DRIVE-IN PALLET RACKING 101 – Pluses & Challenges of this High-Density System

Take A Ride Through Drive-In Pallet Rack With The Apex Carolinas Team

Warehouse efficiency and safety must coincide for your Carolina-based facility to function optimally. To that end, when you are considering pallet racking storage, it’s valuable to explore the pluses and challenges with each system to match your operational goals and properly train your team on system use. A very popular high-density option is drive-in pallet rack. While it delivers valuable high-density storage, it is a system that requires experienced design support to ensure safe, efficient operation.

To that end, we’ve provided several drive-in pallet rack configuration considerations.

DRIVE-IN PALLET RACK

Drive-in pallet racking is a high-density storage solution ideal for inventory comprised of a low number of high-volume SKUs. Drive-in supports last-in/first-out (LIFO) inventory rotation and stores multiple levels of 10+ pallets per lane.

Drive-in’s compact design optimizes pallet density and frees up valuable warehouse floor space. However, the design requires forklift operators to drive into the rack system to load and extract pallets. Extreme forklift activity requires system design modifications and safeguards to protect the rack system from accidental strikes.

HOW DOES DRIVE-IN PALLET RACK WORK?

Vertical uprights create lanes for multi-level pallet storage. Horizontal rails attach to the uprights and run from the front aisle to the back of the lane –leaving open the space between the rails for deep lane pallet storage. Each lane from floor to the top of the rack system has a dedicated SKU.

Forklift operators drive into the lane and place pallets on the rails. Only the left and right sides of the pallets are supported. Loading and extraction occur from a single aisle.

However, a variation on traditional drive-in is called drive-thru, which allows forklifts to enter the lane from opposite sides –one to load and the other to extract. This solution benefits perishable, date-sensitive items with a first-in/first-out (FIFO) inventory rotation.

DRIVE-IN RACK SAFETY

Forklifts constantly moving in and out of your drive-in system makes it more prone to accidental strikes. Properly training your forklift drivers is the best way to offensively safeguard against worker injuries, repairs, and expensive damage. See below for more details

Additionally, you want to provide defensive protection in the form of custom-fit pallet rack guarding.

Drive-In Rack Guarding

Column Protector	Row End Protector	Heavy-Duty Horizontal Strut
Floor Channel	Floor Angle Stop	Boxed Column

Safeguard Your Drive-In Rack

There are a variety of options to deploy to protect your drive-in rack system from forklift damage. Your Apex Carolinas rack design team will work with you to find the most economical solutions for your application needs.

• Column protectors – Attach to the ground in front of the aisle-facing column to absorb the impact of an equipment strike without distributing it to the rack system.

• Row end protectors – Heavy steel sections along the bottom of the frame that runs adjacent to the main aisle where forklift activity is most active.

• Heavy-duty horizontal strut/rub rails – A heavy steel strut that bolts onto the bottom of the front upright to prevent possible twisting if struck.

• Floor channel – Angled channel that bolts between the uprights and the floor for the full depth of the lane. They provide forklift guidance and pallet rack system protection.

• Floor Angle stops – Angle stops bolted to the floor at the end of the lane. Help forklift operators place the pallets at the back of the lane and prevent them extending into the aisle.

• • Box columns – Double fortified columns provide upright protection from the floor to just above the first pallet level.

• Pallet stops – Angled stops attach to the rails at the last pallet position to prevent pallets from being set past the rail end.

• Heavy-duty double cant-leg repair kit – For drive-in systems that experience recurrent forklift abuse and repair, these kits can help prevent potential damage and costs for frame replacement or repair kits.
• Recessed front column – Creates a sloped leg on the front of the column, which widens the forklift turn radius along the vulnerable lower portion of the rack.

DRIVE-IN PALLET RACK FORKLIFT TRAINING

Proper forklift operator training in an OSHA-compliant program is key to ensuring worker and warehouse safety. This also helps to optimize pallet rack system performance and reduce damage and worker injury. 

A key to safety success is instructing forklift drivers to check pallets for splinters or broken boards before they try to load the drive-in system. Pallet size and quality are critical to successfully using a drive-in system –and your forklift operators are on the front lines. Training them to quickly check pallets for missing or splintered boards will protect your workers and your system from severe damage caused by falling pallets. Remember, pallets are not supported underneath in a drive-in system. Additionally, it is important to remind staff that the pallets must all be the same size to safely span the width of the rails. 

Also, forklift drivers should check pallet load weight vs. the posted system capacity to ensure the capacity limit isn’t exceeded. Visit the Apex Operational Training Video for step-by-step loading and unloading instructions.

IMPORTANT DRIVE-IN PALLET RACK SYSTEM CAUTIONS

Drive-in pallet rack has many benefits, but there are a few important safety considerations unique to this system. Each pallet must be centered and positioned on the left and right side rails. In the event that a pallet is not secured on both sides, the forklift driver must start the process all over again – drive back in, place the pallet securely on the forklift, ensure that it’s centered, and place it. Pallet stops at the end of each rail will help prevent pallets from sliding off the end.

A forklift operator should NOT try to push a pallet along drive-in pallet rails. This will cause stress on the system and can result in a pallet falling. 

Rack Repair and Safety at Your Fingertips

How does a free tool that will increase worker and equipment safety sound? Your local Apex Carolinas warehouse safety experts created the Apex Rack Repair App just for those reasons. It offers users the ability to evaluate and document pallet rack damage just like the professionals. If there’s an accident, the app allows you to quickly assess the damage and then submit your findings to our expert team for evaluation. The Apex PROs promptly supply recommendations to repair or replace if the damage is considered severe. It really is as simple as it sounds. 

Drive-in pallet rack is a reliable storage option when it is properly designed and used.  Contact your local Apex Carolinas team for all your full-service warehouse support. We offer system design and installation and ensure your complete project satisfaction.

Our warehouses are conveniently located in Hickory and Charlotte, North Carolina – as well as Greenville South Carolina. Contact us today to schedule an on-site visit or zoom call to get the ball rolling.