Pallet Rack Selection and Warehouse Design

In order to design the right system, you will need accurate measurements of the storage space and build a layout based on the where the storage rack is required. Another important factor in laying out storage racks is the type of equipment you use in your warehouse, the system must be designed to make sure your forklifts can maneuver around the shelving and reach the highest storage levels. In addition, the ceiling height, sprinkler system, egress and accessibility are all important factors to consider. Remember to keep at least 18" clearance from the sprinkler heads on the ceiling.

Besides ceiling height, the class of your commodity and sprinkler system design can also determine how high you can store in your warehouse. Please visit the high pile storage information page for more details about commodity classification and sprinkler system design as it pertains to your storage rack system.

Once we have all the obstacles noted and a building drawing of the space available to work from, we can begin to lay out the storage rack by considering your requirements, efficient flow, and observing all the obstacles in the building. An important factor to consider at this stage is what type of lift equipment you intend to use in order to plan properly for adequate aisle widths. Typical lift equipment and their required aisles are listed below:

• Sit Down Counter Balance- 12' Aisle
• Stand Up, Single Reach- 8'6" Aisle
• Stand Up, Deep Reach- 9' Aisle
• Turret Truck- 4'-6"-5'6" Aisle
• Narrow Aisle Order Picker- 4' - 5' Aisle

In order to properly design your storage rack system you must get the dimensions and weights of the product you intend to store. Information required is the maximum and average weight of the products, load width, length and total height, as well as the pallet length, width, and height. From here we can determine the right spacing required to store your products and what rack materials will be sufficient to store the load.

Once we've determined the maximum storage height and the equipment you intend to use you can start to design rack elevations or configurations for your warehouse. Typical elevations will show a "top of beam to top of beam" dimension. The system should also be designed to allow at least 4-6" of space between the bottom of the beam and the top of the product so your forklift can safely lift the pallet off the shelf. The next step is to submit the design to the seismic engineer for a preliminary analysis of the design. From this preliminary analysis, we can determine the correct materials that will work for your application.

After determining the the layout, configurations and elevations of the your storage rack, and the right material for your operation an accurate quote can be provided. A quote should include a bill of material, permit and engineering costs, and installation if required. Other costs that are associated with storage rack permits are special inspections(more on that below) and permit fees from your local jurisdiction.

Once the project is approved, the first thing that happens is submitting the drawings for permits. Local building departments can take anywhere from 4-12(!) weeks to review a building permit application and the drawings. Technically, an installation should not begin until the permit is issued.

Final bill of materials and a delivery schedule of the material should also be delivered at this stage. If you choose to install pre-permit (common, but not recommended) installation can begin once material is delivered to the job site. Lead times for material vary depending on whether you order new or used products. Custom manufacturing of new material can take up to 8 weeks.

Once the permit is approved and delivered to the job site, installation can begin. A few things to be aware of when before you begin installation are having the area of your install free and clear of any product or operations for the safety of the installers and your team. Rack installation can be noisy, if you do have operations near an installation, ear plugs are helpful. Also,work with the installation team to ensure they have enough access to the facility to stage materials as needed. Special inspection of the anchors may be required during installation, a report can be provided by special inspection agencies post installation as well.

Once installation is completed, the final step is to call for a building inspection from the local building inspector. You schedule the inspection through the local building department and occasionally an additional inspection from the fire marshall may be required due to high pile concerns. Typically, they review the plans, take a few measurements, and ask a few questions before signing off on the project. A few things to remember when the building or fire inspectors come into your warehouse are to make sure it's clean of debris on the floor or aisles of your rack system and don't block doors with product.