Warehouse Racking - Millennium Storage and Interiors Blog | Millennium Storage and Interiors

Category: Warehouse Racking (page 2 of 3)

What Can Your Business Gain From Installing a Mezzanine Floor?

Mezzanine floors are beyond being able to create extra floor space or saving money on rent, and there’s a lot more. Of course, being able to create extra space in your commercial building without any major construction work is quite a benefit. However, the versatility of mezzanine floors means there’s a lot of pros to having one.

Here’s what we think your business stands to gain from installing a mezzanine floor:

A Boost to Productivity and Efficiency

An additional working place will go a long way to increase the output of your business. With mezzanine floors installed, you will have new office, lunchrooms, bathrooms, secure rooms and even a fitness centre all within the existing office space.

One of the ways to increase productivity is to look into the work space. More importantly, being able to provide specific amenities can be a morale booster. To provide these amenities, you will require extra space which you cannot afford except through a mezzanine floor.

A Cost-Efficient Approach to Expansion

Compare the cost of the building extra space in your business from scratch to having a mezzanine floor installed. You’ll always stick with the mezzanine option. Building a new structure involves a lot of investment which your business may not be able to afford currently.

However, with mezzanine floors in place, you will be getting value out of every square metre of your current business space. Mezzanine floors help you to achieve maximum and optimal space efficiency.

Quicker Installation Time

It does not end here. Mezzanine floors are made with prefabricated materials. As a business, you do not have the luxury of time to pause business activities. However, there’s no need to disrupt business activities when mezzanine floors are to be installed; the turnaround time is quicker.

When compared with building a new structure, a mezzanine floor saves you time. Depending on the size and space, installing a mezzanine floor is comparatively faster.

Customisable to Suit Your Taste and Needs

The beauty of the mezzanine floor extends to being able to create an interior environment that captures your business philosophy. A mezzanine floor can be customised for an industrial, warehouse, retail, or regular office interior.

We are referring to having a mezzanine floor with decorated walls, wallpapers, ceiling, windows, doors and carpets. What matters is knowing what you intend to achieve out of the new extra space created.

If you believe your business stands to benefit from mezzanine floors reach out to us on (01942) 603344 or email info@millennium-si.co.uk

What Is External Racking?

July 10, 2020 / admin / 0 Comments

Are you looking for a way to utilise your yard space that will be completely unaffected by adverse weather conditions? External racking could be the solution for you.

External Warehouse Racking is a storage system that has been galvanised to ensure that the racking will have the longest lifespan possible.

By galvanising the racking you are providing the system with extra protection, ensuring that rust and corrosion are not a problem that you will encounter.

If you have an outdoor space, installing an external racking system will provide useful space for your materials whilst utilising the available space.

Where Could External Racking Be Used?

There are multiple applications that external racking is ideal for:

Outdoor retail storage
Storage yards
Builders Merchants

Advantages of External Racking:

Weather resistant – the racking is galvanised to prevent any rust and corrosion
Ideal for cold or damp locations
Utilising available space in your facility – outdoor space is often under-utilised, outdoor racking allows you to use this space efficiently

Disadvantages of External Racking:

The racking must be galvanised to protect it from the elements – this increases the costs and often lead times
The products stored must also either not be affected by the elements or be protected from them – this may mean protecting the racking with some form of cladding
The floor area must be concreted, flat and level as in an internal warehouse

If you would like more information regarding warehouse racking solutions, call us today on (01942) 603344 or email info@millennium-si.co.uk to arrange a no obligation visit.

5 Critical Pallet Rack Safety Hazards

June 25, 2020 / admin / 0 Comments

Physical damage to the pallet rack

Often this damage occurs from lift truck collisions. Sufficient clearance space and clear aisles are both great ways to prevent this kind of damage. Always encourage employees to promptly report all minor impacts or observable damage.

Misaligned Racking Safety Hazard

This can cause collapse or failure of your pallet racking system. During inspection, use the manufacturer’s instructions to check that racks are properly aligned, plum, and level.

Loose Floor Fittings

OSHA is clear that rack columns are bottom-anchored to the floor with column base plates secured with anchor bolts.

Suitability of forklift truck

Your material handling equipment and pallet jacks should be sized to meet your needs.

