Considerations When Choosing A Pallet Racking System

When you choose a pallet racking system, you need to make sure that you make a careful choice. Simply setting up a shelf to hold pallets on will not guarantee easy access to your product nor ensure that the weight of your product will not collapse your shelf. In order to get the best pallet options for your money, you need to know which criteria to consider when choosing your pallet rack system.

Weight

One of your first considerations should be how heavy the pallets you will place on your rack will be. Thus, you should weigh the pallets that will be placed on the racks. You must then think about how many pallets you plan to place on each rack. You can then choose a rack that will be able to hold the weight of your product without damaging either the rack itself or your product in the event of a collapse. 

Access

Once you have considered weight, you must then look at how you will access your product once it is placed on the rack. For example, will you need to access your product a pallet-load at a time? Or will you need to access product item by item? Certain racking systems will lend themselves more to pallet access and others to item-by-item access. Make sure you think about how you will access your product, so you can discuss your options with the pallet rack vendor. 

Lift Access

You must also think about how you will place pallets on your rack. Typically, pallets are placed with a forklift. If you plan on storing a lot of product, then you will want to place your racks as close together as you possibly can. On the other hand, if you place racks too closely together, it can make it difficult to maneuver a forklift. Thus, you will want to consider what type of forklift you will be using and then place your racks far enough apart that your forklift will easily be able to maneuver between racks.

The criteria for choosing a pallet rack system described above should not be construed as a complete list. However, the above description should give you an idea of the type of considerations you should have in mind when choosing a pallet rack system. You will find that pallet rack vendors have a treasure-trove of knowledge on how racking systems are used, so if you want to make sure you choose the right system, you should sit down with a representative from a pallet rack system vendor and discuss your situation so that you can choose the right system for your needs.