Multi-tier shelving a neglected option
SSI Schaefer business development & marketing manager Mike Alibone is amazed at the many warehouses and distribution centres he visits that are still operating small parts storage and picking systems at ground level. Use your air space, not your floor space, he says.
As businesses expand and distribution operations grow, the problem of how to accommodate more product becomes more acute as ground level storage options run out. While vertical storage systems in warehouses are typically envisaged as consisting of pallet racking, far fewer operators appear to have considered multi-tier shelving to maximise the storage potential of the overhead void.
It would be easy to construct a mezzanine and replicate ground floor storage and picking locations but this can be an expensive option when point loads and column grid configurations are factored into the equation. On the other hand, multi-tier shelving systems offer a less costly alternative.
Sometimes referred to as ‘build-throughs’ – a term also commonly applied to multi-level pallet racking – the high steel shelving structures act as supports for elevated walkways, allowing picking operatives access to locations at all levels.
Items can be picked by a variety of means but multi-order picking into totes or cartons on trolleys is the frequently adopted method. Each picking container can then be transferred to either a vertical lift or a simple conveyor system to transport it between different levels or to a ground floor shipping area. Alternatively, picked items can simply be hand-carried to the required point by the picking operator, or removed on pallets via a pallet gate. Stock replenishment is accomplished by reversing this procedure.
In addition to optimising the storage capacity right up to the roof, multi-tier shelving brings the advantages of simple and fast assembly and the fact that they can be expanded to accommodate future business growth. The design of the upright supports allows shelves to be hung from lug mouldings on the sides, while the front and sides are manufactured to enable the walkway support elements to be easily attached. Shelf sizes can be varied by repositioning horizontal beams.
A simple solution to a perennial storage problem.
