Need More Capacity? Push-Back on the Idea of Expansion

Should Push-Back Pallet Rack Be Your First Choice for LIFO Rotation?

Push-back storage rack is a go-to solution for medium- to high-density LIFO pallet storage needs. Typically designed as individual SKU lanes of 2-6 pallets deep, push-back more than doubles storage capacity vs. standard selective rack. This consolidated footprint just may save you from a major warehouse expansion. Take a closer look at the benefits of this popular storage rack design.

Push-Back Rack Advantages

• Consolidated high-density pallet storage
• Orderly SKU lanes
• Deep lane design – average 2-6 pallets per lane
• Dynamic design – pallets flow automatically to aisle

What makes push-back rack distinct? Push-back rack relies on pitched rails fitted with nested wheeled carts. The rails installed in each lane angle down from the rear of the system to the aisle, where the wheeled carts await loading. The forklift loads the first pallet onto the top cart. To load the next pallet, the forklift operator pushes back the first pallet to reveal a cart underneath for the second pallet. The process continues to complete the lane.

To extract pallets, the forklift removes the front pallet, and the rear pallets automatically flow forward to resupply the pick aisle. The driver controls the speed of the rear pallets by backing out slowly from the lane. With just one aisle for load and extract activity, you save valuable warehouse space and support your Last-in, First-Out (LIFO) inventory rotation.

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Push-Back Pallet Rack & Forklift Operator Training

As you may have noticed from the video above, careful forklift operation is key for push-back rack safety and productivity.  We recommend that your warehouse team be fully trained on proper loading and unloading, even purging hang-ups of push-back rack. To make training easy, the Apex team created a brief, comprehensive training video: English- push-back forklift training, Spanish – video de capacitación del operador.

Push-back pallet rack is relatively easy to maintain. Apex relies on high-quality manufactured parts to construct your system in order to handle the rigorous use of a busy warehouse, but we recommend a regular maintenance review as we would with any racking product. The carts must remain free from debris such as shrink wrap, splintered pallet wood, etc., to maintain trouble-free use, but easy, quick, consistent checks of palletized materials are the best way to avoid hang-ups. We also recommend using quality GMA-style pallets for the same reason… to avoid loose boards and debris.

Push-Back Rack Considerations

• Single aisle access for loading & unloading
• Ideal for high-volume, low-SKU applications
• LIFO stock rotation per lane/FIFO based on batched inventory control per lane
• Consolidated storage minimizes forklift travel time
• Pallets must be a consistent size

Apex Companies has designed and installed more push-back rack systems than we can count… well maybe we can count them, but it would take a long time, and we’d rather work on your project! So, give us a call, and let’s see if push-back pallet rack is a good solution for your particular storage needs and circumstances.