact with the floor are signals a trained eye catches and an untrained one ignores. The difference between damage to be classed as tolerable and damage requiring immediate withdrawal from service is technical, and must be taught.

This is why training is the decisive element: not a formality, but the acquisition of operational criteria to be applied in your own warehouse.

How we support companies

Stefano Luise Engineering S.r.l. offers a complete PRSES package: support with the appointment, training built around real cases found in your own facility, set-up of the control register and annual third-party technical inspection to UNI EN 15635, with classification of anomalies and proposed actions.

Regulatory references

UNI EN 15635  •  UNI EN 15620  •  UNI EN 15512  •  UNI EN 16681  •  UNI 11636  •  Italian Legislative Decree 81/2008

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