Weight of stored goods versus capacity of racking system

To prevent dangerously overloaded racks, ANSI/RMI MH16.1 suggests posting the maximum permissible unit load, average unit load, and maximum total load per bay.

In the end, whether your racks are damaged, overloaded, improperly anchored or misaligned, they’re a serious safety hazard that can result in serious injury. OSHA recommends warehouse managers develop a thorough maintenance and inspection program. Be liberal with safety audits that include everything from pallet rack signage all the way up your material handling equipment.

Racking safety checklist

April 20, 2019 / admin / 0 Comments

Use this handy racking safety checklist to check your racking’s condition and ensure that it is being used safely.

It’s important to have your warehouse’s racking inspected by a professional on a regular basis to ensure that it has not become damaged and still meets all building and safety regulations.

Whilst professional racking inspections are important, it’s just as important to keep up with your own regular checks to make sure that employees are always working in a safe environment.

Familiarise yourself with the different parts of your racking and then use this handy checklist to perform regular safety checks.

Racking use

Your racking will have been designed, built, and positioned according to safety regulations and with its original purpose in mind. It should not be used for a different purpose unless this has been cleared with an expert.

Is the racking being used as it was intended?

Is it in the correct location?

Check for damage

Racking can easily become damaged over time, particularly in warehouses where machinery like forklift trucks are used. Inspect the different parts of the racking for signs of damage like dents, rust, and missing or loose parts.

Parts to inspect include:

Beams
Posts
Base plates
Frame bracing
Beam safety locks
Column guards

Debris

Your racking and the area surrounding it should always be kept clean and tidy to prevent accidents and avoid it becoming damaged. Empty packaging should be removed and disposed of immediately and not left on or around the racking.

Is the racking and the area surrounding it free from rubbish and debris?

Maximum load

Your racking will have a maximum load limit that should always be adhered to. Make sure that all employees are aware of what this limit is and check that it is being adhered to.

Is maximum load limit being adhered to?

Is there anything extra leaning up against the racking?

To book a professionalrack safety inspectionfrom one of our qualified personnel, give us a call on 01942 603 344 or email info@millennium-si.co.uk.

How To Increase Your Warehouse Capacity Ready For Brexit

February 18, 2019 / admin / 0 Comments

If you’re a business owner relying on imports and exports for your business to function, Brexit is most likely going to be an unwelcome distraction this year. Uncertainty over supplies is going to be the biggest problem, therefore stockpiling is going to be the best answer to getting through the uncertainty in March.

Carrying more stock, however, means freeing up more storage space and doing that can mean taking a fresh look at how you use your warehouse space and where possible reconfiguring it. Reconfiguring your warehouse space is likely to be far more cost effective than moving to a different warehouse and it saves the time involved in moving everything.

To begin with it’s a good idea to do an inventory of the stock you already have. You will need to factor in any likely increases in stock levels and how much demand there is likely to be.

Next take a close look at your current storage methods – you may find that pallet racking needs to be replaced so that it makes better use of the space available. If the space between racking is overly generous then you could add considerably more storage capacity and still provide enough space for your forklifts and pickers.

If you are taking on extra stock, then it will be important to make sure that you can easily access stock that will be in higher demand in the coming months. This means distances to the exits should be shorter than for products you are storing long term.

3 Things You Need To Know About Warehouse Racking

August 12, 2017 / admin / 0 Comments

Warehouse racking may sound like a relatively simple storage option for your business, but there are some important points to keep in mind before deciding on what type of racking is best.
Should you buy your racking new or second hand?

On paper it may sound like you save a lot of money investing in second hand racking which is an appealing prospect if you trying to cut costs. Unfortunately, this can be a false economy when installing second hand racking can often turn out to be more expensive unless you can be q00% sure there are no missing parts or damage. According to research, 25% of used racking will either be damaged or have parts missing. This will also mean it takes longer to install.

Consider the amount of space needed for handling equipment
Another important consideration when choosing is racking is the type of handling equipment you will be using. If you are using conventional counterbalance trucks for example your aisle space will need to be wider.

Keep safety in mind at all times
Warehouses are potentially dangerous environments particularly when racking maintenance is neglected. As a business owner, you will be responsible for carrying out repairs and audits to racking and these will need to be documented annually. Any repairs should be carried out to manufacturers guidelines and while this might be costly, the cost of compensating staff for injuries will cost considerably more.

