INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
FEATURE sourced when required , I advise clients to keep some on site because there can be long lead times due to the small volumes involved . When installing the original system buy extra components but store them under cover ,” says Cunningham .
He doesn ’ t encourage customers to do their own repairs . Barpro has branches in Gauteng , Cape Town and Durban to assist customers with spares and maintenance of mobile bases at their sites . Barpro doesn ’ t do actual rack repairs but can suggest contractors . “ Occasionally customers want to do their own maintenance , but generally that ' s a mistake . There tends to be insufficient , if any , maintenance of racking taking place in warehouses . The amount of education on racking safety is poor among on-site personnel . To cater to this need , Barpro offers rack safety training courses to try and educate on-site staff as to what is dangerous , and what they should be looking for in their racks .”
Companies do not have a good record of regularly checking for and repairing racking damage , especially in freezer stores , so damage can remain unnoticed for a considerable length of time . At the extreme , a collapse can occur . “ At the moment , the on-site level of understanding of racking and checking and maintenance is poor , and Barpro , in addition to its training , is trying to change that . Barpro has a Storage Equipment Manufacturers Association ( SEMA ) -approved racking inspector working for it , who inspects customers ’ racking as requested .
He notes there are ‘ good ’ and ‘ bad ’ collapses . A ‘ good ’ collapse is where pallets come loose , falling to the floor and across the aisle but confined to one , two or maybe three bays . In contrast , a ‘ bad ’ collapse occurs when the whole rack swings across , hitting the next one and causing a domino effect . Cunningham , who has been in the business for over 25 years , notes that the same problem existed in Britain until about 20 years ago . It was then covered by the Health and Safety Act in Britain , making warehouse operators responsible for racking checks on a regular basis . “ In South Africa , notwithstanding some notable exceptions , I would say 80 to 90 % of warehouses or racking users do not do regular checks and do not know what to look for .”
Barpro is devoting a lot of energy at the moment to promoting rack safety and inspections on behalf of customers . “ As the need for storage capacity rises , cold store heights have increased . Simply put , the higher the racking the greater the need for rack safety .
“ Another issue is that pallets themselves are becoming a risk . When you place a pallet at 3m and it breaks and falls – it ' s an issue but not necessarily a huge one . However , if a pallet breaks at 12m and comes down , that ’ s a big issue . We ' re finding that pallet construction is getting flimsier , with more so-called disposable pallets in circulation . We ' re also seeing that some pallets are being constructed slightly smaller so as to fit additional pallets into containers . However , it cuts the safety margin when storing the pallets in racking – because while pallets are getting smaller , the racking is not . The manufacturers and buyers of those pallets need to be cognisant of the racking when they reduce size .”
DIFFERENT TYPES OF RACKING : FIXED , MOBILE AND OTHERS
Cunningham lists two basic types of racking : individual access racking and high-density racking . Racking users
The racking decision must never be an afterthought to be finalised once warehouse construction has begun .
either want immediate individual access to a pallet or maximum pallet density . However , there ' s less of the latter today as storage requirements are shifting towards individual access .
Individual access racking types include automated storage and retrieval system ( ASRS ) crane systems , very narrow aisle racking systems , flexi reach truck systems , normal reach truck systems , static and mobile racking . High density systems include drive-in , shuttle and push back .
Automated racking systems tend to depend on a country ’ s demographics , explains Cunningham . “ It started in Japan where there has long been insufficient labour . The concept spread to America , Australia and Europe where labour is costly .
EP Refrigeration
“ The downside is that the equipment is extremely expensive and requires a different type of technician to look after it . In South Africa currently , the trend towards full automation has eased .
“ Semi automation is what Barpro achieves with mobile racking , which is our
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