Compact VNA Pallet Racking System With Excellent Cubic Area Utilization

Space Saving Warehouse Very Narrow Aisle Pallet Racking System for FIFO Storage

VNA - Very narrow aisle racks designed by Ironstone consist of the same basic components as selective racks, but the aisles take up significantly less space, thus increasing the use of available cube space. In this way, the VNA offers significantly less aisle space, has more storage space and loading and picking is done mainly by rail or wire-guided swing arms and picking carts.

With our narrow aisle racking, all picking points can be reached by the entire height and length of the system. In addition, pallets can be stored at higher heights to make more efficient use of storage space (up to 50 feet high), but very high installations may require a "super-flat" floor to allow safe equipment access. VNA racking costs are the same as Selective rack, but for smaller forklifts, additional equipment costs are required.

Benefits of Very Narrow Aisle Pallet Racking System

• Greater rack height for the most efficient use of floor space

• Excellent cubic area utilization

• Suitable for FIFO (First In First Out) inventory management

• Increased speed of access and retrieval

• Reduced product damage and fewer picking errors compared to bulk stacking

• Low cost per load at high volumes

• Limited pallet redundancy as the system can operate at over 95% capacity

Narrow aisle racking saves space in two ways:

The aisles require less floor space and therefore more space can be used for storage. Pallets can be stacked to a higher height than with standard racking systems, thus further increasing the available storage space.

This system is therefore ideal for warehouses where space is limited.

Narrow aisle pallet racking requires the use of specialist forklift equipment and although it is an additional cost, it is offset by the greatly improved space utilization. In fact, installing a narrow aisle racking system with special forklift trucks is a much more economically attractive proposition compared to relocating to larger premises or expanding existing warehouse space. (In some cases, the use of drive-in pallet racking equipped with standard counterbalance forklift is an alternative to narrow aisle systems, provided certain criteria are met.)

The racking structure is firmly fixed to the floor and ceiling of the warehouse and special forklift trucks are guided by rails at floor level, avoiding contact between the forklifts and the racking structure as much as possible, ensuring safety and minimizing accidental damage to the racking and stock.