{"id":5691,"date":"2026-10-28T11:42:44","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T00:42:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/?p=5691"},"modified":"2026-10-28T11:50:37","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T00:50:37","slug":"the-difference-between-knowing-and-knowing-what-to-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/the-difference-between-knowing-and-knowing-what-to-do\/","title":{"rendered":"The Difference Between Knowing and Knowing What to Do"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Mark Helding, Executive Director, Independent Racking Inspections & Audits (IRIA)<\/em><\/p>\n

There\u2019s no shortage of information available to us these days.\u00a0You can look up a standard, find technical guidance online, watch someone explain something on YouTube or search for an answer while you\u2019re standing in the middle of a warehouse.<\/p>\n

For the most part, I think that\u2019s a great thing. Good information is easier to find and easier to share than it was when I started.\u00a0But having the information and knowing what to do with it are two different things.<\/p>\n

After 25 years working around warehouses and racking, I think I\u2019ve probably come to appreciate that difference more, not less.<\/p>\n

The answer isn\u2019t always on the page<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Standards matter. Technical guidance matters. Checklists have their place too.\u00a0But warehouses have a habit of not looking exactly like the examples.<\/p>\n

They change over time. Racking gets moved or reconfigured. Loads change. Different equipment comes onto site. Repairs are made. Businesses grow into spaces that were designed for something quite different ten or fifteen years earlier.<\/p>\n

And sometimes you walk into a warehouse where nobody really knows the history of the racking at all.\u00a0That\u2019s where things become more interesting.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re not just looking at what\u2019s directly in front of you. You\u2019re trying to understand what has happened around it.<\/p>\n

Why is the damage there? Is it isolated or are you seeing the same thing further down the aisle? Has something changed operationally? Is there another question you should be asking?<\/p>\n

The checklist might get you started. It won\u2019t necessarily get you to the answer.<\/p>\n

Experience changes the questions<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When I started in this industry, naturally I was focused on learning the technical side of the job. You learn the standards, the systems and what you should be looking for.\u00a0Experience adds another layer to that.<\/p>\n

After you\u2019ve seen enough warehouses, different racking systems and some unusual situations over the years, you start recognising patterns. You notice when something doesn\u2019t quite add up. You know when to keep looking rather than settling for the obvious explanation.<\/p>\n

Perhaps more importantly, you become less interested in having the quickest answer.\u00a0I think that\u2019s true of experienced people in most fields.<\/p>\n

The good ones I\u2019ve come across tend to ask more questions, not fewer. They want the background. They want to know what changed. They\u2019re interested in the detail that seems slightly out of place.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not because they\u2019re making something simple more complicated.\u00a0They\u2019ve just been around long enough to know that sometimes the small detail changes the answer.<\/p>\n

The tools have changed enormously<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The way we inspect warehouses today bears very little resemblance to how we did it when I started.<\/p>\n

Technology has made it much easier to capture information onsite, photograph what we\u2019re seeing, keep a history and look back at what has changed over time.<\/p>\n

For businesses operating several warehouses, it also means information from different sites can be viewed together rather than sitting in separate reports in separate offices.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a huge improvement.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s an interesting thing about having more information. It doesn\u2019t necessarily make the decisions automatic.<\/p>\n

You still need to work out what matters.<\/p>\n

A photograph is useful, but someone needs to understand what it shows. A history is valuable, but only if someone notices the pattern in it. A dashboard can put everything in one place, but it can\u2019t make every decision for you.<\/p>\n

The tools are better than they\u2019ve ever been. The judgement behind how we use them still matters.<\/p>\n

Knowing what matters<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I think this is where experience becomes particularly valuable.<\/p>\n

Over the years, you build up a bank of knowledge that doesn\u2019t come from one standard, one course or one warehouse. It comes from seeing different systems, different environments and plenty of situations that don\u2019t quite fit the textbook example.<\/p>\n

You start to recognise patterns. You know when something warrants a closer look and when one issue might be telling you something about what\u2019s happening elsewhere in the warehouse. You also know which questions to ask before making a call.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t diminish the value of good information or better technology. Both have improved our industry enormously.<\/p>\n

But they work best alongside people who know how to interpret what they\u2019re seeing and apply it to the situation in front of them.<\/p>\n

