What Is Push Back Racking?

Push back racking (often referred to pushback rack) is a high density pallet storage system that allows pallets to be stored from 2 to 6 units deep. Pallets sit on linked carts that are pushed up a gentle gradient as pallets are added, or “pushed back” from the face of the racking system.

When pallets are later removed, the pallet adjacent to the front pallet glides back down the gradient to the nearest position.

Push Back Rack Advantages And Disadvantages

Pushback rack is excellent for many operations, but isn’t appropriate for every warehouse. Here are some of the benefits and drawbacks to take into consideration.

Higher Density Storage

Given that push back pallet racks can store between 2-6 pallets in any particular position, they can eliminate somewhere from 1-5 aisles, which can be a sizable amount of warehouse real estate.

Less Forklift Travel

With a reduction in aisle number, lift trucks don’t have to rack up as many hours, reducing equipment wear and increasing efficiency. Diminished forklift traffic also improves safety by a significant factor within the warehouse. Reduced forklift traffic means fewer collisions.

Greater Selectivity

Push back pallet racking provides an ideal combination of selectivity and storage efficiency. Unlike drive-in rack, where entire storage bays are generally a single SKU, pushback rack features instant access to a much greater number of pallet positions from the rack front.

LIFO Configuration

Dissimilar to pallet flow rack, which is a First In First Out (FIFO) variety of system, push back rack is a Last In First Out (LIFO) type of storage. Last In First Out is not generally suitable for items with an expiration date, because items that are loaded first can sit for long stretches of time as goods are added and depleted from the rack face.

How Does Push Back Racking Work?

Push back rack configurations include a couple of tracks sloping toward the aisle and a set of interlinked carts which ride on these rails.

The first pallet is added on the uppermost cart by a lift truck. When a new pallet is added, the lift truck operator nudges the primary pallet back and sets the next pallet on the next cart. The very last pallet positioned in the lane rests on the rails.

As goods are retrieved, shuttles of unit loads slide down the tracks. Workers pull each pallet sequentially until the lane is exhausted, or supplement additional pallets, replenishing the lane.

Push Back Pallet Racking For Sale

To learn more about push back racking systems, get in touch with a racking professional at Raymond West today. Raymond’s storage design experts can help you develop a solution that is perfect for your application.

Raymond West's Boise service center serves most of Idaho, including Boise, Nampa, Meridian, Idaho Falls, Caldwell, Pocatello, Twin Falls, Post Falls and surrounding areas.

Raymond West | Boise Material Handling Equipment Supplier

743 W McGregor Ct #100
Boise, ID 83705
(800) 675-2500