Pallet Stacking Strategies: Optimize Your Warehouse Layout
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How to Stack Pallets Safely
One of the most important things to understand about pallet stacking is that doing it and doing it properly are two totally different concepts. Anyone can quickly stack items of various sizes, shapes, and weights on a pallet. Only by following a few straightforward steps will you maximize warehouse space and guarantee that your items get where they're going safely as well.
Step 1: Plan for Efficiency and Safety
Always begin pallet stacking with the larger, heavier boxes and items that you're working with. These should always go on the bottom of the pallet, giving you a rock solid foundation from which to build from moving forward. This can also help cut down on potential issues like leaning later on.
Step 2: Organize Pallet Placement
When organizing pallets in your warehouse, always make a note of what you'll need to access and when. If you know that Pallet A won't be needed for six weeks and Pallet B will be needed in six days, always make sure that Pallet B is in front, so you don't have to rearrange too much to get to it when necessary.
Step 3: Maximize Vertical Space
To maximize vertical space, try to group boxes and other items that are the same size and shape together. Likewise, make sure that each “layer” you create reaches the end of the boxes or items you've already stacked. This will help make sure that you can safely and efficiently stack things as high as possible on a single pallet.
Step 4: Optimize Aisle Space
Again, try to arrange everything in your warehouse based on when the items contained on a particular pallet will be needed. Don't block anything in an aisle that you'll need to access quickly in the near future. Along the same lines, make sure that the aisles always have enough space to get pallet jacks or other heavy equipment through, as moving a pallet by yourself or without the assistance of some type of machine is a non-starter.
Step 5: Explore Advanced Techniques
Finally, don't be afraid to explore some of the
more advanced techniques for pallet stacking if necessary.
If you're worried about items falling off pallets (or empty pallets falling over), use stretch wrap to secure everything in place. Never mix sizes of pallets when stacking, and always take care to ensure that nothing exceeds a safe height.
Note that all of these best practices apply both for empty pallets and for pallets that have items already loaded onto them. Even if you're talking about entirely empty pallets, make sure you're taking into consideration things like weight distribution and aisle access. Empty pallets stacked on top of one another should overlap perfectly. Always stack pallets of the same size, shape, and weight to both maximize warehouse space and to reduce the risk that they might fall in the future.
If you'd like to find out more information about how to maximize warehouse space through better pallet stacking, or if you have any related questions that you'd like to discuss with someone in more detail, please don't delay—contact the team at Advance Pallet today.
