As you may already have noticed, automation is currently the rage in warehousing, manufacturing and distribution. It was steadily increasing for years before the pandemic caused it to become supercharged. Palletizing caught the automation wave due to its ability to streamline and increase productivity, but also its ability to reduce worker injury and its associated losses in downtime and costs. However, if your inventory does not fit tidy, consistently-sized boxes and instead has to be placed in shifting slippery bags, what is the most effective process in storage?

Pointers for Storage

Automating all or part of your palletizing activity can work for bagged inventory by following a few pointers.

Contents of your pallet load should be kept evenly distributed on the pallet without any empty or uneven spaces. These cause inventory shifting and point loading (a concentrated area of weight destabilizing the pallet load). If your bagged items vary in weight, load the heavier bags on the bottom level and stack them with lighter bags on top.

Be sure to place your bags in ways that prevent any overhang.  Overhang is one of the bigger safety concerns as it ultimately throws off the pallet load’s weight distribution and is a leading cause of forklift and storage rack hazards. This also triggers the emergency stop of your system which slows down your process until attention is given.

Additional Precautions

You also need to ensure that any rails, guards or stops in the palletizing apparatus are free from sharp edges that risk puncturing or ripping of the bags. Plastic wrapping of the pallet load is also essential for safety, although unstable content can make it a challenge.

A rotating wrapper that holds the pallet still whilst wrapping around the load is of consideration to prevent bags from shifting during movement.

Whilst plastic wrap is important for stability, you need to see through it enough to determine if it has shifted at any point during transport. Above all else, good pallet quality is a must across the board for warehouse safety, whether palletizing, forklift transport or sitting on the pallet racking system.

Deep Storage

You can have your pallet racking system designed for two deep storage, but you will also require a deep-reach forklift for loading and unloading. Whatever the requirement is needed for warehouse storage equipment, the team at Monarch Shelving can ensure that the design, system and equipment optimize the space and labour potential.

Contact our team today to discuss your industrial storage racks requirement.