SHELVING AND STORAGE EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES in Doha Qatar

This article will take a brief look at the weaknesses and strengths of some of the most common traditional warehouse STORAGE SYSTEMS . 

WEAKNESSES AND STRENGTHS OF STATIC SHELVING

Overall, in larger warehouse-type operations, traditional static storage solutions can be inefficient because:

• They waste space – eating up valuable real estate
  
  
• They waste time – increasing employee costs
  
  
• They pose a safety hazard in the form of items dropping from shelves, employees falling from ladders or carriers, or injuries caused by twisting, bending, lifting, and reaching for weight loads at different angles. Each of these safety issues creates loss of employee productivity and increased worker compensation liability

Industrial Shelving & Storage Racks

Racking is rated even heavier for weight load capacities, is generally wider, deeper, and stacked higher than shelving. Forklift trucks and cherry pickers are commonly used to load and unload materials such as large boxes or entire pallets. The lower levels of racks can also be used for hand-stacked storage.

This type of storage solution can take advantage of the vertical space of a warehouse facility reaching heights of up to 32 feet or more. But they all have the same inefficient use of horizontal space. Moreover, they require the use of forklifts, which themselves can be dangerous to operate.

Conventional shelving: 4-Post, Divider and Case-type shelving

 Mobile pallet racking is mounted onto tracks instead of the floor, allowing increased storage flexibility. Mobile shelving eliminates the need for multiple fixed aisles, as the aisles open up when directed by an operator. While this system is very effective in doubling or tripling the storage capacity of a warehouse, the sliding racks take time and materials are accessed in much the same manner as industrial and conventional shelving. It reduces productivity similar to conventional shelving systems.

HIDDEN COSTS COMMON TO ALL STATIC SHELVING

Time Wasted

Static shelving rows are generally placed at least 3-4 feet apart for operator access, with additional aisle space, up to 10-12 feet, for machine access. One of the biggest problems with this type of warehouse storage solution is the amount of time wasted going up and down rows whenever an operator has to store and pick a product, reducing productivity.

Lack of visibility is also a time waster. Looking for items stored in boxes or containers, located behind other product, and searching for items above and below eye level takes time! The reverse is also true for stocking inventory on static shelving.

Space Wasted

In addition to the space needed for access aisles, there is a lot of space wasted between the horizontal shelves. Typically there’s empty space between shelves for access to taller items and items stored behind front facing storage – creating a lot of unused “air.”

For these reasons, conventional shelving systems take up a lot of real estate, requiring large spaces. The Winter 2020 US industrial and logistics report from Colliers International shows that industrial rents in the U.S. have increased 5.6% year-over-year. So conserving real estate is obviously important from a cost-control perspective.