Your rack system is your business, if you’re operating a warehouse or distribution center—or, it at least holds your business.
Pallet racks aren’t simply rows of storage shelves, and you shouldn’t treat them that way. Something so fundamental to a warehousing operation can and should be evaluated for improvement. One of the chief roles of a rack system is to allow efficient, quick access to stored products. How fast can you store things? How fast can you retrieve them?
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Because high-bay warehouses with narrow aisles and heights of 30 feet or more have become common, it’s critical to understand your facility floor if you intend to add racks, change layouts or otherwise alter the operation. If you’re adding or changing an existing facility, and the design has changed so that higher density, taller or heavier racks are in play, what factors should you consider?
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Any aisle that overlooks an area where people work, shop or walk should be protected against falling items, and rack netting is one of the most common ways to do that. It’s relatively inexpensive, full-time protection that can also help you maintain NFPA flue space requirements.
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With New Year’s Eve just now becoming a (possibly blurry) memory, beer providers are preparing not only for the next celebration but for the continued increase in consumption. With Covid-19 and its variants providing steady uncertainty, alcohol buyers are making sure their supply is stocked and that they have access.
To combat the demand and current supply chain woes, those that store and distribute beer, in particular, are faced with storage and accessibility challenges. You want to keep the flow (pun intended) moving so that sales are made and product is shipped on time, but what are some ways to help ensure this happens?
Posted in Industrial Shelving, Pallet and Industrial Racks, Warehousing| No Comments »
In some countries, pallet rack safety standards are much more rigorous and defined than in the United States. The U.S. lives in more of a gray zone, with overlap from multiple organizations and building code standards. However, safety is always a concern for warehouses or other facilities that use pallet racks, and a lack of standards hardly means a lack of accountability.
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Above:Â outdoor pallet rack with wind break wall and sloped roof
Most pallet racks and other industrial storage rack types are used indoors, safe from the rigors of cold, heat and wind, but some storage applications demand outdoor storage. We see those frequently in retail, manufacturing and fabrication operations. Sometimes, rack storage also serves as overflow in distribution operations or warehousing. Seasonal storage is often an outdoor racking application.
For outdoor installations, rack specifications can be different from indoor applications for the exact same load profiles due to environmental factors and the punishment racks take from wind and elements. But you can use racks outdoors safely.
Posted in Cold Storage, Docks & Shipping, Pallet and Industrial Racks, Space Optimization & Planning| No Comments »
Pallet racks are probably the most common warehouse storage equipment in the world, and for good reason: they’re safe, versatile and use the vertical cube of high-bay warehouses when correctly specified, loaded, unloaded and used within the rack’s tolerance. Load distribution–the way a load sits on your racks–is a critical factor for safe usage. Here’s how to get it right.
Tags: pallet racks, rack safety, RMI, warehouse storage
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Traffic coming and going within your facility’s pallet rack storage areas is a daily occurrence (or at least it better be!) and the higher the traffic, the better off your operations are probably doing. With tight supply chains, inventory shortages, longer lead times and limited patience from customers, movement around your rack is a constant. You can’t afford an accident. With that constant activity comes the potential for rack and inventory damage from various angles and situations. With that in mind, what are some simple ways you can protect your pallet rack?
Tags: Pallet Rack, rack safety, Safety & Ergonomics
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Above – left to right: reinforced resin wheels. split rollers, full-width rollers, steel skatewheels. Each roller type has advantages in terms of versatility and capacity, depending on your load and environment.
Pallet flow rack is one of the most space-efficient, first-in, first-out high-density pallet storage and picking systems available. Because the first pallet stored in a flow lane is always the first pallet picked at the front, you constantly rotate inventory. It’s a simple concept but the execution can be complex based on the load size, weight and other characteristics. One of the most important decisions is the type and style of roller needed.
Posted in Material Handling, Pallet and Industrial Racks, Shoptalk, Warehousing| No Comments »
Racks will often be damaged over a long lifetime of use. When you see a bent beam, out-of-square beam, damaged upright or other issues with your pallet racks, you can’t ignore it.
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