Welcome to Shoptalk.
I'm Jason, an employee owner with Cisco-Eagle.
Dynamic and high density storage racks offer a range of advantages.
In this installment of Shoptalk, I'm
going to talk about two of those options: Pushback and drive-in.
Both rack types are last in, first out, high density storage.
But what are the critical differences?
Pushback racks are fitted with inclined rails
depending on load and design factors, they can store up to six
pallets deep -- with two or three being more typical.
When a pallet is loaded, it pushes those behind it backwards.
When the front pallet is unloaded, those behind
it roll gently forward into the front position.
Drive-in rack systems are also loaded from the front on rails
and can support more pallets than pushback systems.
They are limited only by the available space and loading considerations.
Forklifts must drive into the rack structure to place and pick pallets.
Deciding what rack to use is a balancing act between storage density,
the number of pallets you can store, and selectivity,
the need to access those pallets.
Pushback allows you more
access to more pallets and storage positions than drive-in.
Drive-in is higher density and can handle larger numbers of pallets.
In this example, let's compare the two systems for loading and unloading time.
These racks are storing
the same number of pallet positions: three levels high and five pallets deep.
The drive-in system requires forklift
drivers to enter the rack structure to each pallet position,
while the pushback rack lets the driver access it from only the front of the rack.
There are more opportunities for a fork truck to bump the rack
in a drive-in system, which means more opportunities for damage.
Drive-in systems require a fork truck to drive to each position,
whereas the pushback system gravity moves the next pallet forward automatically.
Because the forklift only interacts with the pick face
of a push back system, damage risks are lower.
Because more driving is involved in a drive-in
rack, more fuel is burnt; the more time spent traveling.
The pushback rack was loaded in 13 minutes and 28 seconds.
The drive-in rack took 15 minutes and 19 seconds to load.
As with loading the
rack, unloading it takes more time and there is more potential for accidents.
Because gravity moves pallets forward in a pushback system,
it's faster to unload: only 11 minutes and thirty seconds.
The drive-in rack took 13 minutes and 58 seconds.
There are many factors in play when designing a high density system,
including your picking process, automation, integrations and SKU count.
Sometimes pushback
systems are right for the situation and sometimes drive-in systems are ideal.
Both can store more products in less space than selective racks.
Pushback racks are more selective than drive-in racks.
You can access more of your pallets more often.
Pushback racks are more flexible.
You can access each level of a pushback rack independent of other levels.
Drive-in racks are higher density.
You can go much deeper than pushback racks.
Drive-in is
ideal for limited SKUs and high density storage applications like freezers,
Drive-in racks do not require incline carts that consume vertical space,
which means they can take more full advantage of the cube.
Thanks for watching Shoptalk.
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