While your racking systems and storage might appear to be working well and you might not see any obvious issues with their exterior, there may be a number of underlying issues that could be affecting the way they work, thus endangering both your products and your staff.
Throughout the day your racking can pick up an infinite number of knocks and scrapes. This could be through poor design or layout, overloading the racking, day-to-day damage by forklift trucks, or adjusting them without proper training.
It’s said that this type of damage to racking can reduce its load bearing capacity by as much as 40%. So it’s important that any issues are dealt with quickly in order to maintain the efficiency of your operations.
What’s more, when racking is damaged it can become unstable which means that you are risking both valuable stock and also the health and safety of your staff.
This is why it’s important to have a professional team inspect your racking on a regular basis. We recommend that racking inspections are carried out at least once a year.
To learn more about Logical Storage’s rack inspections, please click here, or contact us on 0845 689 1300 to discuss your needs.
Unfortunately, many do not realise that the probability of a racking collapse is quite high and that damage is not uncommon. They might not also realise the effect that a piece of damaged equipment may be having on the efficiency of their business, especially when damage to racking can reduce load bearing capacity by as much as 40%.
Here are some of the common causes of damage to racking:
Adjusting or re-assembling racking without proper training
Continued use of damaged pallets which cause damage to beams
Poor design or layout
Overloading
Damage by forklift trucks
In order to address these issues you should ensure that forklift truck drivers are given thorough training, racking bears only the weight it is designed to hold, broken or damaged pallets are removed from use immediately and that all of your racking is installed and repaired by trained professionals.
Key to ensuring a long lifespan for your racking is to undergo regular reviews, preventative maintenance and repairs of your racking, thus ensuring that both your stock and your employees are protected. Remember that racking damage is not always visible to the untrained eye and so reviews and repairs should be undertaken by an experienced company.
Logical Storage Solutions have extensive experience in performing racking inspections and can help guide businesses in meeting their legal duties and Health & Safety obligations. To learn more about a Logical Storage rack inspection, click here or call us on 0845 689 1300 to discuss your needs.
Every business is different and has its own individual need and requirements. However, some storage companies might not necessarily recommend the best type of racking for your company. Instead, they might try to sell you the one that is most expensive or old stock that they are trying to offload quickly.
While racking systems can dramatically speed up your operations and free up the floor space to available to you, you need to be confident that you have the right kind. For example if you choose a pallet racking system that uses a push back system, you will benefit from being able to store away lots of pallets but you may struggle to gain access to individual pallets as quickly as other forms of racking, which could be a problem if you need quick access to fulfil orders.
To decide the right type of racking that will improve the efficiency of your businesses you should consider the following questions.
1) How much floor space do you have available to you?
2) How much overhead space / ceiling space do you have available to you?
3) How often will you need to gain access to pallets?
4) What quantity of pallets do you need to store?
Here at Logical Storage we have extensive experience with helping businesses to find the right racking solutions which will increase capacity and help their businesses to operate with greater efficiency. To learn more about our racking solutions click here or call us on 0845 689 1300 to discuss your needs.
Posted on: October 29th, 2015 by admin No Comments
Growing businesses are always on the lookout for ways that they can strengthen and build upon their existing operations, and for those businesses that operate in warehouses and distribution centres, a mezzanine floor can be the perfect solution.
Warehouses and storage environments can be filled very quickly and this happens not only in busy periods but also during slower times of the year.
While space can sometimes be freed up by regular checks and removing build-ups of unwanted stock, you can make a significant impact by installing a mezzanine floor.
Mezzanine floors free up space by utilizing the upper areas of your building, so called ‘wasted’ space. This means that you can store products above head height and free up space below to be used for new stock, or in other creative ways.
As well as allowing you to fit more stock, they could also be put to other uses, for example by creating a space for packing operations, administrative duties or even simply as a staff room for your employees to give them space to eat their lunch and relax in privacy.
With rising rental costs it makes sense to look at ways in which you can develop your existing premises and continue your operations with minimum disruption rather than relocate. The entire process of installing a mezzanine floor can sometimes take only a few weeks which is in stark contrast to the time it takes to find a new warehouse and complete all the logistical hurdles involved in uprooting your business.
