Manufacturing News

Smart use of factory space helps cash-strapped manufacturers

Managing your inventory efficiently and fully utilising your valuable floorspace can mean the difference between success and failure for some cash-strapped Australian manufacturers.

Most think that long-span pallet racking is the most cost-effective option for factories today, but thanks to a number of advances in the design, engineering and material technology of racking solutions, there are now new choices for the needs of the customer.

According to Metalsistem Australia director Ms.Oshi Kirk, many companies over-specify and spend more money than they need to on their racking, when in fact, lower-cost options can provide a better and more versatile way of achieving their desired solutions.

“In our experience, pallet racking may not always be necessary if a manual stock picking process is used. If this is the case, a better course of action would be to place stock into a shelving system that can later be adapted and integrated into a mezzanine or multitiered system. This method facilitates the capability of warehouses to handle increased stock levels as the company expands,” Kirk said.

“Whether you’re in the retail, commercial or industrial market sector, the right shelving system, once installed, should not only take care of today’s storage requirements but also be adaptable and versatile enough to tackle tomorrow’s expansion of the business.”

The majority of hand-stacked, lightweight products have no need to carry 400 to 500 kg per shelf, and therefore long-span racking isn’t necessary.

Other products in the Metalsistem range like Unirack and Super 456 are designed to meet the needs of a light to medium-duty storage requirement, primarily for a manual handling operation. They are modular and boltless systems that are easy and quick to assemble, with a flexibility that enables integration into a multitiered installation or to a raised floor area if more space is needed at a later date.

These shelving systems provide a wide choice of accessories to store a multitude of different shaped items and for products on the heavy-duty side, the shelves structure are designed to a load-bearing specification of up to 600 kg each, thus eliminating the need to purchase more costly pallet racking even for very heavy products.

Leave a Reply

Send this to a friend