Internet Shopping Drives Demand for Warehouse Space and Investment

November 20, 2016 / admin / 0 Comments

Fund managers are pouring money into warehouses around the world as the long-term fundamentals of the sector remain strong and set for future growth.
A recent deal involving Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund saw the purchase of a $2.4 billion portfolio of warehouses in Europe. Demand for warehousing has been largely driven by the growth in online retailing, which is revolutionising the way we shop and how businesses store their products.

Amazon, one of the trailblazers is already investing in more and more warehouses to help keep pace with customer demands for fast deliveries.

While one after another big high street retailers with long histories seem to be toppling, online shopping has gone from strength to strength and this will only increase demand for warehouses in the future.

Building a warehouse of course requires a lot of space, therefore unlike other commercial property sectors, warehouses can be more profitable than other asset classes because demand is kept high.

Returns from warehouses are said to be better than for office towers by almost one percent, though returns have diminished slightly as more investors have entered the sector in an attempt to find an alternative to bonds. Yields have fallen lower on bonds due to loose monetary policy in Europe and other parts of the world.

How To Improve Forklift Safety In Warehouses

July 11, 2016 / admin / 0 Comments

Fatal accidents involving forklift trucks have been reduced significantly thanks to better safety procedures, training and advances in technology. Unfortunately, there are still just over a handful of fatalities each year so what can be done to improve safety to reduce accidents in today’s warehouses?

Driving a forklift truck brings its own set of responsibilities that can soon be overlooked if a driver is in a hurry and cuts corners. This is why proper training to drive forklifts is a must and compulsory in organisations.

Another factor, which is often overlooked is the general condition of the vehicle. Is it inspected regularly for signs of wear and tear? Tires are of particular importance if the vehicle is driven outside on rough terrain. Just like a car poor tyre condition can be a cause of many accidents.

It is also important to select the right forklift truck for the job. If there warehouse within which the forklift is operating has narrow aisles, then a vehicle with a good turning radius is a must not only from a safety point of view but in terms of productivity as well.

It is also important to plan the layout of your storage facility to ensure that forklifts can be operated safely.

Aldi Puts Down Marker With Warehouse Plans

October 6, 2015 / admin / 0 Comments

Supermarket chain Aldi are looking increasingly like they want to take the UK’s biggest supermarkets. The budget supermarket has planned to open up 2.5 million sq ft of warehouse space to satisfy what it expects to be future demand.
Aldi’s warehouse expansion is going against the grain of current demand with only Asda looking seeking planning permission for a warehouse in 2014. The warehouse space they were planning was considerably less at 115,120 sq ft than that planned by Aldi.

According to Barbour ABI’s construction data, there have been planning applications for a 890,789 sq ft so far in 2015 with Aldi accounting for 645,835 sq ft of that total.

Competition seems to be heating up in the supermarket sector with consumers increasingly opting for what they perceive as good value. The big supermarkets are finding it hard to compete with the low prices offered by some of their smaller rivals.

All this of course is good news for consumers who will benefit from price wars between the supermarkets. Aldi’s decision to add more warehousing demonstrates a growing confidence in the future of its operations.
In contrast some of the bigger supermarkets are closing down their smaller stores and refocusing their efforts on competing with each other as well as smaller supermarkets chains such as Aldi and Lidl.

Supermarket Warehouses Worth More Than Their Stores

September 25, 2015 / admin / 0 Comments

The big supermarkets may well be axing many of their high street convenience stores due to a combination of high costs and low profits, but the supermarket warehouse boom is continuing and attracting the attention of commercial property investors in the process.

According to the Financial Times recently, customers are increasingly shopping online and this is what is driving demand for large warehouse spaces from supermarkets such as Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Aldi.

Online sales are currently growing at 12% a year and although they still account for only 12% of spending, the convenience of online shopping is likely to see online sales rival those of supermarkets in the years to come. It may also bring an end to the traditional weekly shop. People may be more likely to gather round a tablet or desktop computer to shop rather than venture out in the car.

The expansion of warehousing may be halted temporarily by the lack of space to build and a shortage of available units. This may well act to push up the prices of warehouses across the UK and land that is suitable for the purpose.

Investors are likely to find the prospect of high demand now and in the future a good reason to put more money into what was previously seen as an unglamorous and low yield investment.