Understanding Warehouse Racking and Shelving Process

May 27, 2020

Warehouse racking also referred to as warehouse shelving is a type of material storage process that involves storing materials and products in a horizontal form. The idea of warehouse racking is becoming common since the process maximizes on warehouse storage space. There are various storage components used in warehouse shelving. To further understand warehouse racking and shelving process, read on below.

Components of Warehouse Shelving

Load beams, also called step beams are support structures that allow for materials to be stored in a horizontal form. The load beams are fitted onto the upright framework that enables for the warehouse racking.

Upright frames are a warehouse shelving framework that is designed to fit into the warehouse design. The upright frames are columns that stand upright and go as high as possible to increase on the capacity of the warehouse. Holes are then drilled into these upright columns at regular intervals so as to mount the load beams. Diagonal braces are welded or bolted between two upright column to increase on rigidity and strength. They are also referred to as the horizontal braces or the upright frame lacing.

Wire decking is used to increase safety while storing materials in warehouse shelving. The wire decking is usually a wire-mesh that is fitted to the horizontal columns to prevent the stored materials from falling from the rack structure. The mesh is used as opposed to a solid base so that dirt does not accumulate at the shelves. The mesh is also used to easy the identification of the specific materials stored in each shelve. This is because with the mesh, you can see through even to highly placed shelves and know which materials are stored at any location. Foot plated, also known as the face plates are usually placed at the base of the columns to increase on the stability of the column. These anchor are bolted in to firmly support the columns to the concrete floor.

Different Types of Warehouse Shelving Processes

Selective Warehouse Racking

Selective warehouse racking is the most common process of warehouse shelving. The process allows for the storage of different types of materials in different density. It is ideal for warehouses that store different types of materials and products. There are two types of selective warehouse racking. The clip-in selective process entails having pallets hung onto horizontal load beams that are supported by clips to the upright warehouse frames. These clips are adjustable and you can easily adjust them to increase the size of the shelves and therefore store bulkier size materials. On the other hand, bolt-in selective process involves having the horizontal load beams attached to the upright warehouse frames using bolts as opposed to the clips. This means that the horizontal beams are more permanently fixed and cannot be easily adjusted to allow for different sizes of materials. The advantage of the bolt-in method is that the horizontal beams can handle much heavier materials than the clip in process. It is therefore more ideal for warehouses that have heavy material storage that has a standard size packaging.

Drive-In Warehouse Racking

This process of warehouse racking is specifically designed to enable folk lift trucks to drive in and out the warehouse with ease. This enables storage and removal of materials to be done by fork lift trucks. The ideal warehouses designed for drive-in warehouse shelving have an entry and exit to allow for the trucks to drive in and out the warehouse with ease and order.

Push-Back Warehouse Shelving

This warehouse racking design is specifically designed to increase on the storage space of the warehouse. The pallets are supported to the load beams by wheeled carts that roll on rails. Once a pallet is loaded, it is pushed to the extreme end by rolling it deep into the columns. Every subsequent load is pushed against the former one to increase on the storage space.

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