A Brief History of Pallet Racks

PALLET RACKS A BRIEF HISTORY PALLETIZATION HAS EVOLVED OVER THE LAST 105 YEARS OR SO, SPURRED INTO PROMINENCE SINCE WORLD WAR I. IT WAS THE PALLET, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE LIFT TRUCK, THAT WAS DESTINED TO HAVE THE MOST DRAMATIC IMPACT ON MATERIAL HANDLING. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PALLET, SO PERVASIVE IN TODAY'S DISTRIBU- TION ENVIRONMENT, IS INTEGRALLY RELATED TO THE INTRODUCTION AND EVOLUTION OF THE LIFT TRUCK, WHICH BEGAN IN THE LATE 19TH CENTURY. 1914 1915 1926 Corrugated packaging was widely accepted by rail and road freight authorities. Another important benchmark in the development of the pallet was the introduction of the high lift fork truck. High lift trucks made possible vertical stacking of unit loads and a resulting improvement of warehouse and plant stor- age efficiencies. ASSEMBLY PROCEDURES STEP BY STEP EQUIPMENT Installation requires experienced material handling crew with the proper tools and the right equipment. CREW TOOLS KNOWLEDGE OF MATERIALS Pallet racking structures have two primary components: uprights and cross beams. The cross beams insert into the uprights, which may be as tall as 24 feet or higher. UPRIGHTS CROSS BEAMS SQUARE AND PLUMB 3. The racking must be square and plumb. As a general rule, a 1/8-inch vertical tolerance in four feet is acceptable. Each sec- tion of pallet racking should be squared and the vertical up- rights checked with a level. SQUARED PLUMB ANCHORING Once the racking is squared, the uprights must be anchored into a sufficient concrete floor. The anchor bolts should be 1/2 inch by 5 1/2 inch. 4. ANCHOR BOLTS 00 PALLET DIMENSIONS (AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARD/ MH1, 2005 Common Uses Pallet Size (in.) Share of annual production (%) Grocery 48 x 40 30.0 Chemical 42 x 42 5.7 Military 40 x 48 4.0 Beverage 36 x 36 3.0 REBUILD REUSE RECYCLE Because they're so bulky, and many companies sending and receiving goods use hundreds of them in a single month, pallets can be expensive to dispose of. Environmentally responsible companies are starting to rebuild, reuse, re- cycle or reduce the number of pallets that they use to cut landfill costs and waste. SAFETY PRECAUTIONS In general industry, OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) requires anyone working over four feet off the ground to wear fall protection. In the construction industry, fall protection is required for heights of six feet or more. Workers should also be equipped with gloves and hard hats. The size and weight of the uprights will require a team lift, or the upright must be mechanically manipulated into place. Lastly, the economic significance can also be understood by looking at the value of shipments in the U.S. As can be seen in figure 1, value of shipments has increased almost 45 percent over the period shown (2000-2008), or at an annual growth of 5 percent. 7.0 6.9 6.2 5.7 5.3 4.9 4.5 4.7 4.7 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Used-PalletRack.com National Shipping Near You Sources http://www.racksmartinc.com/html/history.html http://www.cssyes.com/Pallet-Rack-Installation.htm http://www.cisco-eagle.com/catalog/c-3059-sk2000-rack-assembly-instructions.aspx http://www.mnn.com/money/sustainable-business-practices/stories/uses-for-shipping-pallets-from-disposable-packaging-to- INFOGRAPHIC DESIGN BY ENationalPositions Profilnbl iInternat Markting VALUE OF SHIPMENTS (BILLIONS USD) 2]