Heavy-duty Racks: Types and Usage Guidelines

Heavy-duty racks are a common class of large racks in factory warehouses — larger in size and higher in load than ordinary shelf racks. Depending on aisle layout and access method, heavy-duty racks fall into several types. Here are the common forms and their usage characteristics.

Beam-type (selective) rack. The ordinary heavy-duty pallet rack, made by plugging beams into upright frames. Factories commonly build 4 to 5 levels, and normal warehouse height suffices for installation. Each bay usually carries no more than one ton, making it a popular choice among small and medium manufacturers.

Narrow-aisle rack. Developed from beam-type racks, it keeps the basic structure but uses narrower aisles between rows, requiring very-narrow-aisle (turret) forklifts to pick goods. This form offers high warehouse utilization and suits medium-to-large enterprises and warehouses shipping in bulk.

Double-deep rack. Rows of heavy-duty racks are placed double-deep, increasing storage versus single-depth layouts. Scissor-type (reach-extend) forklifts pick two pallets from one side at a time. It is a dense-storage rack type, suited to warehouses with relatively concentrated product lines and full-pallet-in/full-pallet-out flows.

Usage guidelines. Whichever heavy-duty rack you use, observe these points in daily operation: light goods up high, heavy goods down low; never exceed each level's design load; keep pallet and goods dimensions about 100 mm smaller than the clear space; drive forklifts gently and avoid impacts; the rack surface is electrostatically powder-coated — avoid damaging the coating during access.

Different heavy-duty rack types suit different warehouse conditions and operation modes; selection should weigh goods, pallets and forklifts together. For further advice, please contact Tongnuo Racks.