Training of staff is consequently extremely important , while managers need to regularly visit their warehouse to check that racking maintenance is being performed . Overseas , this is mandatory . In South Africa , periodic checks and maintenance – whether internal checking or external companies – are commonly neglected . This should be done by a competent person to identify any damage or overloading which can then be rectified before rack collapses occur . The latter can result in millions of rands in losses or even death . In recent years , especially in freezer stores , freezer heights have been increasing and racking is consequently required to handle heavier loads . A common planning mistake is failure to provide sufficient flexibility – when a company wants a seven-metre-high store ,
|
they typically plan for seven metres when in fact they should consider racking of at least 10 metres high . Any commercial store must accommodate for growth and future diversification in products that may have differing weights .
Most racking suppliers offer the design of the racking and the layout of the store in their services and some also offer this through a complete computerised or simulated system based on the gathered information where the most appropriate designs are revealed .
THE CHOICE OF WAREHOUSE RACKING AND SHELVING
James Cunningham , MD of Barpro Storage SA , explains that the racking type chosen can depend on warehouse type : freezer , chiller or ambient ? Freezers and chillers are expensive to build and have unique
|
operating requirements . “ Other factors include fire regulations and the possibility of in-rack sprinklers . The nature of product to be stored is obviously critical . Are there multiple stock keeping units ( SKUs )? Must stock be rotated religiously ? Is product palletised ? Will case picking occur before dispatch ? As a cold store manager , I remember having to pack containers with boxed frozen fish in reverse date of manufacture sequence , ie the oldest stock had to be stowed next to the doors . As it was practically impossible to do this from a block stacked freezer without hypothermia and superficial frostbite , mobile racking – novel then – was retrofitted . Where there is a case picking requirement in ambient warehousing , fixed selective rack , or APR is the normal choice . In freezers , expensive space and product temperature maintenance considerations dictate such |
solutions as mobiles combined with infreezer mezzanine picking floors .”
The racking decision must never be an afterthought to be finalised once warehouse construction has begun . “ I have seen too many warehouses where an additional 500mm in the height could have added 20 % to storage capacity or moving an interior wall by the same distance could have achieved the same result . Storage capacity and surrounding requirements ,” Cunningham advises , “ should drive warehouse design , not the other way round .”
Certain types of racking are easier to retrofit than others . Barpro Storage has successfully retrofitted mobile racking , he says , but typically the existing floor must be replaced , rails trenched into it or an overlay slab laid . Depending on size a room can be recommissioned in as little as five weeks . “ Although racking spare parts can be
|