The shopkeeper or warehouse manager has decided to purchase a boltless shelving system and must now establish the area available to use. In doing so they should also be aware of Health and Safety regulations. For example, the system must not block a fire exit or fire point, making access to a fire extinguisher or fire alarm difficult. The system should not impede the staff from reaching a first-aid box either.

When all these requirements have been met, the retailer will place his or her order. Upon arrival, their first job should be to check that all the components have been included. It is unlikely that a mistake has been made, but there is nothing more annoying than having almost reached the end of the job, the final component needed has not been packed. Full assembly instructions for the storage unit will be supplied.

Unpack the system and begin by placing a post flat on the ground so that the post connector slots are inside. Typically, post connectors will be adjustable every 12 inches or so. Now place the post connectors at the required location. They will usually be evenly spaced and there must always be one at the top and one at the bottom of the post.

Start at the bottom and tap in one side of the post connector and lock it straight away. Tap in the other side and lock. As you work your way up the post it may need to be spread slightly. To ensure the post connector has been securely locked use a screwdriver or a monkey wrench. Your shelving unit is now in place and can start to help de-clutter your working area.

In warehouses, the storing of packaged goods and bulky items is often necessary. To this end, industrial metal shelving is ideal for the job. Typically, shelf load bearing capacities may range from 300 to 1000 pounds in weight.

There are two basic types of shelving. Open shelving with cross strut bracing on the sides and back. Closed shelving has solid sides and back. Open shelving is well suited to store the larger or bulkier items while closed shelving is best for the storage of smaller items.

There are a good many different sizes of shelves available as well. The depths vary from 12 to 36 inches, typically there are three widths of shelf, from 36 to 48 inches, and their heights range from 39 to 123 inches.  Some shelves are installed with clips and are adjustable. As an alternative to the metal cross back brace, some shelving units have gussets and this makes them easy to access from both sides.

Dividers may be available to separate different categories of stock from each other on the same shelf. Many metal shelving systems may be mounted on tracks to make best possible use of what may sometimes be a limited amount of floor space.

Some industries require a clean, dust-free environment – industries such as food, medical supplies, electronics and retail for example. In these cases, wire metal shelving units are perfect for the job. Typically, a wire shelving unit will be quick and easy to fit together and disassembly is equally simple.

These days more than ever before, businesses need to cut wasteful and profit reducing aspects of their businesses as much as possible. Forklift or industrial trucks are essential to any warehouse operation but need space to move around. This floor space is going to cost the company in terms of potential storage room lost.

However there is now an industrial truck known as the Very Narrow Aisle (VNA) forklift truck. In a low bay warehouse, the VNA truck can increase the capacity of the warehouse by up to 30%. This machine can work in a space of 1.6 metres and lift a 1500 kg load to a height of over seven metres. Since the VNA truck needs very little room in which to operate, it will be possible for the warehouse manager to stack extra pallets closer together or erect more racking systems.

Typically, the VNA truck has a chassis of just over a metre in width and a narrow front axle. This allows it to be utilised in the block stacking of pallets. It also has tough cushion tyre and front wheel drive which make it perfect for use in slippery conditions. Some of these particular industrial trucks do not require guide rails which gives them added flexibility in that they are able to take pallets from the goods received part of the warehouse and stack them away or take full pallets to the processing area of the warehouse or take them to a road vehicle ready to be despatched.

The forklift truck is, without doubt, one of the most important assets a business that needs to move heavy goods around could own.

In a large warehouse such as the supply depots belonging to supermarkets, these industrial trucks will move pallets of produce onto supply lorries quickly and efficiently. There are many different types of industrial trucks now available but for the purpose of this article let us focus on the counterbalanced forklift.

Typically, the counterbalanced forklift will have as its counterweight a block of cast iron. Depending upon the weight of this iron block, the lift will have a set weight lifting capability when its forks are lifting to their maximum height. This weight must never be exceeded because of the danger of the truck toppling over. A plate fastened to the truck will provide appropriate information.

The truck’s mast is the vertical assembly set at the front of the truck and raises or lowers the load. It is also made up of interlocking rails. These rails give it lateral stability. It is operated by one or more of the hydraulic tilt cylinders attached to the truck’s frame and mast. Alternatively the mast may be chain operated using a hydraulic motor.

The carriage, to which the forks or other accessories are attached, is mounted the mast rails and moves up and down them either by using the chains or alternatively it might be attached to the hydraulic cylinder.

The forklift is usually powered by either diesel internal combustion engine or electricity supplied by batteries or fuel cells.

Around the early 1900s, the first battery powered industrial trucks were used. An American railway company introduced the platform trucks to move luggage at one of their train stations.

During World War I, partly due to manual labouring shortages caused by the war, Britain began to develop different kinds of equipment to handle materials.  A company in the USA, in 1917, started to develop and use powered tractors and powered lift tractors in their warehouses.

Throughout the 1920s and 1930s the industrial truck or forklift truck was developed, improved and its popularity grew in industry as businesses recognised the advantages of owning equipment that would speed up the movement of heavy materials around their warehouses and premises.
World War II brought about the increased use of forklift trucks to aid the war effort.  After the Second World War, warehouses were developing ever more efficient methods of storing their goods. These developments gave rise to a need for industrial trucks that were both more maneuverable and capable of reaching greater heights.

In 1956 a Japanese company introduced its first forklift truck and made its first sale of a forklift truck in America in 1967. Since that time, many different types of trucks have been developed and built in response to industry’s rising need for their versatility and have now become an indispensible tool in the modern workplace, whether it be a mail sorting centre, a warehouse or dockyard. These modern-day work horses have been a tremendous boon to industry around the world.