After 25 years in this field, that\u2019s probably what I value most about experience. You never stop learning, but you do get much better at knowing what matters.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

About the Author<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mark Helding is Executive Director of Independent Racking Inspections & Audits (IRIA)<\/u><\/a> and has spent almost 25 years helping organisations across Australia and New Zealand create safer warehouse environments.<\/em><\/p>\n

With a background in social psychology and extensive experience in warehouse safety, independent racking inspections, training and risk management, Mark works with businesses across a broad range of industries to improve safety, strengthen governance and support better operational decision-making.<\/em><\/p>\n

His articles explore the intersection of workplace safety, leadership, organisational culture and human behaviour, drawing on practical experience from thousands of warehouse inspections and audits.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Mark Helding, Executive Director, Independent Racking Inspections & Audits (IRIA) There\u2019s no shortage of information available to us these days.\u00a0You can look up a standard, find technical guidance online, watch someone explain something on YouTube or search for an answer while you\u2019re standing in the middle of a warehouse. For the most part, I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5693,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14],"class_list":["post-5691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-independent-racking-inspections","tag-leadership","tag-psychosocial-safety","tag-risk-management","tag-safety-culture","tag-warehouse-management","tag-warehouse-safety","tag-workplace-safety","grve-entry-item","grve-blog-item"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Difference Between Knowing and Knowing What to Do | IRIA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mark Helding explores why technical knowledge is only part of racking inspections, and how experience and judgement help determine what really matters.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Difference Between Knowing and Knowing What to Do | IRIA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mark Helding explores why technical knowledge is only part of racking inspections, and how experience and judgement help determine what really matters.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/the-difference-between-knowing-and-knowing-what-to-do\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"IRIA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-10-28T00:42:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-10-28T00:50:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Golden-Hour-Barn-Owl.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"iriadmin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"iriadmin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/devsites.au\\\/iria\\\/the-difference-between-knowing-and-knowing-what-to-do\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/devsites.au\\\/iria\\\/the-difference-between-knowing-and-knowing-what-to-do\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"iriadmin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/devsites.au\\\/iria\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/655ec8ed3842ce5e500d12f1481ae361\"},\"headline\":\"The Difference Between Knowing and Knowing What to Do\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-28T00:42:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-28T00:50:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/devsites.au\\\/iria\\\/the-difference-between-knowing-and-knowing-what-to-do\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":881,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/devsites.au\\\/iria\\\/the-difference-between-knowing-and-knowing-what-to-do\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/devsites.au\\\/iria\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/Barn-owl-at-golden-hour.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Independent Racking Inspections\",\"Leadership\",\"Psychosocial Safety\",\"Risk Management\",\"Safety Culture\",\"Warehouse Management\",\"Warehouse Safety\",\"Workplace Safety\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Articles\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/devsites.au\\\/iria\\\/the-difference-between-knowing-and-knowing-what-to-do\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/devsites.au\\\/iria\\\/the-difference-between-knowing-and-knowing-what-to-do\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Difference Between Knowing and Knowing What to Do | IRIA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/devsites.au\\\/iria\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/devsites.au\\\/iria\\\/the-difference-between-knowing-and-knowing-what-to-do\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/devsites.au\\\/iria\\\/the-difference-between-knowing-and-knowing-what-to-do\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/devsites.au\\\/iria\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/Barn-owl-at-golden-hour.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-28T00:42:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-28T00:50:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/devsites.au\\\/iria\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/655ec8ed3842ce5e500d12f1481ae361\"},\"description\":\"Mark Helding explores why technical knowledge is only part of racking inspections, and how experience and judgement help determine what really matters.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/devsites.au\\\/iria\\\/the-difference-between-knowing-and-knowing-what-to-do\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/devsites.au\\\/iria\\\/the-difference-between-knowing-and-knowing-what-to-do\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/devsites.au\\\/iria\\\/the-difference-between-knowing-and-knowing-what-to-do\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/devsites.au\\\/iria\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/Barn-owl-at-golden-hour.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/devsites.au\\\/iria\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/Barn-owl-at-golden-hour.