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About US
- Temasek Polytechnic, School of Business
- Diploma in Logistics & Operation Management - Year 2's Students - Doing a project on the topic 'Storage Systems' Topics Discuss
Overview of Small Item Storage
Video on Small Items Storage Overview of Odd Size Storage Comparison Article on Storage Systems and Material Handing Article on the way you set things up can pay off g... Article- Cantilever Rack reduces waste, simplifies... Voice out
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Shelving
Sunday, December 30, 2007 @ 12:06 AM
Bin shelving systems  Shelving is usually made from mild steel, in standard component sizes, to various heights, vertical shelf spacing and shelf depth which cater to different company’s exact needs. There is limited range of standard widths for the modules. Shelving can be as ‘short span’, usually 1 meter wide, and ‘long span’, 3 meters or more in width. Shelving is comparatively inexpensive, gives random access to stock, is modular, interchangeable and is easily moved. Separation of small quantities can restrict access. For instance, the hand access between vertical shelves partitions spaced 50 mm apart is limited. Bin shelving systems are the oldest and still the most popular (in terms of sales volume dollars and the number of systems in use) equipment alternative for small parts order picking. Bin shelves are inexpensive ($100 to $150 per unit), easily reconfigured, and require very little if any maintenance. Unfortunately, the lowest initial cost alternative may not be the most cost-effective alternative, or the alternative that meets the prioritized needs of a warehouse. With bins shelving systems, savings in initial cost and maintenance may be offset by inflated space and labor requirements. Space is frequently underutilized in bin shelving systems, because the full inside dimensions of a shelving unit are rarely usable. Also, because people may be walking and extracting the items, the height of bin shelving units may be limited by the reaching height of a human being. As a result, the available building cube may also be underutilized.  The consequences of low space utilization are twofold. First, low space utilization means that a large amount of floor space is required to store the products. The more expensive it is to own and operate the space, the more expensive low space utilization becomes. Second, the greater the floor space, the greater the area that must be traveled by the order pickers, and thus the greater the labor requirement and costs. Two additional drawbacks of bin shelving are supervisory problems and item security/protection problems. Supervisory problems arise because it is difficult to supervise people through a maze bin shelving units. Security and item protection problems arise because bin shelving is open; that is, all the items are exposed to and accessible from the picking aisles and by any operator and/ or visitor. |