An efficient warehouse makes you feel as if its presence is unneeded. Everywhere items need to be are at, with aisles kept clear and the flow of movement is efficient. Achieving this requires more effort than is perceived from the outside. The most crucial effort is optimizing the correct storage system for the goods you are storing.
In this guide, I identify and describe different types of industrial shelving and discuss the placement for each type while describing the safety and compliance issues that often are not considered until a problem occurs.
Pallet Racking
Pallet racking is at the core of industrial storage systems. Selective pallet racking is the most common configuration and provides the most direct support of each pallet within the system as pallets are stored on horizontal beams that are cross supported by the vertical frames. Beams can be adjusted with relative ease.
There are vertical frames, horizontal beams, and floor fixings. All of these can be designed to accommodate specific requirements. A common misconception is thinking these systems are off the shelf solutions. Systems that are purchased with a disregard for the system requirements generally have a greater likelihood of failure. Systems are designed to support a range of loads. The configuration of the system can also affect the overall supported load.
Selective racking systems prioritize easy retrieval of stored goods, but this comes at the expense of storage space. The system’s design creates aisles in front of every bay, restricting the maximum space available for storage. For products that are transported in large volumes and on standardized units, palletized products that are moved with trucks and forklifts, Drive-in racking systems, Push-back racking systems, and pallet flow systems, can be employed to maximize storage space.
Cantilever Racking
Selective Racking systems are designed for the storage of standard palletized goods. If a long, heavy good is placed on a standard racking beam, the load will most likely become unsupported along its length and will bend the racking beam.
Cantilever racking systems are designed to store long, heavy goods. The design involves a vertical central support of columns and horizontal supports in the form of cantilever arms. Because the arms extend horizontally, the goods can be stored on the system and loaded without the material having to be threaded through a bay opening.
One-sided cantilever racking fixes to a wall, whereas both sides of double-sided racking are free standing in an aisle. Every meter of aisle occupied by double-sided racking can store more materials than single-sided racking. However, double-sided racking needs to be secured to the floor and the aisle must be designed with enough space for the materials handling equipment.
When designing a racking system, match arm length and load rating to the materials being stored. arm length and load rating. Materials that are long and heavy need longer racking arms with a higher load rating. The spacing between racking columns also determines how much of the arm length can be supported. If your requirements are not simple, it is better to get a custom designed racking system for your requirements than to adapt a standard system after the fact.
Longspan and Wide-Span Shelving
Longspan Shelving is a better option for stock that doesn’t use pallets beause it is lighter, easier to adjust, and designed for manual picking.
Longspan Shelving also use the same principal to racking of having beams span between vertical racking, but are lower and have fully decked shelving. The decking can be chipboard, or steel mesh and can be designed with shelving to provide ventilation or visibility.
Wide Span Shelving
When you can’t use pallet racking, but you need something to store large items that can be handled by hand, you would use wide span shelving. Wide span shelving is between standard long span shelving and pallet racking. Wide span shelving is used in parts counters, trade counters, and anywhere that needs to store large awkward items or large boxed items that don’t fit on a pallet.
Mezzanine Floors
Mezzanine floors are helpful when you need to use the vertical space in your building, but not the horizontal. A mezzanine is essentially a new working floor built within the shell of the existing one. These can be used to add individual storage, packing, and office space, or all of these combined.
Steel is the most common material used to frame a mezzanine with a steel surface denoting the working space. Building codes need to be approved, along with structural mezzanine designs. Consideration of the safety of the users needs to be taken before the mezzanine can be used for its intended purpose, including the load rating of the floor, the design of the stairs and handrails, and all other fire safety needs.
SEMA and Rack Safety
Racking collapses can be caused when systems are impacted, overloaded, or are poorly installed. SEMA develops codes of practice for pallet racking that serve as a minimum practice standard for all UK firms.
Every racking system should have a rack safety sign displayed at the end of each aisle, indicating the maximum bay load and the maximum unit load. Every warehouse that has racking should have a periodic inspection done by a SEMA approved rack inspector — at least once a year is the guideline, although more frequent internal walk-round inspections are encouraged. Damaged uprights and beams should be removed from the racking system without delay — an upright that is struck and damaged by a forklift does not just jeopardize the integrity of that vertical member, it reduces the load bearing capacity of the entire bay.
The green, amber, and red tagging system used after inspections is not just a procedural formality. Green indicates the component is fit for use. Amber indicates the component has been damaged and is in need of either monitoring or repair. Red indicates the component is unfit for use and should be removed from the system immediately. Red tagged racking that is in use in the warehouse is inexcusable.
Layout Planning
The storage system is just one part of the equation. The way it is configured in a building can either support or hinder the daily activities of those that need to use it.
The main aisle must be the length the entire building has to offer, with a width to accommodate the largest handling equipment you will use. If reach trucks or pedestrian stackers will be utilized instead of counterbalance forklifts, secondary picking aisles can be designed with a narrower width. Highest turnover stock should be placed closest to the dispatch area, while slower turnover stock can be placed towards the back. This may seem rudimentary, but we have observed that the stock layout of many warehouses that have been expanded and modified over time is not done with logic in mind.
Access to fire exits, sprinkler coverage, and where the columns are located impact where the racking can go. It saves the most time to get these factors mapped out before planning the layout, rather than trying to figure it out after a system has been installed.