Engineered and constructed with upright frames and side rails upon which pallet loads of the same product are stored, the safe use of drive-in rack depends on two key pallet factors: size and structural integrity. That’s because drive-in rack allows a forklift to enter from one side of the structure to pick up or deliver pallets that rest on continuous rails. Therefore, the pallets’ sizing must precisely span the distance between the two rails by resting evenly on their surfaces. They must also be intact and sturdy enough to bear the weight of their loads without collapse.
Most manufacturers design and engineer drive-in rack specifically to fit one pallet dimension, usually 40 inches wide. Therefore, the typical system spaces the vertical legs of the pallet guide angles 42 inches apart and uses 3-inch-wide pallet guide rails. This ensures that the pallet has an extra inch of leeway to accommodate placement farther to the left or the right. The additional rail width provides enough “bite” for the pallet to rest securely in place. Anything smaller has an increased likelihood of falling should the operator not center the pallet perfectly. Anything larger will impact the uprights and potentially cause structural damage or rack failure. (While wider, 4-inch rails are available, their use can increase the overall cost of the structure.)
For this reason, it is not recommended that multiple pallet sizes be used within the same drive-in rack structure. Should an operation desire drive-in racking for different pallet dimensions, best practice is to install separate rack structures designed specifically to match each pallet’s profile. In fact, some operations re-palletize received items onto an in-house pallet prior to putaway. This to ensures they always use the right size pallet in a given drive-in rack.
As for pallet integrity, it is critical to ensure that the bottom boards are intact. Pallets with cracked or broken boards are more likely to fail and collapse under the load’s weight as it rests on the rails. Upon receipt, inspect pallets prior to putaway in the drive-in rack. Re-palletize loads, removing them from damaged pallets to intact ones before storage.
To avoid these potential issues, operations using drive-in rack should conduct regular forklift operator training. Teach operators about proper loading and unloading of these structures. Operators should also know how to identify the size and condition of the pallets before placing them within the storage system.
There are two key differences between drive in storage rack and selective pallet storage rack. With drive in rack, the forklift truck drives into the rack's bays to get to the stored product. With selective rack, the product is accessed from the front, back or sides of the rack but the forklift doesn't actually go inside the rack. There are no specified lanes between the rows with drive in. The bays can be as long or as short as needed.
Drive in rack and drive through rack systems decrease storage and retrieval time while increasing efficiency and productivity among workers. Not only do they benefit your operations, they can also decrease your bottom line by giving you more storage room per dollar spent on racking. Because these racks create a more uniform load in a confined storage area, your forklift operators working in the system become more skillful drivers. In addition to these benefits, consider this – drive in and drive through systems are very energy efficient. Since the product is so densely loaded in this type of system, there is less air to be heated or cooled between your pallets and your forklifts don't need to drive as far to pick or place loads, thereby using less fuel.
Clearly, drive in or drive through is not for every warehouse, however it is exceptionally good at storing large quantities of palletized materials in a smaller space than would be afforded by selective pallet rack (see figure 6).
Within the class of drive in or drive through racks are several notable configurations – most commonly defined by the length of storage time and ease of retrieval needed for the product being stored (see figure 7).
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One Way Drive In – Last In First Out (LIFO)
Material is both stored and retrieved from the same side (entry point) in several aisles. For this reason, the first material put in this system is the last to come out. This works well where shelf life is at a minimum or not a major concern. This system also works well in cold storage environments or warehouse freezers.
Two Way Drive In – Multi First In Last Out System
Arranging drive in to be enter-able from two sides allows for maximum space usage and easy product accessibility from two separate sides.
Drive Through – First In First Out (FIFO)
Free access from both sides allows materials to be stored from one end and retrieved from the other. With this capability, a first in/first out storage arrangement is made possible. This system is used where there is expiration-dated material or wherever shelf life is of major concern.
SJF currently has drive in rack, push-back rack, pallet flow storage racks and other warehouse storage racks available from most every major manufacturer. These racks are in-stock and ready for immediate shipment to you. Can't find what you're looking for? Call us at (320) 485- (direct sales line) or (800) 598- and we can help find it!
A Push-Back Racking System can be a great option for warehouses tight on space. In a push-back rack system, each pallet sits on a tray that rides along rails in the rack frame itself. The push-back rails are supported on an incline and gravity moves the trays along the rails toward the front of the rack. From the front, the loads are both picked and deposited while the back of the rack remains closed. When a load is deposited to the front of the rack, it will "push back" the previously placed load, thus decreasing picking times but keeping the number of picking faces to choose from high.
Push-back racks can store multiple sized pallets up to six deep and four high, making push-back rack a very efficient LIFO (last-in, first-out) system. This type of dynamic storage system allows you to have all the benefits of a high-density storage system without the drawbacks of a drive-in system. Let's look at this further.
With a typical high-density drive in system, each bay will typically be filled with the same type of product. That way, when retrieving products, one needs only to go to that 'pick-face' to get any one item. If dissimilar items were to be placed in the same bay, that entire bay may potentially need to be unloaded to get at the needed product, thus wasting a large amount of time and resources.
However, with a push-back system, many different products can be placed in lanes within the same bay allowing for a larger quantity of pick faces. With each individual lane being a separate product, those products will still be accessible without first unloading the rack.
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