Monday, March 31, 2014

The Right Warehouse Racking System Design Aids In Material Movement And Safety

By Gwen Lowe


Things that are made and the parts or ingredients that go into making them must be stored safely, at least for a while. Proper warehouse racking system design and installations allow for the easy flow of material from one area, through the fabricating process, and into the other area. Steel is usually used as this represents the strongest material, although in some applications, fiberglass or extruded plastics are sometimes used.

Deciding what is the best system will take input from many persons in management and from front line employees who will use the system. One of the most popular forms of racking is, of course, the bays, set up individually based on the dimensions of a standard pallet. This is the way most people expect the system to be and are very comfortable with it.

Free standing shelving is something to consider carefully. The wall mounted units will be the safest, however, access from the front of the shelves and the back may dictate center of the room placement. The decision about what type of access is appropriate will be a matter of discussion as well. Many operators would like access to both ends of the bay and, occasionally, the sides.

The first thing that must be done, when thinking about a new or redesigned racking system is to get an idea of what needs to happen in any average shift. This information will be listed, by the design engineer, and used for planning the perfect system. The material of construction will be identified based on the weight that will be placed on them, the conditions of the floor, walls, atmosphere and height in which they will be constructed.

The traffic patterns that are needed will also be examined. Some materials stored in some areas may need additional space because of larger material handling equipment and their space requirements. The need for front and back access to the bays will also determine how close they can be to each other, other fixtures, equipment and machinery.

Having side access to bays is something that can be done on the extreme ends. In some cases, special systems can be arraigned to allow small materials to be slid, on tracks embedded in the floors, to reach all parts. Some of these will also move levels up and down to allow for the removal and replacement of items regardless of location.

A properly designed racking system will take into consideration all items needing to be stored, even for a short time, on and in them. Some of these units will have self facing rollers to bring material to the front area and they load from the back. Others will have tracks for specific types of pallets. Many of them will allow the storage of individual drums on sliders that assist in removing them with special attachments on fork lifts.

Having a place for everything and everything definitely being in the right place will make for a safe, clean and well operating plant. The companies who offer the many racking systems will have up to date information on all industries and what they are doing. That may include just the right shelving for your plant or they can come up with the perfect one for you and you alone.




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