What is heavy-duty racking?
Warehouses are used by many companies in order to store stock and assets. Racking is the shelving used to maximise the storage space, and are usually made of metal. Some items in storage require more robust racking, such as heavy machinery. Heavy-duty racking is used in warehouses, logistics companies, and distribution centres, to increase the carrying capacity within them.
Which other industries use heavy-duty racking?
Timber suppliers
Timber is one of the most important materials in construction; used in window frames, door frames, partition walls, and many other places. Timber suppliers need to have a constant flow of stock coming in to meet the demand of the construction and home DIY industry. The company Wickens completed a multi-rack project for one of their clients, as they needed a more robust and long-lasting solution. Removing cold-rolled pallet racking in order to add safer heavy-duty racks.
Railway industry
An industry that works with materials designed to be as reliable as possible, the UK railways are an important part of the UK economy and infrastructure. Due to the various shapes and sizes that racking can come in, every type and size of warehouse can benefit from them.
Motor trade
Repair centres, body workers, suppliers and manufacturers all use some form of heavy-duty racking. The components that make a car can be intricate, cumbersome, heavy, expensive, or all of the above. Some car parts require larger areas for storage, the great thing about heavy duty racking, is they can have a bay depth of over 10 meters.
What is the purpose of heavy-duty racking?
The overall purpose of using heavy-duty racking is to optimise the warehouse. The racking offers several benefits, including better capacity, damage resistance, and are easy to move and reinstall.
Damage and shock resistance
As heavy-duty racking is made from resilient materials, such as steal, they can take more punishment. The framework, beams, and arms, are welded together, bolted together, and the racking unit is bolted to the floor. This gives more stability, which aids in safely loading and unloading heavy pallets, as they don’t sway. If you bump into them with a forklift while loading or unloading the frame will absorb the impact, reducing the movement of the frame.
Heavy weight capacity
As the welding and bolts are used to secure the heavy-duty racking, the beams can support more weight. Heavy-duty racks are built and designed to take on these heavier loads. This can be lots of little components, or it can be large machinery.
Works in any warehouse layout
The flow of a warehouse is just as important as the storage, the team need to be able to navigate safely and efficiently. Heavy-duty racking is easy to install, and use structural pallets that can be easily added and removed. Meaning they can be moved around to better utilise the space available. There are heavy-duty racking frames that are open on both sides, allowing for access from either side, making loading and unloading more convenient.
Health and safety compliance
There are lots of risks in warehouses, with the amount of moving around that is going on. Fulfilment centres in particular see stock coming in and out constantly. With forklifts being used to grab certain stock on different shelves, this can increase the risk of falling items. If the racking isn’t strong and well built, this can even cause a collapse. Heavy-duty racking increases health and safety levels by practically eliminating racking failure that can cause injury.
What sizes of heavy-duty racking are available?
The greatest solutions on offer for heavy-duty racking, is that they can be built to specific requirements. Heavy duty racking manufactures, like Wickens, can make bespoke racking solutions. There are other types of racking available as well as heavy duty, such as cantilever racking, structural pallet racking, and vertical racking. All of which are also designed for heavy-duty applications. Heavy-duty racking has the ability to carry loads up to 20 tonnes over an 8 meter span!
