Nowadays, the diversity of the warehouse pallet system has achieved a huge scale. Even professionals sometimes confuse the definitions and functionalities of the racks. This is a common situation because of the variety of racks with their following adaptation to the customers’ needs. Here, you will learn how to choose the pallet racks for your storage needs.
Rack system in a warehouse: is there an alternative?
There are many types of racking systems: selective pallet racks, push-back racks, mobile pallet racks, gravity flow racks, drive-in pallet racks, and shuttle racks. We have written a special article about them, you can read it here. Why do companies prefer to use the pallet rack? Because of their versatility. Pallet racks contain structural elements such as beams, upright frames, and crossbars. However, they can also be supplemented with extra accessories that expand their functionality and service life. For instance, shelves, special panels, nets, a variety of locking devices, upright protectors, drum supports, etc.
Let us show you how it works. Imagine you are working with pallets, but one of your clients asks you about storing barrels. It is not logical to put the drums on pallets and store them as usual. In this situation, you can use a special device such as a drum bed. This component allows for the storage of drums and coils. The drums can rotate on two rollers, allowing for liquid extraction. A different approach may involve a 2″ V-shaped piece that supplies the needed support to keep the load secure. This way, you can offer a service to your customer without doing anything special with your racks. Even more…
How does a vertical racking system optimize business processes?
The pallet racking system allows mixed loads to be stored thanks to the tiering. This vertical arrangement lets you store more items by using up less space on the floor. Basically, you can use the first tier for select operations, and the following tiers for storage. You can put the pallets on one tier as is, supplement the following tiers with e.g. wire mesh, and organize warehouse shelving. You have a vertical limitation due to the load capacity of your racks and the specifications of your forklifts.
- First, you should calculate the pallet rack load capacity and settle it with upright frame capacity.
- Do not overload the racks to prevent damage.
- Keep in mind, that the narrower your racks are, the more specialized forklifts need to work inside the aisles.
- As for the selective pallet racks, their storage utilization is approximately 45% and depends on your warehouse condition.
Of course, you can use additional units to expand their functionality, but you can also use another type of pallet racking such as gravity racking or mobile pallet racking with 75% and 90% storage utilization respectively.
Pallet racking systems design: choose your own.
As we mentioned earlier, there are many types of racking systems. Let us give you their brief specs.
- Selective Pallet Racks: Storage utilization is about 45%, single and double-depth racks, fit all types of pallets, and maintain FIFO and LIFO systems.
- Push-Back Racks: Storage utilization is 60-70%, following the LIFO system, processing with any warehouse equipment, and deep storing five pallets at a time.
- Mobile pallet racks: Storage utilization is 80-90%, remote and computer-controlled storage, access to any pallet, and needed installation over guided.
- Gravity Flow Racks: Storage utilisation is 75-85%, operating temperature is from -4°F to 95°F, and FIFO and LIFO systems are usable in small-depth channels.
- Drive-in Pallet Racks: Storage utilisation is 70-80%, recommended up to ten deep per side, LIFO or FIFO load methods, and single input-output point per.
- Shuttle Racks: Storage utilization is 70-80%, low operating costs, minimal clearances between levels, and operating temperatures: -22° to 113° F.
Each pallet racking system has its advantages. You can choose it yourself according to your business requirements or you can ask us. Lenokers company has been working and installing/dismantling them all over the world for decades. We know every tiny detail about them. Thus, we are confident that we can help you.
