By: SCDigest Editorial Staff
The News: HK Systems recently released a concise guide to when it may make sense to use a "rack-supported distribution center design" versus the traditonal approach of steel frame and free-standing racking system.
Why It's Worth Noting:
The guide provides good information on a topic not often explored.
The Story: The new guide, available from the HK Systems web site, contrasts the traditional style of constructing a DC, which uses a “skeleton
frame” of vertical steel columns and horizontal I-beams or trusses to which the
roof and walls of the building are then attached, with the concept of using the racking system itself to provide that building support. In the traditional model any racking installed is free-standing and not meant to be part of the building support.
The downside of traditional buildings are that the supports and resulting aisle requirements based on the column grids take up a lot of space and reduce total storage capacity. HK says this is especially true for tall buildings that exceed 45', as might be needed for a larger automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS). HK in fact says that "rack-supported buildings are almost always preferred for tall AS/RS applications."
A tall rack-supported building can have other benefits besides increased space utilization. Because you are going up instead of out, local (and expensive) "set aside" requirements for acreage, based on the horizontal footprint of the building, can be reduced. Also, in many cases the building itself can be depreciated over just 15 years rather than the normal 30, since the entire "system" is considered to be "equipment."
The sequence of construction with a rack-supported building can also yield some cost and time advantages, HK says.
Rack-supported buildings are not for everyone, of course. "If other business processes are interspersed with that of material storage, or if business requirements might force a change in the building’s overall configuration, a steel frame building might prove the best choice," HK notes.
Still, HK's position is that while for new DCs it often "becomes a foregone conclusion that the facility will be a steel frame structure with freestanding rack," this conclusion often deserves greater debate, and that case is persausively made.
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HK's position is that while for new DCs it often "becomes a foregone conclusion that the facility will be a steel frame structure with freestanding rack" this conclusion often deserves greater debate, and this case is persausively made.
