EN 15512 — How Racking Load Capacity Is Actually Determined
Test plus calculation, not calculation alone
EN 15512 ('Steel static storage systems — adjustable pallet racking systems — principles for structural design') is the European standard governing how racking load capacities are established. Its core principle: racking components are cold-formed, thin-walled and connection-dependent — behavior that pure calculation predicts poorly. Capacity claims must therefore rest on a combination of physical component testing and calculation.
The standard defines the required tests: upright section tests, beam bending and deflection tests, beam-to-upright connector tests (shear, moment, looseness), and frame tests. Load tables derived any other way are marketing numbers.
How to read a racking load table
A credible load table is specific: it states the exact upright profile, beam section, connector, bay configuration and load distribution it applies to, and references the test evidence behind it. 'Up to 4,000 kg per level' with no configuration data is a red flag, not a specification.
JISE's product testing spans European, Australian and American regimes — EN 15512/FEM, AS 4084 (report series 24111305) and US RMI MH16.1/MH16.5 component tests — so project load documentation can be issued against the standard your market actually enforces.
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