FEM 10.2.02 · STANDARDS LIBRARY

FEM 10.2.02 — The European Design Code Behind Almost Every Racking Quote

By Dan Sun, Marketing Director · Technically reviewed by Yongfeng Jiao, Structural Engineer · JISE Intelligent Storage

What FEM 10.2.02 is

FEM 10.2.02, published by the Fédération Européenne de la Manutention, is the design code for steel static storage systems — adjustable pallet racking. Together with EN 15512 (which it parallels and informs), it defines how racking structures are calculated: load combinations, member design, connection testing, global stability and serviceability limits such as beam deflection.

Although European in origin, it functions as the de facto international racking code: specifications in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Africa and much of Latin America routinely name FEM 10.2.02 as the design reference.

Why it matters to a buyer

Two racks that look identical in a photograph can be very different structures. FEM 10.2.02 compliance means the upright profiles, beam connectors and bracing have been designed and tested as a system — with documented safety factors against yield and global instability — rather than copied by dimension.

Serviceability limits matter as much as strength. Beam deflection limits exist so that pallets sit level, loads distribute as designed, and — in automated warehouse racking — robots and shuttles meet the geometry they were calibrated for.

JISE's position

JISE racking is designed to FEM 10.2.02 / EN 15512, verified by independent testing (TÜV reports, FEM standard certification and component-level tests). Project-specific calculations and stamped FEA reports are issued by our structural engineering team, in the official language of the project location where required.

The same design basis governs the structures we build for robot integrators — goods-to-person racking and multi-level shuttle racking — where deflection and tolerance budgets are tighter than any forklift warehouse.

Frequently asked questions

What is FEM 10.2.02 in plain terms?

It is the European Materials Handling Federation's design code for static steel storage racking — the reference behind most European and Middle Eastern racking specifications, covering load actions, combinations, member verification and deflection limits.

Is FEM 10.2.02 legally binding?

Not by itself. It becomes binding when written into a contract, national regulation or project specification — which is common across Europe and the Middle East. For buyers it functions as the shared technical language that makes two quotations comparable.

What should I ask a supplier about FEM 10.2.02?

Ask whether the design was verified against the code's load combinations, whether component capacities are backed by test evidence, and whether you receive project-specific stamped calculations rather than a generic catalogue load table.