Configured for maximum storage, density and efficiency, narrow-aisle racking uses regular pallet racking components, with aisles spaced closer together. This reduces wasted aisle space, and allows pallets to be stored to a greater density, maximising your 3-dimensional space.
Narrow Aisle Pallet Racking (Very Narrow Aisle VNA) combines a wealth of features to enable the best possible use of space, and fast order-picking. Compact and efficient, it’s a construction set-up used in a wide variety of industries where warehousing space is limited. The design of narrow aisle pallet racking is one-deep, so all pallets in the racks are immediately accessible. The solution is also very versatile and flexible, making it suitable for a wide range of applications. This includes also facilities large volumes of multiple product lines.
Varying, height-adjustable, beams ensures maximum flexibility with articulated fork trucks, or man-up-order-picking stackers. It’s a system perfectly suited for convenient pallet storage and retrieval or for fast order-picking straight from the pallet.
Alternatives to articulated fork truck or man-up order picking stackers include guidance systems.
There are two main types of guidance systems:
- Mechanical system has rails installed in each aisle guide the forklift trucks, ensuring they always stay on track. The forklift trucks need to be fitted with rollers, while the guide rails can be installed at various heights to suit your requirements for the first racking level.
- Inductive or wire guidance uses cables or wires installed under the floor of the aisles. Sensors on the forklift trucks connect to these wires, ensuring they follow the right path up and down the aisles. This system is highly effective, it helps automate the movements of forklift trucks, and it eliminates lateral deviations.
The increase in racking density that can be achieved with a narrow aisle racking system is significant. Aisles that forklifts operate in can be reduced by up to 1.5 metres or more. This results in an increase of available space by as much as 40 percent.
Narrow aisle pallet racking (sometimes called VNA – Very Narrow Aisle) uses conventional racking components with aisles spaced more closely together. It maximises storage density by reducing aisle width (as low as ~1.6 m), giving full access to every pallet, and requiring specialised forklift or guidance systems to load and retrieve safely.