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Mobile Pallet Rack System for JSP International

pallet rack installation

The Client

JSP International has been a pioneer in foamed plastic materials since its founding in 1962. Their products are engineered to take advantage of plastic’s full potential and can be found in virtually every industry around the world, with a particular focus in the automotive, construction, civil engineering, material and food packaging markets.

Their core business is centered around the development of new products that break the mold of existing concepts to supply their customers with the best solutions today, while working toward future innovation.

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The Challenge

At JSP’s Butler, Pennsylvania manufacturing center, they needed to increase the number of pallets stored without increasing the amount of floor space used for storage.

At this location, JSP manufactures foamed plastic component parts and bumpers for the automotive industry. Their facility houses a large number of parts in a variety of sizes and heavy weights, all of which are in a constant stream of movement from the creation process through packing and shipping.

To accommodate this flow of goods, JSP has a system of Steel King tubular pallet racks. Designed for the storage of heavy loads and providing greater damage resistance, these racks are ideal in manufacturing environments.

JSP needed more storage, but this time, they did not have the floor space available that installing pallet racks with traditional aisles would require. So to increase their pallet storage, they choose a mobile racking system.

The Solution

JSP had previously worked with Cranston Material Handling Equipment Corp. (Cranston) of Pittsburgh on the initial design of their existing tubular pallet racks. JSP looked again to Cranston, a third-generation business founded in 1957, to supply the rack for the mobile rack system.

“We have decades of experience in this industry and understand that a mobile storage system needs to be designed to meet the customer’s specific application,” said David Cranston Jr. “And we knew from working with them in the past, the type of pallet racking they required.”

Cranston worked with Spacesaver, specialists in high-density mobile shelving, to design the racks to go on their carriage and rail system. Cranston’s racks installed onto Spacesaver’s bases created a highly functional system for JSP, while keeping the footprint of the storage area to an absolute minimum.

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The Result

JSP has increased their Pennsylvania location’s storage capacity. The new mobile racks not only allow for a higher density of storage in the same space, but they are safe, easy for staff to move, and provide excellent access to the material stored in the racks.

“JSP is very happy,” said Cranston, “and we look forward to partnering again with Spacesaver on any mobile rack systems our customer’s would bring us in the future.

Find Out More

Learn more about our pallet rack system capabilities. Cranston Material Handling Equipment Corp. looks at your material handling or storage application through the lens of decades of experience. Whatever you’re specific needs we can help you sort through the options to maximize your workspace. Contact us for more information today at cranston-material-handling-equipment.com or 412.741.8060.

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How Much Does New Pallet Racking Cost?

moderm warehouse

When determining how much your new pallet racking will cost, there are a variety of things to consider. When searching for accurate pricing for each type of pallet racking, it is essential to work with material handling experts like Cranston Material Handling.

Read more

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Our Journey To Comply With ISNetworld Safety Standards

Lancaster Safety 2024

Our company, Cranston Material Handling Equipment Corporation (CMHEC), founded in 1957, sells and installs industrial material handling equipment. Historically, we subcontracted out the installation of all our equipment. Approximately 10 years ago, in order to provide a higher level of service to our customers, our team decided to hire employees to install the equipment we sold. We soon learned developing an ongoing safety program was challenging as a small company. While we had a sincere desire to have a thorough workable safety program, the reality was we just did not have the expertise to develop one.

Over the last several years a trend was developing. Our industrial customer base began using 3rd-party companies to compile safety data on the contractors working in their facilities. After they compiled the data, they could see where gaps existed in the contractor’s safety programs or documentation. These gaps were then requested to be remedied prior to the contractor becoming qualified to perform work. Through these 3rd-party companies, industrial manufacturers are able to ensure contractors have the safety training and insurances in place to meet their standards. While this works well for large industrial companies hiring contractors, it is challenging for small companies to wade through all of the requirements, decide which ones are applicable to the company, and develop documentation and training to meet said requirements.

As a number of our customers began to use the 3rd-party company ISNetworld (ISN) to manage their contractors, we quickly became overwhelmed with trying to meet their requirements. Another company, similar to ours, referred us to Lancaster Safety Consulting Inc. (LSCI). LSCI helped them upgrade their safety program in order to meet the customer’s requirements ISN managed through their website. Since working with LSCI, we have been impressed with their efforts to understand our business and help us develop programs applicable to the work we do. In a timely manner, LSCI developed our written safety programs, provided in-person training for our crew, and worked with us to provide the required documentation to our customers through the web-based ISN safety documentation portal.

LSCI also helped us answer a valuable question: “what is our installer’s exposure to silica dust?” While not a requirement for documentation, for the safety of our employees we wanted to be certain we were not exposing them to an unacceptable level of silica. While we assumed it was low and within standards, there was no way to know without proper testing. LSCI was able to provide us with an on-site test and analysis of the results to make sure we were compliant with current standards.

Lancaster Safety 2024

LSCI has proven itself to be a reliable ongoing resource to keep our safety program up to date. They continuously coach us in the understanding of safety within the workplace while meeting the ongoing insurance and safety compliance requests we regularly receive from our customers. Over time they will be training new members of our installation crew to keep our training consistent, and we will be taking advantage of additional training LSCI offers.

