Racking and shelving may be familiar equipment for everyone involved in warehousing and logistics, but it still presents a number of challenges. Apart from the problems of choosing the right kind of storage medium, there are a host of potential snares waiting to trap the unwary.
First of all, in a recession there is a temptation to choose second-hand racking to save costs. That said, flow storage specialist BITO Storage Systems believes that new racking and shelving competes very well with second hand racking, because new racking does not have the extra costs of dismantling, transport and storage. There is also the need to check for, and if necessary repair, any damage and where such repairs have already been done, see if they were done by competent people in line with the manufacturers’ guidelines. Even so, there appears to be rising demand for second-hand racking as the recession forces more supplies onto a glutted market.
Having chosen the most appropriate racking and shelving, users should satisfy themselves aboutthe quality of their supplier and installer, who may, or may not, have a robust audit trail. Any lapse here, for example, could leave the end user without any recourse to remedy a disaster.
There is, according to BITO, a problem with cheap products trying to come into the UK from countries like China because there is no audit trail on what raw material is used in their manufacture. “Certainly with cheap imports you cannot be sure of the quality of steel, and in the event of a collapse the seller can be in a very vulnerable position. But if the seller goes bust then the user is vulnerable because there is no quality audit trail that can be followed,” says BITO’s MD, Edward Hutchison. Users should also be guarded about claims like “guaranteed for life” because there is often no back up.
A watchful eye is also needed for the installers because they are usually subcontractors. Check to see if they belong to the Storage Equipment Installers Registration Scheme promoted by SEMA, because they must complete a SEIRS category A safety training course. In addition, companies like BITO audit their own subcontract teams, which have to go through a tough process for approval. This subcontractor checking is so important because in the past at least one leading racking manufacturer used a subcontracted installer whose work led to racking collapse, injury and a hefty fine for the rack maker.
On the supply side life is difficult for the storage equipment suppliers as they compete in a shrinking market. Steel prices have fallen over the last year but, along with plastic, are expected to rise soon, so now could be a good time to purchase provided demand for a company’s goods looks secure and cash is available.
Recognising the impact the recession is having on their customers, some racking suppliers, like BITO, are introducing new products to enable their clients to become more flexible to cope with changing demand patterns. BITO will soon introduce its Adapta-flow modules, a form of carton live storage that allows static racking to be converted into carton flow racking very quickly, using the beams in existing racking. This is particularly useful for seasonal trends when a transfer must be made from bulk storage to order picking stations. Ready mounted drop-on modules allow for rapid reconfiguration and can be removed to restore the static racking back to its original state.
Warehouse & Logistics News
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