Warehouse Blog

Seismic Rack Requirements, Not Merely A Shakedown

As I tell my customers, I will sell you rack any way you want to buy it. But I want to make sure your aware that your local building officials may require that you pull a permit before you install your pallet racks. It has to do with earthquakes. Now don't kill the messenger and before you storm off please let me explain. If your buying pallet rack I want to protect you from making a very costly mistake. Try telling the boss that the $30,000.00 of pallet rack that you just bought won't meet the codes as the building inspector puts a yellow tape around the rack. That's the wrong time to find out you needed to pull a permit. 

I can make things real easy for you. I can have the engineers at the factory run a free seismic analysis to make sure that the rack that I'm quoting will meet your local building codes. Then it's up to you if you want to pull the permit. Atleast you have the peace of mind knowing that the rack that you purchased could meet the codes. Here's how it works. I need the answers to three simple questions:

1. What is the city, state & zip code where the rack is being installed?

2. How many beam levels (or shelf levels) do you have in your rack and how many inches apart are they spaced in relation to the floor? (Example: Storing 4 pallets high=Pallets on the floor, 1st beam level @ 48" off the floor, 2nd beam level @ 96" off the floor & 3rd (top) beam level @ 144" off the floor.) 

3. What is the average amount of weight your storing on each beam level (or shelf level)? Another way to ask this question is what is the average weight per pallet and how many pallets do you store on a beam level?

After getting the answers to the questions above I can send you a seismic rack quotation with the following special notes: (For Example) Material has seismic pre-calcs. for MO 63045. All frames have a 5" x 7" x 3/8" enlarged seismic footplates. Customer is storing pallets on the floor plus three beam levels above. Beam levels spaced 48" apart. *See diagram. Customer is storing 1500 lbs. Ave. pallet weight. Customer is storing 3000 lbs. Ave. shelf weight. The factory is able to provide PE stamped and approved drawings (required for permitting) for approx. $950.00-$1500.00. Permitting by others.  

About Our Company

For over 25 years Warehouse Rack & Shelf LLC has been supplying quality products and superior service to the Nation's largest original equipment manufacturer's (OEM), distributors and retailers. Our corporate office is located in St. Louis, MO. We represent some of the Nation's top manufacurers that ship factory direct from locations in Chicago, IL, Jersey City, NJ, Newark, DE, North East, PA, Atlanta, GA, Jacksonville, FL, Dallas, TX, San Diego, CA, San Bernardino, CA, Gresham, OR & other locations. We also have access to used material at our warehouse in St. Louis, MO, in addition to a network of used material handling dealers across the country. Experience the quality, service, integrity and low prices that have made us famous!

http://www.rackandshelf.com

     

A Tour Of Nike Logistics Distribution Center

Selective vs. Drive-In vs. Pushback Pallet Rack

Often times the best storage solution for your warehouse is a combination of storage racks including selective pallet rack, drive-in rack & push back rack. If you have small quantities of pallets per SKU than selective pallet rack is your best choice. If you have many pallets per SKU than you want to consider a high density or a high efficiency storage system like Drive-In Rack or Pushback Rack.

Selective pallet rack offers you tremendous selectivity but you give up more floor space to aisles. I would consider selective pallet rack as the most popular style of pallet rack. Selective rack costs approximately $40.00 per pallet position. Drive-in rack is a high density, medium efficiency system that sells for roughly $60.00-$80.00 per pallet position. Pushback racking is a high density, high efficiency storage system that ballparks for $160.00-$180.00 per pallet position. Pallet flow rack is high density, high efficiency and the purest form of first-in, first-out. Pallet flow rack is also the most expensive at approximately $240.-$260.00 per pallet position.

If you use a stop watch to time a forklift driver picking pallets from drive-in rack and then timed them picking pallets from a pushback rack system you will find that pushback rack offers you a tremendous time savings on every pallet picked. Drive in rack requires that you drive into the rack system while pushback rack has pallets flow to the front of the system for picking. 

Food distributors prefer pushback rack because they can ship more pallets out the door in a shorter period of time and over the course of a year that efficiency helps pay for the increased cost of the system. You need to determine if your pallets move in and out of your rack system often enough to justify the extra cost of pushback rack.     

This Is Why Your Fat

I really enjoy the Grillin' Fool. He has an excellent blog where he discusses of the art and science of cooking outdoors whether grilling, BBQing, smoking, indirecting, deep frying, etc. Visit his blog and check out his Super Bowl appetizer the "Bacon wrapped sausage wrapped bacon". It's a cardiologist's dream. The following is a list of other food creations I found on the internet.

"  

The Thurmanator, made famous at the Thurman Cafe in Columbus, OH is made of two half pound beef patties under a half a pound of ham, covered in mozzarella, american cheese, lettuce, tomato, mushrooms, sauteed onions, pickles, jalapeno peppers and mayo.

Tire Rack For Storage Of Car, Truck & Virtually All Tires

I was getting my car serviced at Mieneke Car Care and the store manager, DJ, asked me if I could get him a good deal on tire racks. He had always taken good care of my car. So I happily obliged and supplied him with uprights that were 18" deep and beams that were 96" long.  

Here's a video clip of tire racks that I found on YouTube that gives you an good idea of what tire rack looks like. We can supply tire racks to store car tires, truck tires and virtually any size tires. We have designed tire racks for some of the Nation’s largest tire manufacturer’s, tire distributors and tire retailers. Visit us at www.tirestoragerack.com for more information.

