Gatwick Forklifts
Unit 3 Curtis Farm Green Lane
-
-
Get a Free Quote
Pallet Racking in Sittingbourne | Essential Guidelines to a Successful Installation
Companies in the material handling sector might already know that it is awash with exciting new innovations, but it is the fundamentals which can streamline operations. Pallet racking is arguably one of the more basic systems which can help you along the way, but it would be naïve to look at one of our installations as, well, just an installation. Pallet racking is one of the more important parts of the logistical puzzle.
This doesn’t mean that your racking system deserves any less thought. Choosing something that will work well with the demands of your Sittingbourne business can also have a major impact on inventory management, loading, picking, optimising space and keeping your working environment safe.
This news post contains important pallet racking guidelines.
There are three initial things to consider:
- The type of product being stored
- Variables in your workplace
- Variables in the racking design
The Product
The physical size and weight of what you wish to store is the most important consideration if you want to have pallet racking fitted at your Sittingbourne premises. Systems have integrated safety features which make it even more important not to inflate product weights. Doing so could make the overall cost of individual system components that much higher.
Avoid the misconception that all products and pallets are the same, and you stand a much better chance of choosing a pallet racking system that is ideally suited to your business.
Oversized items which overhang pallets will need racks with increased depths and widths to accommodate them.
The Workplace
One of the main considerations behind pallet racking is how well the concrete slabs in a Sittingbourne factory or warehouse will support racking and the stored product. Some concrete floors might need, say, bigger footplates to help in distributing the combined weight load. Gatwick Forklifts can help you in coming up with the perfect job specification.
Separation is also critical, and we will carefully analyse the distances between the rack columns and the physical elements of the building. This is especially important because load volumes and aisle widths have a major impact on layouts.
Based on what you need to store, especially when your pallet racking holds hazardous materials, you may need to factor in additional features like in-rack sprinklers to help contain fires. This would require us to leave extra distance between racks to accommodate pipes and additional bracing.
If your Sittingbourne facilities have structural columns or roof drains, we also need to take these into account.
The Design
The upright frames of pallet racking use bracing between two vertical columns with horizontal beams connecting them to help support the weight load of the pallets. We create a drawing, or a profile, to evaluate the optimal distance between the horizontal beams. In doing so, our installers will then know if the racking itself needs any additional bracing work.
If we feel reinforcement is necessary, Gatwick Forklifts may brace the uprights using calculations which include distances between the beam levels and any potential seismic activity, although the latter might not be one of the biggest factors we look at for installations in Sittingbourne. Overseas, however, this is obviously a much more important consideration.
Seismic classification helps in choosing the right type of connector for a pallet racking system and how we weld them to the beams. This is a critical point on some installations, and we need to be accurate in our calculations of the clearance between pallets stored on racks, and the distances between the pallets and the vertical racking uprights.
We also look carefully at the need for wire mesh screens, end barriers, column protectors and anti-collapse systems.