There are many considerations for you to think about in planning for your pallet racking installation, but uppermost in your mind will be the issue of storage capacity. How many pallets will You be able to store on your pallet racking?
Naturally, you will want to squeeze as many pallets as possible into the available space, but that said, you will want your installation to be as safe as it can possibly be, so that your employees and any other people who have occasion to enter your warehouse storage area do not meet with an accident. You will also want your warehouse to operate with the maximum efficiency, so that valuable employee time is not wasted. It is in this context that your mind will turn to the question “How high can my pallet racking go?” Hopefully this short article will air some of the issues that you need to consider.
Initially you may think that the height of your pallet racking will be defined by the height of your warehouse, and to some extent that is the case. However, if you are going to utilise all the available space you will need to be sure that your pallet racking installation is not overloaded and therefore unstable. To satisfy yourself on this point you will need to be aware of the safe loading capacities, and you will need this information at the planning stage. Make sure that the people who plan your installation are aware of what you are intending to store on your warehouse racking, so that they can encompass your specific requirements onto their calculations.
Ensure that your pallet racking system is installed in the safest possible way. It must be structurally secure, which means that floor fixings, beams and uprights must all be fitted in accordance with safety standards, Uprights must be placed at the appropriate intervals and you need to have the necessary bracing pieces in place, as well as pallet support bars.
Still on safety issues, even if your warehouse pallet racking has been installed to comply with official standards, you need to be vigilant to ensure that it stays in that condition. Bearing in mind that damage to components such as uprights, braces or welds can adversely affect the stability of your pallet racking, you will need a strictly enforced inspection regime to make sure that any defects that may appear in the installation are reported promptly. Of course, once any faults have been reported you will need to ensure that appropriate remedial work is carried out quickly, to bring your pallet racking system back up to standard.
The height of your warehouse pallet racking will also be defined by the equipment that you use in your warehouse. Perhaps most pertinently, the highest pallets must be within safe reach of your fork trucks.
By now you have probably realised that there is an awful lot to consider in deciding how you’re your pallet racking can go. That is true. However, the issues involved should not present a problem, so long as you take the advice of people who are expert installers. Here at Pallet Racking Systems we stand ready to offer you the benefit of our expertise on all issues involved in planning, installing, and maintaining your warehouse pallet racking, contact us today.