How Much Weight Can Pallet Racks Hold?

When it comes to setting up the pallet racks in your Chicago-area warehouse, you&#;ll want to make sure you are getting the kind of equipment you need. That requires knowing what you need to store, how you need to store it, and for how long. But the most important thing to consider when purchasing and setting up pallet racks is how much they&#;ll hold. The capacity of pallet racks varies greatly, so before you make your purchase be sure you know what you need. It&#;s not just a matter of having the right kind of storage in your warehouse; it&#;s a matter of safety, too.

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How to Determine Storage Capacity on Pallet Racks

Factors to Take Into Consideration

Pallet racks certainly aren&#;t one-size-fits-all. There are a lot of different pallet racking options out there, and each one is going to have different weight limits. Some of the factors that will determine storage capacity include:

• The kind of pallet rack you are purchasing. Selective pallet racks, double deep racking, and other combinations and systems can impact your load capacity. What materials are used to make the racks, such as cold roll-formed and hot-rolled steel, the thickness of the steel, and the quality of the materials will all have an impact on the final weight capacity.
• How you are storing your pallets on the rack. How you load and unload those pallets will also be taken into consideration.
• The combination of load beams and frames you are using.
• Capacity can change depending on what uprights, structural beams, and other pallet racking pieces you are using on your system.

The racking itself will be rated for a certain weight amount, so make sure that you purchase something that&#;s capable of handling more than you need to store. Be sure that you strictly adhere to the maximum weight capacities set by the manufacturer. If you find that you are exceeding it by even a little bit, talk to a warehouse consultant about how you can increase the load capacity. It&#;s usually a fairly simple fix that won&#;t require a major overhaul of your warehouse equipment.

Avoid This Common Capacity Mistake

One of the biggest mistakes we see customers make when purchasing pallet racking is to underestimate how much weight their racks are going to need to hold. Underestimating the weight that you need to hold can end up causing total pallet racking collapse in your warehouse. You&#;ll want to know the maximum capacity of your pallet racks themselves and then multiply that by the number of levels that your racks are going to have. That will tell you the capacity you&#;ll need to be able to hold. But it&#;s not just the weight of your inventory that needs to be taken into consideration. Remember that your pallets, packaging, and the racking itself will all need to be added to the total capacity weight.

When you go to purchase racking, a warehouse consultant can help you determine what racking you&#;ll need. It&#;s important to work with a professional in order to determine the capacity that you need. Trying to roughly estimate it for yourself can end up in disaster; not only could you end up replacing all of your pallet racking, you run the risk of pallet collapse that can damage your inventory and even worse, put the safety of your team at risk. This is one of those instances when the calculations are best left to a professional team.

Storage Capacity Can Change Over Time

Remember that the capacity of pallet racks can change over time. This can be caused by damage done to the uprights as well as to the pallet shelves themselves. Shelves that have been bent from too much weight can be weakened and not able to hold as much weight in the future. The age of the racks can impact their maximum capacity, as well. That&#;s why it&#;s important to have your racking inspected regularly and address any damage done right away. Professional inspectors and repairmen will be able to help you adjust your maximum capacity and inform you when racking needs to be replaced.

If you want to extend the life of your pallet racks as well as preserve their maximum weight capacity, then you&#;ll want to ensure your racking has the right protection. Upright protection and corner guards can help prevent accidental forklift damage which weakens the steel structure. Make sure that your employees are trained to report any pallet racking damage immediately so it can be professionally repaired. This will help keep the structural integrity of the system intact as well as prevent injuries.

Need to Increase the Capacity of Your Current Setup?

You might not need to purchase an entirely new pallet racking system if you need to increase your weight capacity. Adding more beam levels can increase how much weight your system can safely support. This decreases the space between the pallets vertically and increases the amount of support running between each upright, safely increasing your weight capacity. It&#;s worth speaking to a warehouse consultant to see if this could be a safe way to help increase capacity in your warehouse.

Don&#;t forget that your flooring will also need to be capable of bearing the increased weight capacity; don&#;t assume that it can. Have a professional evaluate it or it could be your floor that ends up needing to be replaced, not just your pallet racks.

Contact Our Warehouse Consultants to Get the Right Storage Equipment

The best way to make sure you are purchasing pallet racks that are capable of holding the load you need them to hold is to speak with a project manager at RMH Systems. Your project manager will ensure that you are getting the pallet racks that you need, and they can even help you with the configuration and installation of your equipment. Simply give them a call at 800-851-. We&#;ll find a project manager in your area whether you are in the Illinois area or anywhere else across the Midwest. You&#;ll be able to count on RMH to get you the pallet racks with the capacity and storage space you need.

By Amos Sue |

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When we buy pallet racking, the topic of weight bearing is something we can not avoid, but also a very important point. So how much weight can pallet racking bear? And how are these weight results calculated? What else do we need to know?

Then let's take these questions to read this article together!

How Much Weight Can Pallet Racking Take?

Usually, a standard set of heavy-duty pallet racking is in the range of - kilograms per level. However, this is not fixed and there are many factors that can affect the load capacity of the racking.

So when you work with your pallet racking supplier/manufacturer, you need to present them with your load bearing requirements so that they can make pallet racking that suits your needs.

How to Calculate the Load Capacity of Pallet Racking

Calculating the load capacity of pallet racking will involve a lot of factors, so the method we give you can only do a rough calculation, for details we still recommend you to check with your supplier.

To calculate the load capacity you need the following steps, now let me show you!

