Using Warehouse Shelving For Industrial Application
Most wholesalers and retailers use metal shelving units in their warehouses to keep products dry and accessible. They know that shelving reduces breakage and increases the efficiency of order pickers. Manufacturers, however, frequently fail to appreciate the value of warehouse shelving for industrial application.
In an industrial environment, there are often many different types of parts that must be kept easily accessible. Small items, such as screws and washers, are often a problem to store, as are large components like engines. Many times there is also a collection of specialized tools, seldom used but which still need to be conveniently located.
Production rates suffer if employees must waste time to search for tools or components. Physical inventories are slow and often erroneous. Yet warehouse shelving is often ignored in an industrial application. Pallets may be piled high with an assortment of parts. Tools may be in unlabelled cardboard boxes. When something is needed, it is necessary for the employee to sort through collections of miscellaneous and unrelated items to find it.
Decent shelving systems eliminate many problems. Even a simple system can keep inventory organized, clean, and damage free. Employees are no longer in danger of tripping over items or subjecting themselves to strain while lifting heavy objects from the floor. Low inventory levels are made more obvious, which enables orders to be made in a timely manner and prevent downtime from out of stock parts.
Shelves can be found in a wide range of styles to accommodate any type of environment. Perhaps a company needs to store dozens of sizes of screws, bolts, and washers. There are shelving units that can hold bins to store each type separately. Or maybe a manufacturer uses various sizes of metal rods. A shelving unit with tilted hooks is tailor made for the task. There are even shelves that can handle entire pallets of material with ease.
Industrial warehouse racking units are available in a wide range of shelf styles. Plain, flat metal shelves are the most common, but wire mesh is also available. They can also be found with rubber covered shelves to cushion items. Inserts such as bins and drawers are also available, as well as locking doors. Custom shelving units can be designed, but are seldom needed due to the wide range of accessories available.
Shelving unit styles may be open on all sides or enclosed on the sides and back. They may be as short or tall as needed, and shelf widths can be narrow or deep. For cavernous warehouses, mezzanine style shelves utilize overhead space that is normally wasted space. However, this type will require stairs or lifts and usually catwalks to access the items stored on them.
Warehouse shelving lasts for many years. It is easy to clean and resists the effects of the elements very well. After a few decades of abuse, a quick touch up of paint might be needed, but there should be no rust issues to deal with.
Many companies have long seen the advantage of metal shelves for storing finished goods and boxes of records. It would be to the benefit of all manufacturers to examine the value of warehouse shelving for industrial application.
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Adriana Noton :: Jan.31.2010 :: home :: No Comments »


