In fast-growing industries, storage space problems also increase quickly, as the warehouse requires smooth working conditions and enhanced storage options for different types of items, like long goods, heavy or light-duty goods, and even small to medium goods. For all these problems industrial racking systems were a game changer, as the business had a lot of options to choose the one that meets their specific needs. Let us know in depth about these warehouse racking systems in this article.
Industrial racking systems: what are they?
Industrial racking systems are designed to enhance the storage space of an area, by using the vertical space maximization method to use the left vertica space of the warehouse and leave the floor space for the safe and proper workflow of the area. These are designed with vertical columns and horizontal rows, sometimes adjustable to meet the different needs of different businesses. This functionality and growth in productivity of industries due to these racking systems, has made it t be the backbone of industries.
Various types of industrial warehouse-racking
Industries and their warehouses have different load-bearing requirements like heavy medium or light-duty goods. In such cases, to cater to all your needs and problems, different types of racks are available in the market. these are:
- Pallet Racking: One of the most common racking systems used in different industries is the pallet racks, which are best for palletized goods to keep them arranged and easy to retrieve at times of urgency.
- Cantilever Racking: For industries or warehouses to store the long, bulky items like bars, lumber, pipes, etc which do not fit in the pallet racks.
- Mobile Racking: to make the work easy for the warehouse, and get aisle space by moving a part of the rack or entire rack relocation, by the mobile racking systems. These racks are mounted on rails or wheels, making it easy to move.
- Shelving Unit: Warehouses not only require storage for big goods, but it’s sometimes smaller ones as well. In such cases, the racks having small comparnets or shelving units to store these small, tiny objects are the best option.
- Drive-in/through Racking: To meet the needs of perishable or non-perishable goods, these racks work on the principle of LIFO and FIFO respectively, keeping a consistent stock of items.
What is the best type of industrial racking for your business?
Different businesses offer design requisites, and thus the choice of industrial racks for storage. thus, talking about the best ones are those racks that can be easily accessible, meet your load requirements needs, meet safety standards, and provide enhanced productivity to the business. For instance, a frequently changing environment would need mobile racks, heavy goods need pallet or cantilever racks, and so on.
Warehouse racking: how to choose it
Warehouse racks for storage require proper attention and consideration of different factors when choosing them. From the raw material quality to the load requirements of the area. The need for futuristic growth, availability of aisle or floor space, safety regulations, and so on. Determining these specific factors or considering the load capacity, density, storage space, and others will help you to choose the right warehouse racking systems.
Warehouse premises or building’s characteristics
The physical characteristics of your warehouse will play a vital role in helping you choose the right warehouse storage racking systems. These factors include the height of the ceiling, the floor space availability, and most importantly load-bearing requirements which will help determine the type of racking systems fit for your warehouses. Thus, if your premises have good floor space, go for gravity LIFO/FIFO racking, for high ceiling pallet racks would go well, for premises with less floor space and ceiling height, mobile/compactor racking is good.
Store type of goods or products
The type of goods your warehouse is intended to store is yet another important factor in helping you choose the warehouse racking systems. For instance, if your business is prone to accommodate perishable goods, its instant loading and retrieval is required which is possible by pallet racks, for long bulky cantilever racks are good. If you are managing a diverse range of goods, choose the easy customizable pallet racks to change height and width very easily.
Goods flow and rotation
The flow of goods and their rotation do play another significant role in the right choice of industrial racking. The perishable goods must work with the principle of FIFO and are stored in pallet goods, while the ones that can be kept for a longer time or are non-perishable can be stored in drive-in racks working in the principles of LIFO.
There are some special requirements
Several businesses have different requirements for warehouse racking which need to be catered properly to meet their specific needs. For instance, a cold storage warehouse would require corrosion-free pallet racks, while a warehouse storing hazardous products like chemicals or pharmaceutical drugs needs the racks to follow safety standards.
Human and mechanical resources
The final way to choose the right racking system is by knowing about your warehouses’ manpower, and the mechanical resources availability. As for some racks like, double-deep pallet racks, or high pallet racks, they require specialized forklifts, for which employees must know how to use it properly. Followed by manpower must be enough and trained to meet the increasing productivity of the area.
Conclusion
Selecting the right industrial racks for storage in your warehouse, by considering all the important factors directly or indirectly like the load requirements, space availability human and machine requirements, and others is an important job to get the right one for your warehouse and increase the overall durability and productivity of the area, meeting all the specific needs of the customers and the safety standards of the area. So contact SimcoSteel now and get your business the specific industrial racking.
FAQ 1: Is there a best type of racking for warehouses?
Ans: There is no specific answer that would satisfy this question, as the best racking systems for warehouses depend largely on your requirements, like load-bearing, safety compliances, warehouse layout, space availability, and others. Considering all these factors will help you choose the best racking systems.
FAQ 2: What are the steps for setting up a warehouse racking system?
Ans: Setting up a warehouse racking system involves the following steps:
- Warehouse Assessment: Consider the ceiling height, floor space, and load-bearing capacity.
- Consider Goods Type: Select systems that match the load requirements of goods to be stored.
- Calculating Future Expansions: Choose a system flexible to meet future expansion needs.
- Install & Inspect: Installation and inspection of racks are done.