A German company, over 50 years ago, invented the steel racking systems, also known as the boltless shelving system.  They decided to use slotted steel sections for warehouse technology.  In doing so, this company set new standards in flexibility, importantly when responding to their customers’ needs. Whether it is a multi-national organisation with massive warehouses or a corner shop grocer with a small stock room, boltless shelving is an ideal answer to their problems.

Although the patent remains with this particular company, other organisations were quick to recognise the potential of this system and have developed their own versions, still basing the idea on the concept of simplicity, strength and speed of assembly. They have also realised that tailor making a boltless shelving system for individual retailers helps not only their profit margin but their reputation as well.

The German inventors of the boltless shelving system are still developing the product in Germany.  Due to their years of experience in warehouse logistics technology and the interaction with their various customers, they are still refining and developing their manufacture of the system. The boltless shelving system has a modular design; this means that the warehouse’s changing demands can be catered for with ease.

The available space in a warehouse or stock room is utilised to the maximum using this system. A simple one storey or a multi-level racking system can be used. If unusually long depths or widths are required, the same system can still be used, so using a different system is not necessary.

To operate a powered industrial truck takes some knowledge and skill; you certainly cannot just jump on one and be away.  Many an accident has been caused through the improper use of industrial trucks; it is estimated around 95,000 workers each year are injured through this and around 100 killed in incidents relating to powered industrial trucks.

When you use an industrial truck, you must first understand how they work.  Industrial trucks tend to be narrow yet tall so it is not surprising that they can fall over fairly easily; it is certainly not the same level of stability experienced in a car.  Stopping one is also quite different to stopping a car; industrial trucks do not stop as quickly.

To understand how industrial trucks are so different consider how their centre of gravity is different.  With industrial trucks there are two weights each on different sides of a pivot point – that pivot point is the front wheels.  When you put a load on the forks, the load must be balanced by the industrial truck’s weight.  When you pick up a weight on the forks, there is then a new centre of gravity created by the combined two.  How stable the truck is will depend on how much load is on it and where that centre of gravity is.

When you go to use industrial trucks they must always be inspected first and if they are not safe, they must be removed from use immediately for health and safety reasons.

The pallet racking system is easy to install, versatile, cost effective and designed specifically for storing pallet with the aid of fork lift trucks. The strong beams are fully height adjustable on the frames to accommodate most pallet sizes. They can be used as a stand-alone for pallet storage or as part of complex engineered systems.

Wide Aisle Adjustable Pallet Racking

Adjustable pallet racking is the most widely used storage system for all pallet and non-pallet loads. Single or double sided runs of racking are separated by wide aisles which can be sized to suit the customer’s existing fork-lift trucks. This type of storage has many features that make it an attractive option for any warehouse, such as:

•    100% accessibility to individual pallets
•    High degree of system adjustability to suit any pallet type and maximise all available space
•    Use of conventional fork-lift trucks
•    Easy to install or reposition
•    Good occupancy rates can be achieved

Mobile racking

Mobile pallet racks give maximum utilisation of the warehouse space whilst allowing 100% access to the pallets. The superstructure is fixed onto electrically powered mobile bases, which move on rails embedded in the floor. This solution allows usage of up to 95% of the warehouse space and is increasingly relevant in the drive for lower warehouse cost. These types of storage racks can be used to store many types of palletized unit loads boxes, drums, sacks etc. Alternatively rack beams can be decked out to form shelving for high density “archive” storage.

Whichever options suit your specific requirements, warehouse storage systems are essential to many processes and therefore need some thought.

It is just as important to have your warehouse tidy as it is to have your store neat. A warehouse that is messy is not very productive. You will spend more time looking for things than getting them onto your stores shelves. This is very detrimental. Any time wasted means that money is wasted.

Clutter solutions

The easiest solution when it comes to cleaning up your warehouse is creating an organised system. This system should include things like storage racks so that everything has its place and can be found easily.

Storage racks for warehouses can be found at almost any hardware store. They can also be bought directly online making these racks very accessible. They are not very expensive.

These racks come in different materials such as wood, plastic and steel. Because each warehouse houses various products, these racks come in an array of shapes, weights and sizes.

With these storage racks your warehouse will be transformed from a messy, cluttered unit to something that you can be proud of. Everything has its place and will be easier to find.

While the racks play a major part of your organised system, there are a few other important aspects that need to be included. Having the shelves means that you have place to put your products but without categorising and creating order, your racks itself could become a mess.
This is why your organised system should have a pattern or order in which things are stored. For example, you can place similar items together or alphabetise your stock.