The ColbyRACK beam is an answer to damage to storage systems by forklifts, an ongoing and costly problem in high volume distribution centres (DCs)
January 31, 2011
The ColbyRACK beam for heavy-duty operations, is an answer to damage to storage systems by forklifts, an ongoing and costly problem in high volume distribution centres (DCs).
The tougher ColbyRACK beam also has a stronger clip to securely fasten the new beams to rack uprights, making accidental dislodgement practically impossible.
“Beams around the 2m level are prone to damage if reach truck operators accidentally back into them while retrieving a pallet from the opposite face of the pallet storage system,” explains Dematic NSW State Manager, Robert Partridge.
“To eliminate the damage and risk associated with this recurring problem in high throughput DCs, Dematic developed a totally new type of beam, made from two U-beam sections,” he says.
“The new heavy-duty Colby UU-Beam increases frontal impact resistance by over 200 percent, which our customers say has virtually eliminated damage, improved OH&S, and significantly reduced rack maintenance costs.”
“We’d got used to accepting that forklift damage to storage systems in high volume DCs was inevitable, but Dematic’s turned that notion on its head,” adds Woolworths Sydney Liquor DC Maintenance Manager, Bill Garriock.
“We’ve been going for well over a year now and we’ve typically had to replace less than one beam a month, and only a couple of rack uprights over the year!
“I’ve worked in DCs where we went through more than a thousand beams and hundreds of uprights every year,” Garriock says. “Safety is obviously the number one concern. Accidents happen. All the forklift driver training in the world doesn’t stop even the best operators from having an incident from time to time.”
“Preventing storage systems from getting damaged in the first place not only provides a much safer workplace, the ongoing savings means the rack protection will not only pay for itself, it also reduces operating costs over the life of the DC.”