Of course mezzanine floors aren’t the right solution for everyone and here at Logical Storage we know that not every business is the same and rarely has the same requirements. Another alternative to mezzanine floors which could greatly improve the efficiency of your warehouse is to review your racking. Here at Logical Storage we offer a wide range of racking solutions from wide aisle racking, very narrow aisle racking and cantilever racking to drive-in racking and dynamic push back racking, and it could be that your business may benefit from trying something new.
Logical Storage’s experienced team can help your warehouse to perform to its maximum potential. For more information on mezzanine floors please visit http://www.logicalstorage.co.uk/services/mezzanine-flooring/ or click here to learn more about our racking options. Alternatively, please call us on 0845 689 1300 for a tailored proposal.
Logical Storage has been praised by one of their clients for doing a fantastic job when installing a state of the art new pallet racking system into their brand new warehouse.
Based in Newton Aycliffe in County Durham, Stiller Warehousing and Distribution is a regional third party logistics provider with over 50 years of experience in the sector. Established in 1954, this family-owned business has a wealth of experience in transport, distribution and warehousing and has worked with some of the best known manufacturers and resellers in the country. They provide cost-effective warehousing and distribution services to businesses in the North East region as well as commercial property lettings, and currently employ 140 people.
Stiller recently opened a brand new state-of-the-art £1.1million warehouse as they look to expand into new markets. This new warehouse has increased by nearly 50% the family firm’s warehousing capacity at its premises in the heart of Aycliffe Business Park. Logical Storage Solutions was responsible for the design, supply and installation of the new 21st century VNA (Very Narrow Aisle) pallet racking system. The racking system fills the 40,000 sq ft warehouse and will hold up to 5,000-pallets. VNA pallet racking means that each and every pallet is 100% accessible and the system makes excellent use of both the building height and the floor space. As well as fantastic space utilisation, VNA pallet racking also results in very fast throughput speeds and hassle-free loading and unloading. It is straight forward and quick to install and conforms to all European and British Standards.
Stiller’s Managing Director Paul Stiller said: “The new warehouse offers excellent space utilisation thanks to the fantastic racking system that was designed, supplied and installed by Logical Storage Solutions. The racking system has helped to make our warehousing and distribution process much more efficient, which in turn makes us more competitive and with that brings the prospect of more jobs. Also, because of the new racking equipment we will now be able to target different types of businesses, including food-based clients and pharmaceutical companies, because the new facility is a very clean and efficient working environment. We are absolutely delighted with the work that Logical Storage carried out for us – the quality of their work and their performance from the conceptual stage right through to the completion of the project was second to none, and we would happily recommend them to anyone.”
For more information about Stiller Warehousing and Distribution, please visit http://www.stiller.co.uk/
Logical Storage Solutions is an innovative provider of storage equipment and interior workspaces for both industrial and commercial environments, including pallet racking systems. As no two problems are the same, Logical Storage offers a consultative approach to understand business’s operational priorities. With their head office in the Midlands, they are able to offer a nationwide service for all single or multi site operations, and are a one stop provider of solutions to all storage, workspace and maintenance problems.
1974 saw the implementation of strict legislation regarding health and safety that all businesses must now adhere to, but in the pursuit of faster, more profitable and more efficient methods of production and distribution, businesses often view these guidelines as an unwanted burden. Frequently, we find examples of businesses implementing the bare minimum when it comes to meeting these standards. However, it is important that they change their attitudes and start to see that health and safety is not a burden, but is, amongst other things, an opportunity to improve their profitability. This article explains how.
Staff turnover
Going above and beyond health and safety requirements can help to create a work environment that workers not only feel comfortable in, but also in which they feel assured they are getting the best protection possible from occupational dangers. This is likely to increase job satisfaction and encourage them to stay at your company for longer; not only saving your business time and money that would have normally been spent on advertising, recruiting, interviewing and training up new staff, but also keeping hold of their valuable expertise.
