What comes into your mind when you think about warehouses? Accidents, right? You are right, and even statistics confirm it. Every year, there are more than 16000 warehouse related injuries; and other health issues reported. And the numbers keep increasing by the day. Most people justify these numbers by saying it’s a risk that comes with the job, but that is not entirely true.
Warehouses are risky places to work; there is no doubt about that. But it’s also true that some of these accidents are avoidable. If you pay close attention, you will realize that most of the injuries reported are related to the practices implemented and the general warehouse management strategy. If only managers were keen to enhance safety in their storage units, the number of injuries reported would have been much lower.
There are several ways you can use to enhance safety in your warehouse, but pallet racking is the most preferred option by many. It is one of the most effective ways to increase your storage space, keep your inventory safe, and create a safe working environment for you and your employees.
In this article, you will learn everything about pallet racking and why it should be your number one choice when it comes to your storage needs.
❖ Pallet Racking- What is It?
Pallets racks are also known as warehouse or pallets shelves. They are a storage system designed to store pallets of both raw and finished products. These systems are the ideal storage solution to facilitate easy movement of pallets and prevent any unnecessary damage to your products.
❖ Types of Pallet Racking
If you are planning to buy pallet racking, there are several options you can choose from depending on the nature of your business.
★ If, for example, you are dealing with heavy products that require forklifts to move, wider racks are the ideal option for you. These racks are shorter in comparison to all the other options and are more effective in a spacious warehouse.
★ Narrow racks, on the other hand, will come in handy if you are working on a smaller warehouse or dealing with lighter products.
★ Aisles are another Important factor to consider when buying your pallet racking. Narrow aisles make it difficult to operate your forklifts and can often cause accidents and unnecessary damage to your products.
★ Double deep racks require fewer aisles, creating more space, but that also makes it difficult to move products between them, wasting a lot of time in the process.
Other factors to consider include,
★ Your budget
★ Size of your inventory
★ Nature of your products
★ Your Type of fork track
★ Size of your warehouse and many more
Now that you know what to look for, here are the most common pallet racking you will find in the market
- Floor Stacking
Floor stacking is a technique in which pallets are arranged on the floor in rows. The storage follows a systematic arrangement depending on the accessibility needs and can go as deep as possible as long as there is space. You can also pile your pallets as long as they support the load. Floor stacking is the easiest method you can use to store your pallets.
So why use floor stacking?
– Does not require any investment
– Has a high storage capacity
- Selective Pallet Racking
This is one of the most popular pallet storage techniques. It involves the use of horizontal and vertical beams to create shelves for storing pallets. Selective pallet racking systems can have multiple shelvings, but the actual number will depend on the height of your pallet and roof.
Why use Selective Pallet Racking?
– They are affordable
– Enhance accessibility
- Drive-In Pallet Racking
Drive-in pallet racking systems have one of the highest storage capacities as compared to the rest of the systems. Due to their lack of aisle in their designs, drive-ins have the highest potential to maximize your storage space both horizontally and vertically. To be precise, drive-ins can increase your storage space by as high as 60%.
The terms drive-in and drive-through are both used concurrently to refer to the same thing, but there is a slight difference. Drive-in has only one entry on one end, whereas drive-through has two on both ends.
- Pallet Flow Racking
Pallet flow racking is a system designed to facilitate the transportation of pallets within the pallet rack using a gravity roller. The rollers are slightly inclined to create a smooth flow towards the exit. When one pallet moves forward, the one behind takes its position, and the series continues. Pallet flow racking systems are the ideal choice if you are storing the same pallet products in large quantities.
- Push Back Pallet Racking
Push back pallet racking systems use the same concept as the flow racks, with only a slight difference in the loading and unloading of the pallets. Push back racks use the same position to do both. Loading pallets are placed against the exciting pallet and pushed back into the system.
Conclusion
Warehousing is one of the most Important industries but running it is quite challenging. Pallet racking provides you with an all-under-one-roof solution to your storage needs.
