Racking Health Check

In these tough and challenging economic times it is understandable that many merchant organisations have had to delay the purchase of any new storage equipment for their warehouse or yard. What is more concerning, however, is the fact that in many cases this also applies to the ongoing maintenance of existing racks. 


This is without doubt entering into high risk territory, as ignoring any damage to the main structural components of racking within a yard or warehouse environment with pedestrian access by both employees and customers exposes people to potentially very serious health and safety incidents. 


As a manufacturer of storage products for the timber and builders merchant sectors for over 45 years, Stakapal has built up a lot of experience when it comes to on-site rack inspections. We employ qualified SARI'S (Storage Equipment Manufacturers' Association approved racking inspectors) and undertake inspections on a regular basis. 

It is quite a common occurrence for Stakapal to receive calls from merchants who have recently received a visit from their local environmental health officer from the local council, or a Health & Safety Executive inspector who has highlighted the fact that the racks in their yard or warehouse are damaged and require immediate action. In addition, racking often does not have the appropriate load signage displayed which also puts them at a distinct disadvantage in the eyes of the inspector.

If the inspection reveals 'Red Risks' you will be required to offload the affected area immediately in order to repair or replace the racking. 
We have therefore outlined a checklist for Cantilever Racking 'Red Risks' that any merchant should consider for the safety of their site :

1. Column Damage 

For a column bent in the direction of the run, the maximum gap between the upright and the straight edge should not exceed 5mm. If it does it becomes an orange risk - which means you need to inspect this area daily for further signs of damage. More than 10mm is red risk requiring immediate offloading.

2. Lateral Arm Damage

Arms damaged in the same direction as the run often results in damage to the column as well as the arm. Stakapal considers lateral deformation in excess of 1.25 degrees when viewed from the front of the arm to constitute orange risk - again this needs inspection on a daily basis. In excess of 2.5 degrees constitutes a red risk requiring immediate offloading.

 3. Horizontal Arm Damage

Arms are permitted to deflect up to arm length/180 mm under normal design load conditions. Residual deflection with the load removed should be no more than 10% of normal deflection under load. Figures greater than this consitute orange risk - requiring daily inspection, and twice this level red risk risk requiring immediate offloading. All arms deflected below horizontal are red risk. 

4. Brace Damage 

For bracing members bent in either plane the gap between straight edges and bracing member should not exceed 10mm. If it does it becomes orange risk - requiring regular inspection. More than 20mm is red risk requiring immediate offloading.

5. Base Damage

Base damage imparts excessive load into the column and the bracing members. Bases that are rotated in the direction of the run by more than 5 degrees constitute orange risk requiring regular inspection. A rotation of more than 10 degrees constitutes red risk requiring immediate offloading.

Stakapal's Stock Selection & Storage Solutions

Kitchens, Bedrooms and Bathrooms.
From raw materials, to work in progress through to finished goods - Stakapal design and install a total solution for your stock.


Stakapal specialise in the design, specification and production of a range of cost-effective storage and stock selection solutions to minimise the operating costs of kitchen, bedroom and bathroom manufacturers, distributors and retailers. We have supplied the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom industry for over 40 years and in the process have developed an excellent understanding of the needs of the industry and an unrivalled reputation for high quality products and service.


Timber, Sheet Materials & Decorative Laminates
Our specialist engineering department are skilled at identifying your needs and offering solutions suitable for the selectivity of all your timber products including panels, softwood, hardwood and MDF profiles. We can manufacture systems ranging from one individual rack through to completely integrated storage and picking systems.


Worktops & Laminates
With a wide range of worktop and laminates often needing to be stocked, Stakapal understand the requirement for excellent stock selectivity and rotation. Our systems are designed to work with the full range of handling equipment from hand loaded trolleys through to guided aisle man rising order picking equipment. 


Finished Goods & Stock 
From fixing and component storage to finished product storage in your warehousing facility, Stakapal offer long-term solutions that take into consideration all of the logistical requirements of your company's operation.

