Racking and Shelving Systems

Storage racks are used to organize palletized loads in warehouses and distribution centers. They maximize warehouse space, optimize product retrieval and prevent damage to stored goods.

Pallet racking systems are available in several styles and can be customized to meet your needs. Understanding the components involved will help you determine the best storage solution for your business.

Beams

Rack beams are the main horizontal components of a pallet rack system. They carry the product load from the pallets and transfer it to an upright column.

They also help prevent damage and injury to warehouse personnel or other racking structures from falling items in a racking system. These are mission-critical pieces of a pallet rack, yet they can break down and cause serious problems without proper maintenance.

Beams can be made from steel, concrete, or composite laminated materials. They can be designed to withstand bending, shear, and direct loads.

A beam’s capacity is based on its size, length, and gauge of steel. Once you know the capacity of your beams, you can determine the best beam size for your storage needs.

In addition to beams, a rack system might include rails or decking to support heavier loads and prevent them from rolling away from the beams. The decking can be a metal mesh or other material that is designed to withstand high loads.

Bracing

Bracing is a term that refers to devices that clamp parts of a structure together in order to strengthen or support them. It is used in many different ways, including in construction.

In the context of rack parts and racking and shelving, bracing is a means of ensuring that the storage equipment in your warehouse is properly secured to the floor. It prevents the rack from buckling, which can cause serious damage and injuries to workers.

One of the most common uses for bracing is in steelwork structures. It is a way of preventing the compression flanges on beams from moving sideways, which is known as lateral buckling.

The amount of bracing required will depend on the nature and type of load being applied to the beam. For example, a cantilever rack may require more bracing than a standard shelf.

Footplates

Footplates are a crucial part of racking and shelving systems. They provide stability to the entire rack system by transferring load from the pallet rack uprights to the concrete floor below it.

The footplate is made from a steel material that serves as anchors for the entire pallet rack system. It is attached to the concrete floor with bolts.

During the lifetime of a racking system, footplates are exposed to various environmental factors that affect their quality. These include corrosion, rust, and exposure to different gases and liquids.

Once the footplates are damaged, it can cause severe structural damage to the racking system. It also increases the risk of critical occurrences like warehouse racking collapses.

As the footplates are an important component of a warehouse racking system, they must be inspected regularly. Check them monthly or quarterly depending on your warehouse use patterns and conditions.

While inspecting the footplates, make sure that they are free from any signs of corrosion or rust. Rust is a type of corrosion that occurs when iron or its alloys are exposed to oxygen and moisture.

Pallet supports

Pallet supports are a type of rack part that strengthens pallets between horizontal beams. This component of racking prevents beam spreading, which can cause pallets to deflect and break, and helps ensure that warehouse inventory is stored centered in the bay.

These pallet support components are typically welded to both the front and rear step beams in rack frames. They are commonly used in double-deep and high-elevation racks because they help forklift operators correctly place pallets on the racks by preventing beam spread.

Wire decking is an important part of a pallet racking system because it takes point loads from the beams and distributes them to the uprights in a uniform fashion. It also makes it easy to load and unload pallets into the rack.

Shelving is used to store materials that are accessed by hand, such as books, small boxes of medicine, and auto accessories. It has solid, counter-like surfaces that are easy to clean and maintain. It is usually a lighter-duty system than racking because it can sustain smaller and less heavy weights.

Racking and Shelving

Racking and shelving are the main types of storage systems in a warehouse or industrial facility. The main difference between these two storage systems is that racking is a heavier-duty storage system than shelving and often requires machinery to access the loads on it.

Shelving is used to store items accessible by hand, such as books, boxes, or small parts. Shelving typically is a lighter-duty storage system than racks because it can sustain lower weights than racks, making it perfect for smaller products.

Pallet racking is a heavy-duty storage system with multiple levels of shelves that are accessible by forklifts. It can also be referred to as pallet shelving, warehouse shelving, rivet shelving, and bulk storage racks.

Shelving frames can be made from many different materials, but the most common is steel. Steel shelving is durable, easy to install, and cost-effective. It’s available in a variety of gauges and offers several features that can improve your organization’s productivity. These include light reflection and penetration, sprinkler effectiveness, and mobility.

Drive-in Racking

Drive-in racking is an option for storing a lot of products in a small space. It increases storage density and can improve product availability in a warehouse.

The system also helps to decrease storage and retrieval times. Workers can load and unload large volumes of products at once, allowing them to prepare them for shipping.

It is important to choose a system that works best for your facility. If you are unsure which type of rack is the right one for your operation, talk to us about your needs and goals.

For example, if you have lots of perishable items, a drive-in racking system is an ideal option for your business. It supports a first-in/first-out loading and unloading workflow, which works well for perishables that require regular stock rotation to stay fresh and avoid spoilage.

These systems are designed to accommodate counterbalanced forklifts with appropriate clearances between columns and under rails. If you have a larger or fixed outrigger forklift, such as a straddle truck or stacker, it is best to use a different racking system that is specifically sized for that vehicle.

Push-Back Racking

Pushback racking is a type of live storage system designed for last-in-first-out (LIFO) load management. It is a gravity flow system and typically uses a single bay for the loading and unloading of pallets.

It consists of a series of nested carts that extend the full depth of the rack lane (usually from 2 to 6 pallets deep). As pallets are loaded onto the front of the lane, the first unit is pushed backward by rollers or shuttles.

This ensures that a unit always sits at the front of the lane and when an operator removes a unit, the remaining inventory flows forward automatically. This maximizes space efficiency and improves accessibility.

This type of racking is popular for cold or climate-controlled environments, where space utilization and storage density are critical. It also enables a more versatile pallet storage system than drive-in because each pallet lane operates independently. It is also easy to customize to your specific workflow.

Carton Flow Racking

Carton Flow Racking, also called flow racking and gravity flow racking, is a dynamic storage system that maximizes space, improves inventory control and increases productivity. It reduces travel time and the need to maneuver or displace goods.

Typically, Carton Flow systems are designed for light products and use slightly inclined wheel carriers to create lanes of storage within a pallet rack. They use gravity to flow cartons and boxes into these lanes, where they are automatically loaded and unloaded.

The system follows a first-in, first-out (FIFO) inventory flow to ensure ideal product rotation and minimize travel and interference. This allows stocking operations to take place from the back of the racking and picking to occur from the front, which keeps workers organized and efficient.

In addition to the basic carton flow racking unit, there are several accessories that can be added to enhance the system’s performance and longevity. Lane dividers are a cost-effective way to keep SKUs easily identified and picked, while entry guides help your workers quickly identify lane positions for accurate loading.

Understanding Rack Parts and Racking and Shelving Systems