Over the last nine months, we have moved from a company struggling to meet our customer’s safety requirements to a company with a current and robust safety program. From a company with limited ability to get safety training and documentation advice to one that has a partner in LSCI – keeping our program relevant and up to date. Since LSCI is only an email or phone call away, we are confident we can accurately answer all of our safety questions in a timely manner.

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Guide to Planning a Pallet Rack Purchase

Pallet Racks

Table of Contents

Creating an Accurate Project Timeline

estimated time and the steps required to create more pallet storage

For Custom Racks: Items to take into consideration

Projected timelines

 

Warehouses and distribution centers play a crucial role every day in most businesses and in today’s world with the pandemic, they are becoming increasingly important. The need to store more material and products often require the purchase of additional racks. Understanding how long it may take for you to develop a layout, purchase the racks, and have them installed will allow you to develop a realistic timeline that will guide you in your planning process.

 

Creating an Accurate Project Timeline

With any project, knowing the steps that should be accomplished to achieve a successful outcome is very important. Once you know the steps you can develop a timeline to establish a realistic completion date. When you need more storage space the steps shown below will help ensure that you allow an appropriate amount of time to plan, order and have your new pallet rack installed. Timelines for every project will vary, but in many cases, they tend to follow a general pattern.

Estimated Time and the Steps Required to Create More Pallet Storage

Pallet Rack1 – week  –  Set up an appointment and meet with your rack professional to evaluate your pallet storage requirements. 

1 to 2 weeks – To allow your rack professional to develop a proposal and a rack layout. Plan to meet with them again to review the proposal and the rack layout to see if it meets your objectives. Allow for additional time to make changes to fine tune the proposal after this meeting.

1 to 3 weeks – You know the speed at which your organization makes purchasing decisions. Sometimes a purchase can be approved in a matter of days, other times it takes months. This can be a wild card you cannot control, so plan for more than enough time to receive an approval to purchase from all the decision influencers. 

1 week – For purchasing to process and send the order and for your rack professional’s company to receive and process the order. 

3 Days to 1 week  – Shipping for racks that are shipping from stock.

2 Days to 2 Weeks – The time it takes to install your pallet racking system is a function of the amount of racks to be installed and the number of installers on the installation crew. An experienced crew of 3 or 5 men can install  30 to 40 bays of new rack a day in a free and clear warehouse.

For made to order racks that are not being shipped from stock, these additional steps need to be taken into consideration.

 

1 week – For final measurements of the warehouse space, if the dimensions of the area where the racks are going to be installed need to be verified before the final drawings are developed.

2 – 3 weeks – For approval drawings, if they need to be developed prior to material being ordered and released to production.

4 – 14 weeks – Depending on the manufacturer’s backlog at any point in time, the time it takes for the product to be manufactured can vary widely. Currently, as we start 2021 lead times are generally 6 to 8 weeks.

Projected Timelines

Pallet RacksFor planning purposes, you should expect it to take 4 to 6 weeks from the time you start planning your rack purchase of stock rack to the time it is installed. If you believe the rack components you will be needing are not stock items, then you should expect the timeline to be somewhere between 10 to 20 weeks. 

Remember you don’t need to start the planning and rack selection process by yourself. The professional team at Cranston Material Handling Equipment will walk with you through the steps of determining a layout, developing a budget, and creating a timeline for the completion of your racking system. Our rack professionals will work with you to create an effective layout in order to maximize the number of pallets you can store in the space you have available. They will help you determine the production schedule and manage the installation to ensure timely delivery and completion of your pallet rack project. 

Contact us today to learn more about our pallet rack services!

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What is a warehouse mezzanine?

Mezzanine4

A warehouse mezzanine is an elevated floor that is installed in the unused open-air space between your concrete floor and the ceiling of the warehouse. A warehouse mezzanine is free-standing, which means it does not connect to or is not supported by your building. They can be easily enlarged or dismantled and moved when changes in your operation happen. Read more

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Steel Mezzanine: A Space Saver!

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Cranston Material Handling Equipment Corporation is proud to partner with MiTek to design and properly install mezzanines for our customers.

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Using Grabs and Lifters to Move Bulky Items

Using Grabs & Lifters to Move Bulky Item

When picking up and moving items at your plant, especially heavier larger bulky items, it is crucial to use below-the-hook tooling to allow your employees to move the items safely. By using a grab or lifter, employees can very easily and safely move bulkier items. Read more

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Choosing Industrial Shelving for Your Warehouse

Widespan Record Storage Shelving

If you are looking for a way to modify your warehouse storage, adding industrial shelving may be an excellent option for your storage application. This type of shelving is a popular storage option in warehousing operations and provides a variety of benefits to your operations. Read more

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Why Companies Are Installing Driver Cages and How to Design One

In any distributing or warehousing environment, it is crucial to prevent accidents and injuries, keep valuable inventory secure, and protect equipment. With busy operations, it can be challenging to monitor delivery drivers, visitors, and service providers that are coming in and out of your building.  Read more

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Why Have Flue Space Between Your Pallet Racks?

Flue Space Illustrated

Flue space is a small but essential part of fire safety for your warehousing operations. Flue space is defined by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) as clear vertical lines of sight in the rack storage areas that go from the floor up to the ceiling.

 

The flue space on a pallet rack will not prevent a fire, but in the event of a fire, it will send heat and smoke upward to help keep the fire from spreading throughout the building. Read more

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