The arrangement of a pallet racking system in a warehouse is a key issue in its efficient operation. There are various schemes for arranging racking systems. The selection of which depends on the type of racks, storage area, using special equipment, and features of the stored goods.

So, what is the best warehouse layout? How to arrange racks in the warehouse, based on the configuration of the room? Questions regarding the arrangement of the warehouse racking layout and the use of different layouts will be discussed later in the article.

Table of Content

• What to Consider While Designing a Warehouse Racking Layout?
  • Floor and Walls
  • Ceiling Height
  • Stored Load Parameters
  • Warehouse Equipment
  • Fire Safety Standards
• The Main Rules for Arranging Racking in a Warehouse
• How to Optimally Arrange Racks in a Warehouse
• Racking System Design or Racking Layout
• Wrapping Up!

Considerations for Designing a Warehouse Racking Layout

Floor and Walls

The ability to mount racks depends on their quality. This affects the stability of the warehouse system and the safety of workers in the warehouse as a whole. In addition, the floors must be level so that warehouse equipment can ride on them without obstacles. Only on a flat floor, the arrangement of the racking in the warehouse will be safe and reliable. For this reason, self-leveling concrete floors take place in warehouses. They’re durable and have minimal differences in height.

Ceiling Height

It determines the racking system should be high. If a warehouse has ceilings up to 3 meters, the arrangement of racks is possible of any type. In a warehouse with ceilings above three meters, there will be restrictions on the types of structures.

Stored Load Parameters

These are the dimensions and weight of the pallet. Together with the parameters of the premises, the optimal number of pallets with cargo taken into account, which can fit in the warehouse. The arrangement of racks in the warehouse is possible through the container/dimensions of the cargo. Otherwise, you’ll face a situation where there is free space, which is irrational.

Warehouse Equipment

What kind of equipment will serve the racks? Depending on the warehouse equipment, there are requirements for the inter-rack distance. The loader or stacker must move freely around the warehouse without catching the racks at the headlands.

Fire Safety Standards

When arranging racks in the warehouse, you need to take into account fire safety standards. This is an important point that affects the placement of racking in the warehouse. It’s imperative to write and illustrate the escape routes in the event of a fire. Ideally, equip the warehouse with an automatic fire extinguishing system.

At a minimum, you need to equip the fire cabinets with a fire extinguisher and all the necessary tools. In this case, the cabinets must be visible and always accessible. All this imposes some restrictions on the arrangement of racks in the warehouse. Therefore, fire safety requirements necessary take into account already at the stage of designing a storage system.

The Main Rules for Arranging Racking in a Warehouse

For convenient storage and tracking of the movement of products on the shelves, assign each type of product to a specific location on the bins. It works according to a pre-developed wiring diagram, the number of the bin, and the amount of material. This will control and ensure the safety of products.

When developing a scheme for arranging racking in a warehouse, there are various factors taken into account. It includes the occupancy rate of the warehouse, the volume, and frequency of receipt and movement of products, as well as methods of placement and stacking.

There are the following ways of placing goods in the warehouse, from which you need to build on when choosing a scheme for arranging a racking system:

• Types: Separate warehousing according to grades and types.
• As the Goods Arrive: Place the batch separately and break it down by grade.
• By Lot and Type of Product: Place the product categories separately, but products align by type, each separated from the other.
• By Product Name: Everything is sorted according to the name, each of which is located separately

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How to Optimally Arrange Racks in a Warehouse

For the optimal distribution of goods in the warehouse areas, the development of schemes for the arrangement of heavy-duty racks in the warehouse is necessary. When planning a warehouse, you need to take into account:

• Places of permanent and temporary storage. For permanent placement, products should be available in certain fixed cells.
• Ensuring free observation of the goods at any time.
• Unimpeded access to any place of the stored products.
• Frequency of goods receipt.
• Scope of delivery and shipment of goods.
• Rational placement on shelving structures.
• Compatibility of storage of goods by type.

The placement of goods with large dimensions is possible in cells that can accommodate boxes, pallets, trays. Here it’s necessary to maintain the width of the aisles for the passage and turning of forklifts or stackers.

In small wholesale and retail outlets, place the goods according to their dimensions, using sectors for small and large products. You need to consider the large, medium, and small sections with various dimensions in height, width, and depth.

Therefore, in order to arrange racks in the warehouse, you need to take into account the characteristics of the products and the features of the warehouse.

Racking System Design or Racking Layout

This is one of the most responsible and important processes in the development of a truly effective warehouse system. Work on the layout of the warehouse and the layout of the shelves can take more than one month, depending on the complexity of the project.

As for the arrangement of front racks in the warehouse, the following requirements necessarily take into account:

• Wide Aisle: Width from 2.5 to 3.7 m. In the corridor, the loader can rotate 90 °.
• Narrow-Aisle: From 1.5 to 1.9 m. Deploy the equipment in a special transport passage.

Wrapping Up!

Placing longitudinal and transverse aisles with warehouse columns isn’t a good idea. It’s necessary to use passages and gaps between stacks, even for temporary placement of goods, equipment and cushioning material. You need to calculate the gaps between stacks or racks by the corresponding technological instructions.

So, take into account everything about the warehouse racking so you can make the right decision in terms of choosing the right racking layout for maximum storage.