For anyone working in a retail warehouse, calling the holiday season the most wonderful time of the year may not be the most accurate approximation. Maybe after sales have been tabulated and you can put your feet up, but in the meantime it's the busiest, most stressful time of the year, and one slipup may have repercussions that stretch a lot further than it would outside of December. So before crunch time, make sure your holiday season strategy covers the following points.
Read more: Your Warehouse Holiday Season Preparedness Checklist
A warehouse teeming with workers over its hundreds of thousands of square feet may not experience downtime in the traditional sense, but there are plenty of ways in which time is wasted on the sly while people appear to be working their tails off. Unscheduled maintenance, long transit times, and communication hang-ups are among the most popular ways that we waste time on the job. Whether we're too lazy to fix them or too stubborn to entertain new methods, there's no denying that we're often wasting time when a little forethought and preparation will go a long way to increase productivity and reduce effort.
Used pallet rack is often the go-to answer for warehouse managers looking for a bottom line-friendly solution to their storage problems. Of all the things in the world you want to buy brand spanking new, pallet rack falls remarkably low on the list. It's the material you're storing that you care about, so you may care less about your pallet rack's looks. You just want it to get the job done.
Lucky for you there's a huge market out there for used pallet rack, and if you know where to look and who to trust, you'll find exactly what you're looking for at half the price. Speedrack Midwest stocks warehouses full of used rack for those looking to expand their storage capacity, and since we spend so much of our time scrutinizing pallet rack before we accept it, we can guide you toward a successful buying experience with your own used rack.
Regulation is the name of the game for pallet rack, and depending on what state you live in, you may already be familiar with the legalities surrounding seismic pallet rack for earthquake-prone zones. California and Tennessee are leading the way in seismic pallet rack safety, which includes stricter rules on pallet rack design and installation. As material handling experts, we at Speedrack Midwest make it a point to know your seismic requirements and will work with your local laws to make sure your warehouse is up to code before the first load is delivered.
It's tempting to look at pallet rack as a simple construction project. Lift the uprights, attach the load beams, and you're done. Presto. Just like an erector set. But while the new rack you've installed in your warehouse may look pretty, it sure isn't sitting pretty. Because aside from the framework itself, there are a half dozen other little bits you've ignored, and which are necessary to the safe construction of your pallet rack, not to mention for full compliance with Rack Manufacturers Institute (RMI) standards.
Whenever you're installing new or used pallet rack, we highly recommend consulting material handling experts like us at Speedrack Midwest before beginning work. The following is a list of components that should come standard with every pallet rack project you undertake, and which you should seriously consider whenever you're installing rack in a new building you're unfamiliar with. These components are meant to save lives, prevent injury, and avoid damage to your rack and inventory.