1. Pallet Storage Systems
Material Handling Equipment

2. Pallet Storage
 Block stacking:
 Stored on the floor
 Pallets are stacked on top of each other
 Stack ability and stack height are dependent on the following
factors:
Weight
General stability
SOPs/Safety/OSHA acceptable safety limits
Floor lead restrictions
Physical height availability
Crush limits

3. Pallet Storage
 Block stacking:
 Use when retrieving product based on LIFO (Last In
First Out)
 Not optimal for FIFO (First In First Out)
 Best for large number of pallets for same SKU, low cost,
no racking

4. Block Stacking

5. Pallet Storage
 Stacking Frames:
 Portable and collapsible frames
 Build as needed
 Steel uprights with steel decking
 Easy to collapse and storage is compact
 Use for loads/pallets that are unsafe to
stack on top of each other

6. Pallet Storage
 Single-Deep Pallet Rack
 Permanent racking only one pallet deep
 Can store multiple SKUs in same column and
row
 Best to be used with loads that are not stackable
and SKUs with only a few pallets of product

7. Single-Deep Pallet Rack

8. Pallet Storage
 Double-deep pallet rack
 Permanent racking two pallets deep
 Use with SKUs with five pallets or more of
product AND retrievals that are in multiple of
two pallets
 Use with high volume SKUs
 Can save significant space over single-deep
pallet racks

9. Double-Deep Pallet Rack

10. Pallet Storage
 Drive-In Rack:
 Able to drive into the rack
 Racks are up to ten pallets deep
 Pallets are stored on rails instead of decking
 Use with SKU quantities of five pallets or greater
 Best when have SKU totaling 20 pallets or more
 Downside, much slower production due to
confined space

11. Drive-In Rack

12. Pallet Storage
 Pallet Flow Rack
 Similar to Drive-In Rack but has rollers on the
rails
 Pallets are removed FIFO from the side opposite
from which it was loaded
 As pallets are removed the remaining pallets roll
forward
 Use with SKUs totaling ten pallets or more

13. Pallet Flow Rack

14. Pallet Storage
 Push Back Rack
 Similar to pallet flow rack
 Pallets are removed LIFO from the same side
they are loaded
 Load new pallet by pushing existing pallets back
 Remove a pallet and the remaining pallets flow
forward

15. Push Back Rack

16. Pallet Storage
 Mobile Pallet Rack
 Series of single deep racks abutted next to
each other with no aisle in between
 Aisles are creating by pushing or cranking
rows apart
 Upside: considerable space savings
 Downside: very slow production

17. Mobile Pallet Rack

18. Material Handling Equipment
 Walk Behind Pallet Jack
 May be manually operated or motorized
 Operate from a walking position
 Motorized versions may be capable of reaching low
heights
 Best for short distance move

19. Material Handling Equipment
 Counterbalanced Lift Truck
 Lift truck with the weight on the back end to counter the
weight of the load on the forks on the front end

20. Material Handling Equipment
 Straddle Truck:
 Instead of using counterbalance to provide stability, this
truck uses outriggers to straddle the pallet.

21. Material Handling Equipment
 Side Loader:
 Loads from the side. Forks are located on the
side not the front.
 Allows the operator to travel down the aisle
without having to turn the truck to retrieve a
pallet
 Downside: Can only reach one side of the aisle
from a given direction of travel.

22. Side Loader

23. Material Handling Equipment
 Turret Truck
 Forks swing on the mast to either side
 Allows for more narrow aisle spacing

24. Material Handling Equipment
 Automated Storage Retrieval (ASR)
 Generally computer controlled
 Retrieval truck follows a computer controlled fixed path
 Storage locations consist of a matrix of fixed locations