Manufacturing safety compliant heavy-duty storage shelves

April 16, 2020 2:45 pm

While all industrial shelving looks approximately the same, the range of different materials, assembly methods and other variables can make them very different. Those differences apply to safety, capacity and other critical characteristics, making them applicable for different purposes.

In choosing the type of heavy-duty industrial shelving is suitable for a specific facility and its needs, four primary considerations need to be observed. Let’s go over them one at a time to ensure a good fit between the chosen heavy-duty shelving and the safety needs of the facility.

Strong and Durable Rack Materials
This includes not just the compound of steel used in the shelving and beams but also the shape and configuration of the shelves, as well as the columns, supporting arms and other components. The shape of vertical I-beams can range between five types, each having different weight allowances. WPSS’ rack materials are far more durable and can withstand damage caused by heavy equipment, making them a better long-term investment.

Hardware Materials Durability
A strong heavy-duty industrial shelving system rises and falls on the connections that hold it together. In order to serve longer under heavier loads, it needs to have high performing hardware. This influences the safety and integrity of the shelves and the safety of everyone involved as a result.

Shelves Have to Be 100% Loading
It is not uncommon for shelves to be engineered to use approximately 80% of their surface. This causes problems and malfunctions when such a system is loaded to 100% capacity. The reason for this approach is usually to save money, which can be considered justifiable, unless long-term effects of this are considered. Those will range between the system not used to its full potential, effectively reducing warehouse capacity, or worse, ending up overloaded causing damage or injury.

Fully Load Bearing Racks
Planning for future weight capacity and distribution can be tricky, considering that a warehouse may need to store a wide range of materials on its heavy-duty shelving. Shapes, sizes and weight per volume can vary to a great degree. This may result in a shelf being under an uneven pressure even when the wares on it are spread evenly. Planning for this is critical to keep the heavy-duty industrial shelving system safe and efficient. The way to do this is to adjust the angle and shape of supports to handle the highest load at the weakest point. This will ensure the system is safe regardless of the weight distribution on it.

More information can be found on the Deluxe Heavy Duty Industrial Shelving page.

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