Lessened threat of legal action
Many high profile law cases over the years have been found to be rooted firmly in poor health and safety practises. You should not put yourself in a position where you can be placed in the firing line because of poor health and safety standards, or better, you should aim to prevent accidents from happening all together. Going above and beyond your health and safety requirements not only protects employees from accidents, but also protects the business from exposure to litigation and negative media attention. Occupational accidents can not only be expensive, but also catastrophic to the company’s brand image, and can lead to a lot of negative PR. It’s therefore much more sensible to ensure these accidents don’t happen, even if it involves enforcing a few more rules.
Reduced risk of failure
In any case, the regular inspection and repair of machines, storage systems and other equipment, such as racking is likely to reduce the chance that it will break all together. Not only can this be extremely expensive to replace, but it also has the potential to cause harm to harm to your workers as well. Therefore, it pays to perform regular inspections for any potential faults, catching them early before them become a big problem. Cars are regularly checked for any issues and so too should workplaces, as just like cars they pick up wear and tear over the years.
At Logical Storage we believe that health and safety should be at the core of a modern business strategy. We pride ourselves on delivering a service where safety is considered paramount, not just because of health and safety legislation, but because it makes good business sense. For more information on how Logical Storage might bolster your health and safety efforts, please visit http://www.logicalstorage.co.uk/services/rack-inspection/ or call us on 0845 689 1300.
The safety enjoyed by those working today is generally expected and to some degree taken for granted by many, but the truth is the relative safety we now experience within the workplace is over 200 years in the making.
You don’t have to look far back into history to see examples of catastrophic failures of health and safety, but these same disasters have paved the way for reforms that now put worker safety at the forefront of the modern business strategy. This blog will take a brief look at some of the legislation that has helped shape the modern workplace.
Today, legal requirements are in place to protect individuals, but if you take a look back to the start of the industrial revolution there were far less of these stipulations present. As a result, industries such as the cotton trade were typified by long hours of labour, and the nature of the work being done meant that the workplace was extremely hot, with steam engines further contributing to the heat in this and other industries. Machinery was not always fenced off and workers would be exposed to the moving parts of the machines constantly, often loosing limbs whilst working for very little money. Children were often employed to move between these dangerous machines as they were small enough to fit between tightly packed machinery. All these different factors led to workers being placed in a great deal of danger, facing serious injuries and often death.
In 1833, the Factories Act led to the creation of the first factory inspectors and the first real commitment to improving workplace safety. Initially charged with preventing injury amongst child labourers, they came to exercise considerable legislative influence on factories around the UK. By 1860 their sphere of influence had greatly increased. No longer simply observers, they became well respected advisors in their own right, and as this culture of inspection grew others came to respect the minimum standards that were acceptable. These inspectors played an important part in laying the foundations for the further legislation that was to follow.
The introduction of the Quarries Act in 1884 and the Agriculture (Safety, Health and Welfare Provisions) Act in 1956 were signs of this same commitment spreading to other parts of UK industry. They marked a nationwide commitment to safer working conditions and gave inspectors the necessary regulatory clout to enter premises and enforce legislation, ultimately improving working conditions.
1974 saw the implementation one of the most recognisable pieces of legislation used in today’s industry, the Health and Safety at Work Act, and also marked the departure of prescriptive and detailed regulations put in place by previous act; which were often hard to follow and difficult to adapt to different contexts. In its place a much less prescriptive and more goal based regulatory system was established that, for the first time, involved both employers and employees in the designing of a modern health and safety system.
Since this time, a number of different industry specific acts have been formed and implemented such as the Asbestos Licensing Regulations (1993) and the Noise at Work Regulations (1989) that have all helped to contribute to a working environment where individuals can be sure that they are protected.
Here at Logical Storage, health and safety is central to all the work we do, and we pride ourselves on going above and beyond industry standards. To find out what Logical Storage can offer you, call us on 0845 689 1300 or visit our website for more information.
