High-density storage systems can increase capacity and improve access in new and existing warehouses. As businesses grow, or seasonal demand fluctuates, the requirement for greater capacity and fast access within your warehouse operation becomes critical.
Most warehouse and logistics operations have palletised goods stored on standard adjustable pallet racking set out with wide aisles. This offers access to every individual pallet but can mean that 50 per cent of the warehouse space is given over to empty aisles. Space which could be used to store product if you could only gain access to it. High-density racking systems are used to increase the space available without too great a compromise in product access.
SEC Exports specialises in the design and installation of a range of high-density storage systems from Dexion including double-deep pallet racking, push-back pallet racking, pallet-flow, narrow and very narrow aisle racking, drive-in or drive-through pallet racking, cantilever racking, and powered mobile pallet racking systems but one of the newest and most effective systems now is the pallet shuttle system.
Traditionally, drive-in pallet racking with pallets supported on cantilever arms in dense blocks provides a warehouse operation with high capacity and is used widely where stock is slow-moving. It requires forklift trucks to drive into the storage lanes to deposit or pick up pallets and rear pallets can only be accessed by lifting out front pallets first.
New pallet shuttle systems have revolutionised the operation and value of this type of high-density installation. The shuttle unit runs on rails installed under the pallet support arms. The forklift truck deposits a shuttle unit into the required lane and it is instructed from the driver’s radio-controlled handset to automatically carry out a range of functions. These can include lifting and carrying pallets into the storage lane, or bringing them to the front, or it can perform stock control functions using barcode scanning or radio frequency identification. Several shuttles can be operating at the same time in different lanes.
The forklift truck only deposits and collects pallets from the front lane of the storage block, it never enters the rack so no rack damage occurs and your standard warehouse forklift can be used throughout (there is no requirement for special narrow forklift trucks).
Shuttle units can deal with pallet loads up to 2,000kg, operate in – 20 c to +40°c, can recognise and deal with different pallet sizes, and are driven by maintenance-free battery packs.
Storage lanes can be more than 50m long and stock rotation can be Last-In-First-Out (LIFO) or First-In-First-Out (FIFO) if critical to your product.
If you want to know more about pallet shuttle systems and the benefits of the Dexion product range to your warehouse facility, contact us today.
View and download the Dexion Pallet Shuttle Brochure
