Designs for careers, storage racks

Personal skills in materials handling and pallet rack systems differ today from what they were years ago, as MHMS president Sal Fateen observes.

By -- Modern Materials Handling, 10/1/2000

Furthering your career as a materials handling professional is not unlike recent trends in the design engineering of storage rack systems. Both involve performing at a higher level, to a higher standard. You want to develop professionally, to be able to do your best. Similarly, the racks you help select and install need to be designed to be the best systems to stand up to the loads and stresses they bear, and to comply with codes.

Rack basics. Racks are a simple structure consisting of only two major elements, beams and frames. Frames are usually braced in two directions, down aisle and cross aisle. In the down-aisle direction, the beams are the bracing media while the cross-aisle direction has horizontal and diagonal bracing providing the stability for the frames.

All columns of racks are to be furnished with base plates. The purpose of the base plate is to provide for the transfer of column loads to the floor and to anchor the frames down.

In the design of beams, the impact produced when depositing loads on the beams must be taken into account together with the beam-to-column connection, as the lateral stability of a rack is dependent upon how strong and tight the connection is between the beam and the column.

The appropriate rack components . Prior to the need for compliance with codes, selection of rack components from a catalog was sufficient in designing major systems. Now, the practice of simply looking in a catalog is diminishing. Home centers, for example, which are open to the public, have put storage racks in the limelight. And the rack manufacturer's liability exposure has become greater.

The members of the Rack Manufacturers Institute (RMI) have voted that, as a condition of membership, all member companies should have their products tested to show compliance to RMI specifications. This spec will become the rack design code nationwide when the International Building Code (IBC) is adopted in the future.

These tests of racking are reviewed and compiled by a registered engineer and submitted to the RMI to demonstrate that the company has followed the provisions of the code. Upon completion of the review, the company is granted an "R-Mark" seal that can be used in its literature as proof of compliance.

Engineering of rack systems to the specific application has become mandatory today. Selecting an "R-Mark" company to assist dealers or users in designing a specific system is the only way to go, I believe.

Skills in materials handling. Through continuing education and by obtaining personal, professional credentials, you can enhance your materials handling career. MHMS offers a two-tier certification program to its members. Certification is available as a Certified Associate in Materials Handling (CAMH) and as a Professional Certified in Materials Handling (PCMH).

Professional Activities is the official publication of the Materials Handling & Management Society.
To learn about membership, access the Society's home page on the World Wide Web at www.mhia.org/mhms or contact Bobbie Curtis, Executive Director of MHMS , by calling 704-676-1183. The address is 8720 Red Oak Blvd., Suite 201, Charlotte, NC 28217-3935 .