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675,\"caption\":\"Owl perched in a eucalyptus tree, representing knowledge, experience and judgement\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/devsites.au\\\/iria\\\/the-difference-between-knowing-and-knowing-what-to-do\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/devsites.au\\\/iria\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Difference Between Knowing and Knowing What to Do\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/devsites.au\\\/iria\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/devsites.au\\\/iria\\\/\",\"name\":\"IRIA\",\"description\":\"My WordPress Blog\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/devsites.au\\\/iria\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/devsites.au\\\/iria\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/655ec8ed3842ce5e500d12f1481ae361\",\"name\":\"iriadmin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/eeac44eeaaaa817c5147901146d0c6b62455e05139486db0f4efc3e1a8c37fdc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/eeac44eeaaaa817c5147901146d0c6b62455e05139486db0f4efc3e1a8c37fdc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/eeac44eeaaaa817c5147901146d0c6b62455e05139486db0f4efc3e1a8c37fdc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"iriadmin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/devsites.au\\\/iria\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/devsites.au\\\/iria\\\/author\\\/iriadmin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Difference Between Knowing and Knowing What to Do | IRIA","description":"Mark Helding explores why technical knowledge is only part of racking inspections, and how experience and judgement help determine what really matters.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Difference Between Knowing and Knowing What to Do | IRIA","og_description":"Mark Helding explores why technical knowledge is only part of racking inspections, and how experience and judgement help determine what really matters.","og_url":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/the-difference-between-knowing-and-knowing-what-to-do\/","og_site_name":"IRIA","article_published_time":"2026-10-28T00:42:44+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-10-28T00:50:37+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":1200,"url":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Golden-Hour-Barn-Owl.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"iriadmin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"iriadmin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/the-difference-between-knowing-and-knowing-what-to-do\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/the-difference-between-knowing-and-knowing-what-to-do\/"},"author":{"name":"iriadmin","@id":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/#\/schema\/person\/655ec8ed3842ce5e500d12f1481ae361"},"headline":"The Difference Between Knowing and Knowing What to Do","datePublished":"2026-10-28T00:42:44+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-28T00:50:37+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/the-difference-between-knowing-and-knowing-what-to-do\/"},"wordCount":881,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/the-difference-between-knowing-and-knowing-what-to-do\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Barn-owl-at-golden-hour.jpg","keywords":["Independent Racking Inspections","Leadership","Psychosocial Safety","Risk Management","Safety Culture","Warehouse Management","Warehouse Safety","Workplace Safety"],"articleSection":["Articles"],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/the-difference-between-knowing-and-knowing-what-to-do\/","url":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/the-difference-between-knowing-and-knowing-what-to-do\/","name":"The Difference Between Knowing and Knowing What to Do | IRIA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/the-difference-between-knowing-and-knowing-what-to-do\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/the-difference-between-knowing-and-knowing-what-to-do\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Barn-owl-at-golden-hour.jpg","datePublished":"2026-10-28T00:42:44+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-28T00:50:37+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/#\/schema\/person\/655ec8ed3842ce5e500d12f1481ae361"},"description":"Mark Helding explores why technical knowledge is only part of racking inspections, and how experience and judgement help determine what really matters.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/the-difference-between-knowing-and-knowing-what-to-do\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/the-difference-between-knowing-and-knowing-what-to-do\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/the-difference-between-knowing-and-knowing-what-to-do\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Barn-owl-at-golden-hour.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Barn-owl-at-golden-hour.jpg","width":1200,"height":675,"caption":"Owl perched in a eucalyptus tree, representing knowledge, experience and judgement"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/the-difference-between-knowing-and-knowing-what-to-do\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Difference Between Knowing and Knowing What to Do"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/#website","url":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/","name":"IRIA","description":"My WordPress Blog","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/#\/schema\/person\/655ec8ed3842ce5e500d12f1481ae361","name":"iriadmin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/eeac44eeaaaa817c5147901146d0c6b62455e05139486db0f4efc3e1a8c37fdc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/eeac44eeaaaa817c5147901146d0c6b62455e05139486db0f4efc3e1a8c37fdc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/eeac44eeaaaa817c5147901146d0c6b62455e05139486db0f4efc3e1a8c37fdc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"iriadmin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria"],"url":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/author\/iriadmin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5691"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5691\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5696,"href":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5691\/revisions\/5696"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devsites.au\/iria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}