Drive in Pallet Racking

What is drive-in racking? With drive-in racking, pallets are placed so they can slide backwards on a rail, thus storing them more deeply and creating more space in the warehouse. Drive-In Racking involves the forklift entering the racking from one side to load or retrieve the pallets which are stored more deeply.

Types of Drive-In Racking

Single entry racks involve racks that have forklift access to one side only

Double entry racks involve racks where forklifts can access both sides of the racking structure. A row of the racks at the centre of this structure is held in place by a large beam.

When should you use Drive-In Racking?

• If you have products that need cold/freezer type storage.
• If you have large amounts of similar products and a limited space then drive-in racking is probably your best option when it comes to storage.
• If you have fragile product loads which cannot be stored in block stacks.

What are the advantages of Drive-In Racking?

• Freezer or cold storage can be expensive therefore organisations will want to store as many products in as limited space as possible.
• If you have numerous pallets of a similar product, drive-in racking creates more efficient use of space in a warehouse instead of selective type racking where there are many aisles with spaces in between to account for access of a forklift.

What are the disadvantages of Drive-In Racking?

• For one, these racks are more open to misuse, so it’s important that the rack is strong and reliable in order to last.
• Second is the Last In First Out (LIFO) aspect of racking; where the last and newest/fresh product will replace the older products at the front of the racking row; therefore old products will not be used before new products are added.

Drive-in pallet racking is a very low cost form of high density pallet storage. This means it is perfect for businesses with a limited budget who require a large amount of racking and shelving. Due to these features, drive-in racking systems in Brisbane, and surrounding areas, are extremely popular.

HOW IT WORKS

Pallets are stored on rails running front to back of the system instead of horizontal beams found in a selective racking system. This allows forklift operators to quickly store pallets in lanes up to 10 pallets deep.

While flexibility is reduced with drive-in racking, this is outweighed by the large amount of pallet storage that is possible.

This is the best solution for fast moving product lines, such as food or produce, where large amounts of pallets require storage but they will move in and out of the warehouse quickly