Warehouses face a constant battle with space, and this can cause a headache for even the most experienced of managers. As businesses grow, so too does their need for storage space, and many businesses might find their current facilities are unable to deal with the demands placed on it. Of course there is the option to move location, but this can be costly, disruptive and time consuming.
Perhaps the answer instead might lie with utilising the full potential of current facilities, and making the most of the space you already have. Pallet racking systems can prove extremely useful when looking for ways to do this. These systems can be configured in a variety of ways, and each one serves a different purpose.
In a drive in drive through racking system, units are stored one behind the other along continuous beams. This is particularly suitable for large volumes of products, and proves to be a good alternative to block stacking for loads which are far too fragile to be stacked on top of each other.
As a result of being able to stack units behind one another, this eliminates the need for traditional loading aisles, and in doing so greatly increases space within the warehouse compared to standard pallet racking which would require different aisles for accessing individual units.
All businesses are subjected to change at some point; drive in/drive through racking systems offer a great deal of flexibility when it comes to dealing with these changes. Easy to install and highly adjustable, these systems offer a good solution to the uncertainties placed on demand. It’s easy to adjust the beam positions, allowing for firms to make alterations depending on the size or shape of different units that might need to be stored. In addition, these systems provide warehouses the opportunity to quickly expand their capacity, as new racks can be easily installed alongside existing ones as storage demands increase.
If you are interested in finding out more about our drive in – drive through racking systems, or other styles of racking solutions, then please call us on 0845 689 1300 to discuss your needs in more detail.
Office partitions are a cost effective way to create office space within a larger area without the need for costly restructuring. If you need a space to hold meetings, complete paperwork or for your staff to relax then a partition can be the perfect solution to your problems.
In order to foster the growth of their business, many organisations will choose to uproot their business and move elsewhere, feeling that they have outgrown their current premises. What they don’t realise is that there are many ways in which you can expand the capacity of your current operations base without the expensive ordeal of relocation.
As well as other storage solutions, like shelving, racking and mezzanine floors – office partitions can provide you with a logical way to stylishly improve your existing workspace.
Partitions can be constructed in a variety of ways and can include both sound proofing and fire proofing, dependent on your requirements. They can be colour coded to match corporate branding and can include frameless glass or coloured blinds.
It might be that you require a space to do paperwork in which case a sound proofed partition can give you the distraction free space you require, or perhaps your staff need somewhere to eat their lunches in peace.
A secluded area is also sometimes needed for client meetings. You may need a space that is quiet, relaxing and shows your business in its best, most professional light. A partition adorned with your company colours can offer a touch of sophistication to a busy work area.
Based in the Midlands, Logical Storage Solutions create solutions for businesses with an emphasis focussed on quality, attention to detail and customer satisfaction.
To find out more about how your business could benefit from an office partition or other forms of storage systems call us today on 0845 689 1300.
If your office or work environment has seen better days then it might be time to think about a refurbishment. By improving the space that you and your team work in, you could increase productivity, motivate your staff and create a long lasting impression with your clients and prospects.
If your office area, shop floor or other workspace is cluttered and messy then it can be difficult for workers to perform to the best of their abilities and having a disorganised work space can be off putting to clients. If you want to make the most of your space, organising your inventory is a good start but how else can you improve your operation?
Mezzanine floors
If you have a high ceiling then you could use mezzanine flooring to utilize space that might currently be wasted. In a warehouse situation, this would enable a more even spread of stock throughout your warehouse and may also help to speed up your operations. If you run a retail business then a mezzanine floor could allow you to hold more stock on the shop floor and maximise potential profit.
Office partitions
If you work in an open plan area, the installation of an office partition can make a great addition to your layout, especially if you are in need of a space to hold meetings with clients or a staff room for your workers to relax. You can also consider soundproofing, which would help eliminate any external noise from a busy warehouse and ensure that your meetings remain confidential. Racking systems may also be beneficial to certain kinds of businesses.
Logical storage designs and installs mezzanine floors, office partitions, racking systems and lots more, helping to make the most of space and leave a great impression on anyone who visits. For more information please visit http://www.logicalstorage.co.uk/ or call us today on 0845 689 1300.
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