Steel King Industries, manufacturer of portable rack and materials handling systems, based in Stevens Point, Wisc., believes that better portable rack use calls for better training.

For transport or fluctuating inventory where maximizing storage density or selectivity is important, portable racks are hard to beat. Yet improper installation or use of portable rack systems can lead to rack and product damage, inefficient materials handling and injury. And as the down economy prompts some companies to cut corners on training, the risk of these sorts of problems rises.

Steel King has developed a resource for proper installation, operation and maintenance of portable rack systems called "Portable Rack User’s Manual." It highlights best practice procedures, illustrating them with easy-to-understand graphics and offers a number of critical guidelines, including:

·how to lift, move, place and stack rack, for maximum safety and efficiency,

·what type of floor must be used, and which types may lead to tipping,

·how to match rack capacity with load weight,

·how to match base construction to fork length,

·when “high corner sockets” or heavy gauge corner posts may be required, and

·when standard or custom designs are required.

“As portable racks become more popular because of their flexibility, it’s critical to ensure that operators load and stack them properly, whether the racks have side pressure on the posts or not,” says Dawayne Edwards, sales manager at Steel King. “Since the portable racks are a flexible, stackable system, it takes some know-how to avoid stacking them too high, or not high enough, to achieve the safest, most efficient use of warehouse space.”

Steel King also offers the “How to Design Portable Racks” handbook with illustrated help on:

·how to select rack capacity, base decking, and column height,

·how to determine rack size, base design, and base socket size, and

·how to determine stacking height and optimum loading patterns.