Factors to Consider While Selecting a Pallet Racking System

Storage, which was once a concern for several facilities, is now considered as an easy task. This is due to various types of structural pallet racks. These systems allow for well-organized storage of semi-finished to finished products. The innovation of pallet racking systems has revolutionized the way various manufacturing and warehousing sectors store different products.

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What to Look for When Buying Pallet Racks for your Facilities?

The increasing demands for pallet racking systems encouraged manufacturers to design these storage systems with various specifications and features. Hence, presently, the market consists of a wide variety of racking systems that are wisely designed for industry specific applications.

The following points can be used as a checklist for making an appropriate selection.

Storage Density – Consider the quantity, size, and weight of your SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) base. Remember that there are certain industry specific pallet racks available that allow for organized storage of light, medium, and heavy loads. For example, consider choosing from double-deep, drive-in, drive-through, pallet flow, and push-back racks, when your application demands storing heavy weighted products.

FIFO or LIFO – Design and functionality of these racks used for FIFO inventory management is different with respect to the ones used for LIFO inventory management. Hence, understanding the type of inventory management is crucial for selecting the ideal one. Consider choosing push back or drive-in racks in case of LIFO inventory management. Whereas, select pallet flow racks or similar deep lane storage units for FIFO environments.

Rack Decking – Consider purchasing additional rack components such as pallet support or decking along with the pallet rack. These components can be used to provide additional protection and safety to both stored products and the pallet racking systems.

Forklift Access – Forklift access is a very important point. Forklift access is crucial in case of some specialized pallet racking systems such as drive-in, drive-through, or double-deep racks. Check with the manufacturer or supplier that the racking systems can provide long-term service and performance even with constant interaction with forklifts during loading and unloading activities.

Aisle Widths -Choose amongst wide aisles, narrow aisles, and very narrow aisles after analyzing your application requirements. Choose a rack with right aisle widths after considering factors such as:

Characteristics of your storage

1. Load requirements

2. The type of forklift truck fleet used

3. Type of storage like long-term, high-density storage or temporary selective storage

Seismic Zone – It is crucial to identify whether the application environment has a seismic zone before selecting or installing any pallet racking system. There are racks available with high-grade materials and specialized engineering, which can be used in high risk earthquake zones.

Environment at your Facilities – Consider the wash-down requirements, FDA regulations, and other special product handling needs when selecting a pallet racking system. This helps in sourcing the best item that brings you optimum and reliable performance for years.

Seek Manufacturer’s Opinion

Associating with industry leading manufacturers helps you source the right racking system that provides you high-end performance. They possess knowledge and expertise to help you select the ideal system for your operations.

As a specialist in storage solution for a variety of industries and complete line of pallet storage products,  WAP is passionate about helping businesses succeed by sharing my knowledge and experience. This article explains about factors to keep in mind while purchasing and ordering a pallet racks system.