Warehouse Racking System Design Is A Science By Itself

By Paulette Short


All of the shelving that is seen in all of the storage plants around the country do not get there by themselves. They are not thrown up with no thought about how they will work with the items that are being stored on them. Warehouse racking system design is an industry that does not get a lot of attention. This is primarily because they stay in he background and do not try for the spot lights of innovation.

Metal is a very popular material for these types of shelves because of their strength. Plastics are used in areas where sanitation is critical, however, a smooth surface metal can be cleaned just as well. The strength of the shelves are important as they must be able to hold whatever they are asked to hold and stand up to whatever abuse they will be subjected to.

One of the things that must be decided, before attempting to have racking installed, is what types of things are going to be stored. If they are on standard sized pallets, that is one thing. If the size of the material is larger than normal, consideration must be made about that. Many times a variety of different sizes can be accommodated if planning has included this possibility.

The composition of the material stored will need to be looked into. The container that has liquid, gelled or powdered material will need slightly different handling techniques than solids. Leaks will present problems if there is no plan in effect. All elements of the shelving will be looked into by the professionals who have the training and the experience to see all of the problems and have overcome them in other places.

Being able to get to all sides of the stored goods will also need some thinking. Having an open compartment, within the racking, means being able to get to all sides of each nook. This is not as practical as it might seem as that would mean free standing shelving taking up a lot of space. Being able to get through the front and the back of each bay is sufficient in most cases.

The material handling equipment will have to have a place in the planning. If you do not have the machinery to move stuff onto and off of the top shelves, it does little good to have this type of tall unit. Forklifts have definite maximum, safe reaches and pallet jacks will only move pallets on the floor. Other racking gear will be appropriate and these professionals will be able to suggest the right equipment for your plant.

It is not at all uncommon for the planning and installation of the right shelves to bring a complete change in the flow of the material being used throughout the plant. This is the time to change the work flow into the most direct, time and money saving way of moving just the right material into place at just the right time.

Warehouse racking system design is a very specific science and its practitioners have the experience to make it work for your plant. They will have the recommendations to ensure you have the right set of shelves and the system that makes them all work. Knowing about the automatic nature of attachments and processes that make your plant more productive is what they do and they do it quite well.




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