Introduction to Cantilever Racking : Key Structural Components

Stakapal's unique Cantilever Racking system was designed to ensure that the strongest and most robust box structure became available to our expanding list of clients who store long product loads across a wide and diverse set of market sectors.


No matter how simplistic or sophisticated the requirements may be, we develop every time a specific made to measure system to suit your exacting needs. The high demand placed on storage of long commodities requires extensive experience. Stakapal has gained years of knowledge which is evident in its quality of engineering and design.


Stakapal's Cantilever system is based upon extensive research and development over many years, designed and built to exceed SEMA (UK) and European standards.
Columns 

• Box type construction maximises resistance to torsional buckling from twist.
• Unique tapered column design with taper equivalent to the deflection of column under single sided loading.
• Base end plates fitted as standard presenting a clean flush finish to the loading aisle with no sharp edges. Can also be punched to accept mounted guide rail for guided aisle installations. 
• Slots are punched as standard in double sided pattern allowing conversion from single sided to double sided to meet changing requirements. 

Arms

• Tapered arm construction offers increased clearance height at the front end of the arm to improve ease of loading.
• The tapered arm structure also results in a very economical design concentrating the largest section in the most effective place at the heel of the arm. 
• Wrap around connector design optimises transfer of load into column.
• Simple and effective wedge pin system maximises adjustability and makes arm relocation very quick and easy.
• A wide range of lengths available 600mm - 2100mm to suit individual needs of the customers storage requirements.  

Other colours available upon request. 

Stakapal takes the racking crown

Crown Products is an established kitchen and bedroom manufacturer based in Kent. Stakapal has supplied Crown Products with racking for more than ten years. "As we have expanded our business and required additional racking", says the company director "we go back to them - we may investigate others, but ultimately we always end up buying from Stakapal rather than elsewhere."

A key reason for this choice is because Stakapal is a UK manufacturer and "As a UK manufacturer ourselves we like to source home-produced products. The service they offer distinguishes Stakapal from other suppliers in that they have always been able to come up with the appropriate storage solutions."

He also goes on to say that "Their expertise and experience within our market is second to none. This is complemented by their design and manufacturing capability and in-house installation crews who are all qualified through the SEIRS (Storage Equipment Installers Registration Scheme) ensuring a complete all-round service is provided from concept to completion."

Stakapal's unique position within the UK storage industry is that it is the only company that manufactures both Pallet Racking, and Cantilever Racking products, of which it is a market leader. Its engineering capability to rise to every challenge presented by Crown Products has earned it a loyal customer.

"Over the years we've built up an excellent long-term relationship with Stakapal. The first racking installation we purchased from them is still as good as new," says the company director. "As we have expanded, whatever we have needed has been made available. We are used to investing in capital equipment, and they offer long-term solutions rather than a short term fix."

Stakapal has been manufacturing for over 40 years and operates from it's 72,000 square ft facility in Cannock, Staffordshire, with an additional 2.5 acre site close by housing a 10,000 square ft purpose-built unit.

To Guided Aisle or not to Guided Aisle? That is the question

Cantilever Racking Storage of Timber: Guided system or free path.


Cantilever Racking is the most common method of racked storage for both Hardwood and Softwood Timber products. The system of legs or columns to give them their correct term have a number of arms attached to them by a variety of means (by pins, bolts or rarely welded) that protrude clear of the columns. The columns are connected together for lateral stability by a series of cross braces and tie beams. This gives an uninterrupted run of storage ideal for accommodating the long product lengths that timber is stocked in. Other methods include Vertical Storage (often called A-Frames) where timber is stored by being leaned upright against a series of beams or Pigeon Hole Storage where timber is stored horizontally in small compartments.


The rise in use of Cantilever Racking in the Timber industry can be correlated directly to the trend for end users to purchase only that amount of timber for which they have an immediate use. The tightening of credit facilities and the requirement for companies to tightly control their cash flow and stock levels means that they often no longer take full packs of material that may take several weeks or even months to consume. Therefore there have been significant increases in multi drop deliveries with a much greater number of smaller orders being processed. This in turn puts pressure on the order picking systems with lower cycle times necessary.


