Buying a pallet racking system requires careful thought and consideration.

Businesses need to think about what sort of use the product will be put to, and what is most suitable for the business, and then consider whether they would prefer to buy new shelving sections or would be satisfied with reconditioned pallet racking. They’ll also need to consider whether the sizing of the pallet racking they wish to purchase is suitable for the weight loads it will carry. Larger warehouses, or those with a large amount of pallet stock, might also consider whether their facility is big enough and suitable for a pallet racking system.

What exactly is a drive-in pallet racking system?

A Drive in pallet racking system utilises 60-80 percent more warehouse space than a standard adjustable pallet racking system. It achieves this by removing the need for feed corridors. This sort of racking system is ideal if you have a large number of pallets that need storing in a small warehouse area. Drive in Pallet Racking is designed for pallets which are slow moving or have a long storage history: in other words, where instant accessibility is not really an important factor: for instance cold storage or facilities where products are transported in batches.

Drive In racking operates on a Last In First Out (LIFO) system, so the first pallets added to the racking are stored right at the back and cannot be accessed until the front pallets have been removed. Drive-in racking would not be suitable for facilities which will need access to older stock regularly.

During Installation of a drive-in pallet racking system each rack should be individually adjusted and lined up to make sure the entire system is level.

Each row of racking consists of support bars connected to the rack which the pallets sit on: these bars are designed to take specific sized pallets of a certain weight. Pallets are stacked from the bottom up, first the ground floor pallet up to the top followed by the next row. As each aisle is a little larger than the pallet size, a guide rail is installed to ensure the fork lift or reach truck does not touch the racking system and potentially damage it. These guide rails are usually made from 10mm steel or installed as a wire guidance system.

If you would like more information on pallet racking systems please visit the racking section of the Monarch Shelving website, or contact us on 00161 627 3444.