How to Calculate Pallet Racking Capacity
How much weight can your pallet racking carry safely? This is a complex question, which is best left to engineers, because there are several aspects to take into account.
Warehouse shelving Colorado experts say that calculating pallet racking capacity involves:
- Dead Weight and Live Weight
Dead weight is the own weight of the racking systems. The bottom elements have to bear the load of the entire structure above them. But pallet racking is not meant to sit unoccupied. It must also carry live weight – the palletized goods you need to store on it.
Thus, pallet racking is actually supposed to bear two kind of weights – its own and that of the merchandise.
- Even Loading and Point Loading
Even loading is when the entire surface of a pallet racking unit is covered uniformly. In this case, each part of the unit bears the same load. However, in many occasion, products are loaded on one side of the unit, while the other is empty. This is point loading.
- The Resistance of the Material to Wear and Tear
Each type of material (metal, wood, plastic, etc.) has a specific resistance to wear and tear over a period of time. Thus, the calculation of the racking load capacity must also take into consideration what kind of material it will be made of.