Storage Design: The Importance of Layout

Design is one of the most important considerations when installing new racking or updating the storage system in your warehouse. Load capacity and compatibility with your existing equipment are crucial but taking time to consider the layout and design can make the difference between having an inefficient labour-intensive operation or an optimized one. Here’s what you need to consider.

There are a handful of questions that need to be answered if your Storage Systems Provider is to offer a solution that will improve your business.

Storage Density

Every warehouse manager wants their warehouse to use every bit of space as efficiently as possible, but when the correct questions are not asked what you gain in density is almost always lost in productivity. Questions as simple as how many pallets, how many SKU’s, weights, dimensions, how are they picked and replenished, volume of picks, how are pallets built.  Striking the right balance required for a well functioning productive warehouse is only made possible by a consultative partnership at the design stage.

Racking Type

Warehouse racking is not one size fits all, typically an efficient layout will utilize several different racking designs working in unison. Selecting the correct racking designs is just as important as balancing storage density and efficiency. Different products and applications will require various types of racking and choosing the wrong kind can result in inefficient operations. Let’s pick two, Pushback versus and Drive-In racking. If there is one SKU, per tunnel Drive-In offers excellent density in this FILO (First In Last Out) environment, a very high-density solution, however, add a few more SKU’s and the lack of selectivity now becomes a productivity killer.  Pushback now becomes a better solution as each lane can now be accessed individually and each lane can now be a new SKU. In the end, this is yet another important consideration of when you are picking a Warehouse Storage Systems Partner.

Merchandise Protection

Product damage is a common cause of financial losses in the material handling industry, and proper design and engineering of your storage system is the best way to prevent it. Aisles need to be wide enough to provide lift trucks access without running the risk of damaging the merchandise. Ensuring products are easy to access will speed up your operations and reduce the chances of damage, as fewer steps means fewer opportunities for collisions.

Workplace Safety

Warehouses are dangerous places. Of course, there’s the inherent injury risk that comes with handling heavy material on a daily basis. However, large warehouses with a mix of pedestrian and vehicle traffic must deal with a much greater risk of serious injury that can be the result of collisions. Therefore, it’s crucial to design your storage system in a way that isolates pedestrians and Lift Truck equipment from each other. In addition to lowering the risk of collision, this will allow your forklifts to operate more efficiently, as the presence of pedestrians will force them to slow down more often.

Warehouse Shelving and Pallet Racking Experts

If you’re in the Vancouver area and are planning on updating your storage system or building a new one, consider having the experts at ARPAC help you with the design. Contact us today to learn more about our products and services.