Creating Storage Solutions for Your Warehouse With Racking and Shelving.

Posted on by Monarch Shelving

Warehouse managers all over the world are faced with the constant struggle of creating storage solutions for their warehouse space.

Along with maintaining an efficient process and keeping staff safe, the warehouse must be revamped to reduce the cost of doing business. But amidst the clutter and the bustle of running a delivery centre, seemingly simple solutions aren’t obvious.

For example, many warehouses simply don’t use up all the space they can. After laying down a few miles of racking, they promptly assume it’s ‘full’. Yet they can be losing money, by maintaining unused spaces in the building. The business may try to expand by buying or leasing another warehouse space to expand into.

There are many space saving methods a warehouse can use; it all starts with a thorough warehouse audit.

Three of our best space saving strategies for creating storage solutions include:

Facility Optimisation.

Without first assessing the existing storage structure, implementing a redesign would be counter-productive. The business will spend more money by erecting and often demolishing any storage they put up.

We recommend using this checklist to assess and help choose the most appropriate and economical storage solution:

1. Measure the floor space you have available to work with.

2. Understand the type of product to be handled, including recommended storage conditions, replenishment requirements, and handling loads.

3. Establish the material flow paths through the facility.

4. Map the position of fixed columns, walls, and doors. Also, determine auxiliary requirements like offices and dock staging areas.

5. Find out your available options by calling Monarch Shelving..

The following are the two most overlooked, yet largest potential space savers in any warehouse. Using the data from your assessment, deploy them and see just how much space you open up.

Aisle Width.

Many warehouses are set up with minimal measurement and expansion possibilities. This often leads to phantom space constraints. But as there are more SKUs to handle and process, storage needs to always change.

In many cases, the SKU determines the type and amount of space needed. Anything from small shelves to mile long aisles, finding a balance that guarantees safe storage is the task of a warehouse manager. The aisle should be wide enough to be safe to workers, yet be able to maximise storage space in the warehouse.

When planning aisles, consider the following recommended widths and their uses:

  • Wide Aisles: Wider than 9.8 feet, these are used with large sized but infrequent order quantities.
  • Narrow Aisles: 8.9 – 9.8 feet; these require the use of a reach truck. They can also be used for infrequent and small SKUs.
  • Very Narrow Aisles: This configuration can increase storage density by up to 50%, but note that this compactness also reduces operational speed.

Whether you are installing, expanding or replacing, contact Monarch Shelving Ltd.

NOTE: When installing VNAs, don’t forget to accommodate lighting and sprinklers, as you are much closer to them the higher you go.

Racking.

To increase available space, the type of racking also plays a part. You can:

  • Go Vertical – Do you have any vertical space available? What is the ratio of used vertical space to clear space? By simply increasing the height of your beams, you can gain up to 20% more space.
  • Correct Pallet Racking – If the SKUs are palletised and there is a standard size, look at removing the pallets and storing in case flow racks. Pallets, alone, can take up to 10% of the space.
  • Tunnel Racking – What of the area between cross aisles? Or the space running under your machinery? A tunnel rack can be created by covering cross aisles.
  • Note that this can only work if you have up to 9 feet of clearance, especially if you’ll be using small forklifts.
  • Long Span Racking: These can be used to store larger quantities while still increasing square footage.

Racking is adaptable and easy to assemble and dismantle, thus making them a preferred option for smaller and open spaces. By combining shelving and racking, a warehouse can reclaim up to 60% space from its original configuration.

Still sceptical? Call Monarch Shelving today; we stock durable, yet inexpensive equipment for creating storage solutions for your business.