Industrial steel shelving is a versatile and useful system for your facility. It can be used in many different applications, and store multiple inventory items. Read on to find out if steel shelving would work for you.
General Characteristics
Industrial steel shelving is very strong and is available in several sizes and capacities. It is extremely customizable because the shelves can clip in at 1” increments, allowing you to store a variety of different items. Steel shelving is available in open or closed style depending on what you will be storing.
Layout Options
Because of its versatility, industrial steel shelving is used in many different applications, such as warehouses, offices, or stores. Add-on units are available as well, so this system can be larger or smaller depending on your storage needs. Any number of units can be connected together to create rows of storage space. The shelving units are generally short enough that they can be reached by hand, but taller units can be created for use with a ladder or order picker. Since it is pretty light and easy to assemble, these units are often placed on top of mezzanines for extra storage. Steel shelving units are available in either open or closed style.
How to use steel shelving
Industrial steel shelving is good for storing smaller items, since the shelves are solid. However, it is durable enough to store larger and bulkier items as well. It is a good system to use with bins because of the sizes of the shelves. Also, you can get dividers and drawers included in your shelving unit to store a variety of objects. If you have the open style of shelving, your inventory is always visible and can be accessed from any angle.
What you should know about this system
Steel shelving units can take a bit longer to install due to the increased ability to customize and the amount of parts, but it usually doesn’t require any extra tools. If you are adding on to your shelving system, be aware that each row will grow with each additional unit added. For instance, if you have four-foot wide units, and you put ten of them together to create a row, it will be longer than forty feet. This is something to keep in mind if you have a tight space. Since so many manufacturers make this kind of shelving unit, make sure you remember what kind you bought. Some are interchangeable, but some are not, so if you need a replacement part at any time, you should know the original brand.
Industrial steel shelving units are really handy for storing a variety of items with different sizes and capacity requirements. Although they are strong and sturdy, these shelving units are also fairly easy to move and re-configure, making them ideal for facilities with changing needs and inventory. Check back next week for our next shelving post.