Dispatcher Views Trucking Satellite System

Sitting behind a desk and seeing where your drivers are on a satellite is now a normal occurance. Check out how amazing this technology is. Courtesy of Mikeyssmail

Alvey Systems WSLBC Automated Distribution Center

Washington State Liquor Board Distribution Center Seattle WA Courtesy of Alvey Systems:

The bulk product is stored in a very narrow aisle (VNA) selective rack system and picked by VNA lifting equipment. Pallets move from pallet storage racks to de-palletizers as conveyors take cases to high mover decks, to the carrousels or to the split case flow rack area.  Cases are scanned and a unique bar code decides where to send it to be sorted appropriately. High mover lanes will be replenished with the fastest moving products and sorted into holding lanes and as orders are released they will go off to shipping and be married with the appropriate truck stops.  Another destination for cases is to the carrousels which is the primary storage area for the entire system. Cases are picked from the carrousel and sent to shipping. Lower volumn products get put into the carrousels. Shipping sorters sort cases to go to appropriate dock doors. Split case areas package product for stores that need less than a full case. The split cased product gets put in plastic totes that are labeled and inducted into the system. Cases come down from the shipping sorter through the scanner to the shipping dock. Bill of lading is added as it goes from expandable conveyor into the back of truck for loading.  

Revolutionary ASRS Increases Density & Efficiency

I had the pleasure of seeing this automated storage retrieval system displayed at the 2007 ProMat Show in Chicago, IL. The ASRS may be the next generation storage system...available today. As you can imagine this is a costly system but is the optimum system for handling boxes for picking. The automatic pick system is the ultimate in high density, high efficiency storage systems.

The stacker crane deposits the load extracted from the rack. The conveyors then take the box to the operator and once he/she has finished the task at hand, it is returned to the stacker crane, which then places it back into the racking. The whole system is controlled by a management software package, which registers the location of all the materials in the warehouse and keeps an inventory in real time.

 The system’s extraordinary capacity to adapt enables it to be integrated into any production or storage process. Warehouse Rack & Shelf LLC supplies one of the  top AS/RS systems at a competitive price. Please contact us at 800-763-9020 to discuss your requirements. (**You may have to hit the "Repeat" button to view this video.)

Working My Way Up In the Warehouse

My name is Brad McNamee and I've had many jobs in warehousing & distribution. One of my first jobs was hand unloading trucks at UPS in the summer heat. The following year I worked the multi-level pick modules at Schnucks grocery warehouse. Through summers spent trying to save money for college I was promoted to the night shift in the perishable warehouse. Driving an electric pallet jack in the cooler and freezer was a big step up for me. I remember that special feeling getting off work at 4:30 AM when most everyone else was still asleep. It felt like the city streets were all mine.

It seems like warehousing and distribution has always been in my blood. After graduating from Missouri State University in 1988, I got my first sales job at Georgia Pacific in Chicago, IL. It was a 6 month training period, after which time I would get transfered to a new facility. After 6 months they decided to transfer me to Fargo, ND. I respectfully declined. No offense to Fargo, ND. I'm sure it's beautiful in the summer. But I was home sick and ready to go back to St. Louis, MO. 

The next job that I took was selling forklift trucks in St. Louis. I'd make sales calls and my customers would say, "I don't need a forklift but do you sell pallet rack?". I realized their was a big market for pallet racks and shelving. It was at this time that my dad asked me to join his company. The two of us went on to start Warehouse Rack & Shelf LLC and the rest is history.

For over 15 years Warehouse Rack & Shelf has had a website and a very strong internet presence. We've expanded our sales throughout the entire United States. It's become my passion to sell not only pallet rack and shelving...but high density, high efficiency storage systems. We specialize in providing storage solutions with our many "niche" styles of storage racking. I like to say that we have a rack for every need. Put my experience to work for you. Please call me at 800-763-9020 x222 to discuss your warehouse needs.

My name is Brad McNamee and I've had many jobs in warehousing & distribution. One of my first jobs was hand unloading trucks at UPS in the summer heat. The following year I worked the multi-level pick modules at Schnucks grocery warehouse. Through summers spent trying to save money for college I was promoted to the night shift in the perishable warehouse. Driving an electric pallet jack in the cooler and freezer was a big step up for me. I remember that special feeling getting off work at 4:30 AM when most everyone else was still asleep. It felt like the city streets were all mine.

It seems like warehousing and distribution has always been in my blood. After graduating from Missouri State University in 1988, I got my first sales job at Georgia Pacific in Chicago, IL. It was a 6 month training period, after which time I would get transfered to a new facility. After 6 months they decided to transfer me to Fargo, ND. I respectfully declined. No offense to Fargo, ND. I'm sure it's beautiful in the summer. But I was home sick and ready to go back to St. Louis, MO. 

The next job that I took was selling forklift trucks in St. Louis. I'd make sales calls and my customers would say, "I don't need a forklift but do you sell pallet rack?". I realized their was a big market for pallet racks and shelving. It was at this time that my dad asked me to join his company. The two of us went on to start Warehouse Rack & Shelf LLC and the rest is history.

For over 15 years Warehouse Rack & Shelf has had a website and a very strong internet presence. We've expanded our sales throughout the entire United States. It's become my passion to sell not only pallet rack and shelving...but high density, high efficiency storage systems. We specialize in providing storage solutions with our many "niche" styles of storage racking. I like to say that we have a rack for every need. Put my experience to work for you. Please call me at 800-763-9020 x222 to discuss your warehouse needs.