During periods of economic turbulence, it’s important to squeeze as much space out of your present warehouse shelving systems as possible. If you’re looking to increase space without moving your operations elsewhere to another site, it may be time to have another think and get a fresh perspective on your entire warehouse shelving system to come up with some new solutions.
Businesses looking to cut corners and costs in this difficult financial period might be tempted to overlook new shelving and consider purchasing second hand shelving solutions. But if you’re buying second-hand warehouse shelving, it’s important to know what you’re looking for and particularly how to spot problems with shelving such as cracks and hidden damage that might end up making second hand shelving more expensive than brand new shelves.
When you buy second hand warehouse shelving units, you should always give it a thorough examination to be sure you know what you’re purchasing. If you knowingly buy damaged shelving, you will need to ensure that it is repaired in accordance with the maker’s guidelines and that experienced shelving engineers make any necessary repairs to prevent any problems in the future.
To increase the amount of potential space within your warehouse you may be considering placing your shelving aisles closer together. Now initially this might seem like a problem for your pallet and forklift trucks. However, when you use an articulated forklift, you can easily pick and turn pallets in aisles that are less than 2 metres. Nonetheless, when aisles are narrowed, operational safety speeds become an important issue. There needs to be sufficient clearance in the aisles to ensure that your trucks can work safely at speed. This could considerably slow down your forklift operations.
Just because it’s possible to have aisles that are only a few metres apart, doesn’t necessarily mean it makes good sense to do this. There may be alternative ways to create space without squashing all of your aisles together. Before you narrow your warehouse shelving aisles, speak to a shelving professional to get their advice on how to create more space. It may be as simple as adding a Mezzanine level to maximize the height of the current warehouse building. Mezzanine levels aren’t as expensive as you imagine and can help you to take advantage of space that would otherwise go to waste.
Whatever decisions you make about shelving, it’s of course important to ensure that they comply with current health and safety legislation and that in opening up the space in your warehouse, you’re not opening
