20_SHD_April 2/4/07 09:43 Page 20
■ ShD Investigates
The space race
With land prices rising right across Europe, companies are looking at increasingly
innovative ways of maximising their existing storage and warehousing space. In this
latest ShD Investigates article, Peter MacLeod looks at how this can be achieved.
Within the confines of a given footprint, complicated than you might at first imagine. truck to extend to this greater height?
there are effectively two principle ways in For example, a warehouse with a pitched roof This is where companies with mutual
which a company can make best use of its may have racking up to the height of the interests and complementary products hold
storage space. It can either increase the lowest point of the eaves. A triangular prism hands to offer their customers a unified
height of its facility – after all, there’s no of space would therefore remain unused. solution that embraces all required aspects.
extra rent to pay on that space between the While the height of the racking may be In my experience so far of the warehousing
rooftop and the clouds – or it can increased to fill this void, what about the industry, I have come across a vast number of
reorganise the guts of its warehouse to reach truck that needs to get up there? And companies that do more than just sell their
make more efficient use of that space. The what’s stopping it from crashing through the products. One of the first factory visits I made
ideal solution is a combination of the two. roof when it’s operating under the lower roof was to a racking company, Linpac Storage
The issue of how to extract maximum height? And will the floor of the warehouse Systems, where I first heard the expression,
efficiency from any given warehousing space be flat and smooth enough to allow a reach “Well, yes, we do manufacture racking, but
is at the core of the materials we are more of a warehouse
handling industry, for it brings consultancy company.” By this,
together many significant strands. Linpac means it will discuss a project
Racking and shelving: Higher, with a potential client, and help it find
stronger and more closely spaced. a full answer to its needs.
Warehouse trucks: So, if a warehouse operator
Manufacturers are striving to make approaches a racking company asking
their equipment stronger, more for racking, it is likely to get far more
manoeuvrable and able to carry than that. The racking company will
larger weights to a greater height. evaluate the available space, by means
Information technology: Not of a site survey, and then run a
only the brains to help plan and computer simulation of a likely
design an efficient facility, but also arrangement. This would cover areas
the kit to ensure the facility is being such as specifications of trucks and
operated at its maximum efficiency. potential Health & Safety issues, as
Property (please let’s not call it well as the racking itself.
‘Real Estate’ in this country): The variable factors must all be
Demand for prime locations in the taken into account, such as the type of
corridors at the heart of the country pallet being used, the size and weight
means square metreage is at a of the load, the profile of the stock (in
premium. To get the most value out terms of its throughput and shelf life),
of the smallest footprint is the and the type of mechanical handling
industry’s holy grail. equipment already available.
Ecology: Operating a busy As well as attempting to raise the
distribution centre with due regard height of the racking to its maximum
to its local environment, as well as permissible level, great gains can be
looking at the bigger picture of made by switching from a traditional
carbon footprints and global width of aisle suitable for a
warming. counterbalance forklift truck, to a very
narrow aisle (VNA) configuration and
Cram it in a specialised VNA truck, such as those
It doesn’t take a great brain to work produced by companies such as
out that if you want to squeeze more Translift and Narrow Aisle. More
Photo:
into a given space, then you need to about them later.
increase the amount of racking There is a variety of racking types
Atlet
available. In reality, this is far more available, which may be specified
20 ShD April 2007 www.PressOnShD.com
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