Pallet Weight

The first step is that we need to know what the overall weight of one of your pallets is. In this case, I mean the overall weight of the pallet is your pallet itself plus the goods you place on it.

Number of Pallets

In the second step, we need to calculate how many pallets we intend to place on each level of shelving and how we place them and how much spacing space we want to leave.

Carrying Capacity of the Crossbeam

Step 3: Calculate your beam capacity.

Beam capacity refers to the capacity of the lateral support beams on this level of your racking, which you will generally need to determine with your manufacturer so that they can give you a range. Of course, here you need to remember that the load capacity of the beam is required to be greater than or equal to your total weight of each layer of pallets, and we usually recommend that buyers choose greater than your total weight of each layer of pallets is the best.

Here is a formula to calculate: the total load capacity of the beam &#; the overall weight of each pallet × the number of pallets per layer;

Carrying Capacity of Columns

Step 4: Calculate the load capacity of your columns.

Columns are the vertical support components of pallet racking, and they are located at the four corners of the racking to provide a force for each layer of racking. Because of this, calculating the load capacity of the columns requires adding up the weight of each layer. We continue to recommend that your column capacity be greater than the total weight of each tier, which is a safer and more conservative choice.

Again, we have a formula to use in this step to calculate the: the total carrying capacity of the column &#; the total weight of each layer of pallets × the number of layers of shelves;

Safety Factor

Step 5: Consider the safety factor of our shelves.

The safety factor is a design parameter whose main purpose is to ensure that the racking is safe and reliable in use. Racking can be caused by installation errors, environmental factors and material aging that can prevent your pallet racking from reaching its original theoretical maximum load value, so it's important to consider the racking safety factor.

However, the size of the safety factor needs to be finalized according to the use of the environment and safety requirements, the usual situation is recommended between 1.25-1.5.

Calculation formula: safe load capacity = calculated load capacity ÷ safety factor;

Example

Suppose each pallet of our buyer has a total weight of 500 kilograms, and four pallets are placed on each shelf, and there are five shelves in total.

For more how much weight can a pallet rack holdinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.

Then we can conclude that the load capacity of each beam is 2,000 kilograms and the load capacity of the column is 10,000 kilograms.

Carrying capacity of beams:

500 kg (total weight of pallet) x 4 (number of pallets) = kg

Carrying capacity of column:

kg (load capacity of crossbeam) x 5 (number of shelves) = kg

Safety factor:

Safe load capacity = kg (column load capacity) ÷ 1.5 (set the safety factor) &#; kg

Here it comes out that the column's carrying capacity within the safety range is kg after taking the safety factor into account.

My advice here is that it is best to consult with the racking supplier/manufacturer's professionals to ensure the accuracy of the data.

What Are the Factors Affecting the Load-Bearing Capacity of Pallet Racking?

Generally there are these four factors:

Shelf Material and Quality

The higher the load capacity of pallet racking, the higher the thickness and quality of the steel required, so it is very important to use high-quality steel and a strict production process.

Design

The design of the shelves often determines the maximum load capacity of the shelves. Because the force points of the shelves will change depending on the design, the load capacity will also be affected. When we need to customize the shelves, we also need to know if the manufacturer you are working with has engineers involved in your customization project to avoid mistakes in the design of your shelves.

Placement of Goods

The more uniformly the pallet racking is stressed, the better. Because when your goods are placed evenly according to the weight, the shelves will fully utilize its carrying capacity, and this will also be safer!

Beam Spacing

Every buyer has a different need for beam spacing in pallet racking, because the longer the beam spacing, the more goods can be placed. However, it is important to realize that the shorter the beam spacing, the higher the load capacity of each tier, and the longer the beam spacing, the lower the load capacity of each tier.

What Are the OSHA Standards for Pallet Racking?

OSHA's standards for pallet racking focus on the following points: the design and safety of the racking should be in accordance with specifications, pallet racking should be inspected and maintained on a regular basis, employees should be provided with training in its operation, and the workplace should be kept clean and safe. This series of standards is to ensure the safety of the employees at work and to reduce the number of injuries and other accidents at work.

I will now show you some of the key standards and related requirements for OSHA.

Design and Installation

29 CFR .176(b)

Material must not be in aisles and exits. They need to be stored appropriately and measures need to be taken to prevent them from collapsing and falling during storage of materials.

29 CFR .22

Floors and ground surfaces in the workplace should be kept clean and dry and should not contain standing water or oil.

Structure and Load Bearing

ANSI MH16.1 (RMI Standard)

Shelving systems need to meet the design standards of the manufacturer and the Rack Manufacturers Institute, Inc. (RMI), and shelving should be utilized in strict compliance with the specifications and load ranges provided by the manufacturer.

Safety Measures

29 CFR .178

Each forklift operator on duty is pre-trained and certified and is subject to the relevant operating and safety regulations when the operator uses a forklift or other powered industrial forklift.

Employee Training

29 CFR .

Employers are required to provide employees with the necessary training before they start work, to ensure that employees are fully aware of the hazards of chemicals in the workplace and are aware of the protective measures associated with them.

For more information you can check out OSHA, or if you want to learn more quickly, then contacting us for free professional support may be the convenient and right choice.

Get Support From a Professional Pallet Racking Manufacturer

When we've read to the end, could my content have helped you? If you have a new need for your pallet racking, as well as you perhaps don't want to go to so much trouble, then why not try and let us help you! 

Consultations and other services are free until you pay for your racking, and I think the HEDA Racking team's twenty years of experience will be able to fully address all your needs!

The company is the world’s best light duty rack factory supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.