To achieve the levels of selectivity needed Cantilever Racks are used extensively to store and aid selection of individual lengths to meet those increasing numbers of smaller and more varied orders. This is either directly from the rack or by bringing a pack stored at high level down to the ground with the pack then returned to its original location after selection has taken place.
The two alternative options conventionally used are Guided Aisle Cantilever Rack systems or Free Path Cantilever Rack systems. In a Guided Aisle system the mechanical handling equipment, usually a multi directional side loading reach truck, is guided down the aisle, the space in between two opposing runs of racks, via guide rollers fixed to the truck running between rails. The rails may be floor fixed or fixed to the bases of the racks or a combination of both. In a Free Path system the truck is solely under the control of the operator whilst operating in the aisle.


Guided Aisle systems offer the maximum density of storage particularly if the full height of the warehouse is utilised. Modern handling equipment now allows storage of timber at heights of up to 12 metres and whilst this presents no technical issues it can present a psychological barrier generally in the timber industry where sideloaders with 3.6 to 4.2 metre lift heights have been used for many years. In such systems the product is often withdrawn from the rack location and driven to a picking station where the required items are removed prior to the pack being returned to its rack location. Ground based picking at lower levels onto timber trolleys or the forks of the lift truck is also available although care must be taken to ensure that health and safety issues that inevitably arise with such situations are addressed. The aisle is effectively closed to other equipment during such operations and cannot be accessed until all picked stock is moved out of the system.


Free Path systems whilst offering lower storage densities generally offer wider aisles that can allow simultaneous picking and replenishment and retrieval of full packs subject to suitable and fully risk assessed operational procedures. They tend to be lower in height than guided systems and aisle widths can vary from 2400mm for Side Loading trucks to 6000mm plus for Counter Balance Fork Lift trucks. Where Fork Lift trucks are utilised the aisle width is often determined by the product length to be stored rather than by the physical dimensions of the truck as the products have to be turned through 90 degrees in the aisle to be loaded into the racks. The benefit of these wider aisles is that product can be lowered to floor level on the forks of the truck and picking carried out in situ with much lower travel distances required than with guided aisle systems. The pack can be replaced quickly and easily into its allotted location as it is already correctly aligned laterally. There is still a need for the picked product to be taken to the order assembly area or despatch area and this may be carried out by an alternative piece of handling equipment or by the same truck used to decant the pack. Of course if the same truck is used the time advantage over the guided aisle system is lost and the floor area utilised is very much greater.


The main advantage offered by a free path system is generally when wider aisles are used and secondary stock movement systems are employed for picked products to meet peak demand cycles. In contrast such utilisation of additional labour in a guided system is only possible if additional and expensive handling equipment is available and its specialised nature makes it almost impossible to hire in on a short term basis. Thus if this is a regular feature of trading for a company then capital equipment that is only used on an infrequent basis is needed. Therefore the trade off is on-going higher costs of space against costly and underutilised capital equipment. An interesting argument perhaps between the Operations Director and the Financial Director?

Stored on Stakapal - Cantilever Racking

Stakapal supplied a bespoke Cantilever Racking solution for Timbmets new distribution centre in Stanford in the vale, Oxfordshire. Timbmet carry one of the most extensive product ranges in Europe, including certified hard-woods, quality soft-woods, engineered products & innovative designer panels. With a dedicated merchant's team offering ongoing support to the Timber industry, the opening of the company's new state of the art Centre will prove pivotal in helping them to continue serving their customers into the future.


Stakapal has worked in partnership with the company across their numerous sites, developing an in-depth understanding of their storage requirements and how the business operates. 
This particular site (which was originally a World War Two airfield) required extensive building work to be undertaken in order to make the site fit for the company's purposes, part of which encompassed three main dedicated storage areas.


Design and specification of the dedicated Cantilever racks varied to accommodate the multi-functional requirements of the operation, with common column heights of 5.9m for both internal and external racks designed to carry loads of 6000 kgs per column side. Rack profiles included Internal Hardwood Storage & Sheet Material that also applied to an extensive amount of external racks supplied in a hot dipped galvanised finish.