Pallets and Conveyors
Case Study: Pallets and Conveyor Interactions
A redesigned pallet proved to be the most economical solution for flow rack system damage.
The Problem: pallets were not flowing as intended within a warehouse flow rack system. Even worse, the pallets were actually damaging the rack system components. The system was rated to support much heavier weights, but something was causing higher than expected stress between the loaded pallets and the flow rack.
In a flow rack system, loaded Pallets from manufacturing are placed at the back and flow towards the front as unloaded.
Skate Wheel Damage
The flow rack at this particular warehouse is a common type of high density pallet storage system. To keep things rolling, the pallets are supported by the 3 rows of skate wheels.
On paper everything added up. We had a flow rack system that was strong enough to support the loads. And, we had a heavy duty wood pallet that was strong enough to support the loads. But something was not working well together resulting in damage to the skate wheels.
The pallets were damaging the skate wheels. Bolts that held some of the wheels were being bent by the loaded pallets.
Tech Center Evaluation
During our evaluation, we keyed in on one main area where these two components did not "match" - the middle of the rack.
The outside skate wheel rails were directly under the rigid pallet stringers (2x4's). The outer skate wheels were not over stressed, and these rows were not damaged. The middle rail, however, was under deckboards only and between the rigid stringers. These deckboards were bending under load around the middle skate wheels. This resulted in the rack component damage and a system that did not flow as intended.
Pallet deckboards were bending under load preventing proper flow and causing damage to the middle skate wheels.
Tech Center Solution
Our team at The Nelson Technical Center takes a systems approach to solving complex transport packaging problems. We always make sure the pallet, packaging and equipment work together seamlessly. This means taking even the smallest details into full consideration.
In this case, after a thorough technical evaluation, we made two recommendations to stop damage to the flow rack system:
Increase Skate Wheels
Use two center skate wheel rails, rather than one. This allows the pallet to be supported by wheels under each of the four stringers.Change Pallet Design
Convert to a three stringer pallet with a middle stringer directly over the middle rail.
A Change in Pallets Saves
Since the rack system was already in place, the more economical solution was to change the pallet design to a three stringer design. We used wider stringers to maintain the previous durability levels, and the rack damage issues and flow issues went away.
Is your rack system getting damaged? Let's connect. Tell us about performance issues with your pallet racking system below.
Updated: 01/26/2026 | Published: 04/01/2015
by John Clarke
on Case Studies