Guide to Outfitting Your Shelves and Equipment
If you do not yet know which container you need or what size it should be, this guide gets you to a starting specification. It asks the questions we would ask, in the order we would ask them. Hand us a shelf opening, a conveyor width, an item list or a tray size and we can quote from it. Later sections cover what goes wrong at ten kinds of equipment and which industries run each, then a short set of questions and answers.
What are you storing and moving?
Start with the items, because they set every other size. Measure the biggest and the smallest in all three directions. Count how many kinds there are, how many of each go in one container, and how they sit today: loose, bagged, boxed or on a tray.
The biggest item sets the smallest container that holds it. The smallest item sets the cell size if you divide the container. One kind of item in volume wants an open bin, and many kinds want dividers. Also, weigh a full load as it gets picked. The shelf and the machine set the size, and the load sets the construction.
Where does it sit?
Measure the opening: the clear height under the shelf above, the width, and the depth from front to back. Note whether the shelf is level or sloped toward the picker. We list sizes longest side first as a sorting convention, so tell us which side you want facing the aisle.
- Static shelving and pick walls take hopper front bins. The cut-away front lets a picker reach straight in without reaching over a wall.
- A rail or a louvered panel takes hangable hopper bins, and picking cart rails take stack and lock bins.
- A lift-module tray takes dividers cut to the tray, and a straight wall tote can ride on the tray.
One footprint often comes in several heights, so the same face fits a tighter or a taller opening. The 24 x 16 stack and nest container is offered in four heights: 8, 12, 14 and 16 inches. OSHA’s voluntary ergonomics guidelines for grocery stores ask employers to keep frequently handled items within easy reach, to choose totes and boxes with hand holds, and to use inclined shelves that bring product to the front.
How does it move?
On a cart, the shelf spacing and the aisle width set the size. By forklift, loaded totes stack into one unit on a pallet, so give us the pallet footprint you load to.
On a conveyor or sortation line, give us the clear width between the guide rails, the direction the container travels, and the shortest and longest container the line accepts. Stack and nest totes run on conveyor lines, and a textured bottom grips the belt. One material-handling integrator advises a flat contact surface, a continuous top edge and consistent dimensions, and says a tote and a conveyor are proven together by running them. Where a machine handles stack and nest totes, orientation belongs in the specification.
Straight wall totes run on conveyor lines and in AS/RS, mini-load and carousel systems, and a vertical lift module carries the tray a tote rides on. The machine maker sets the opening, so tell us the make and model, and send the tray drawing or its inside measurements.
Do the empties go back, or stay?
A tapered wall lets one container drop inside another and leaves the floor narrower than the rim. Near-vertical walls keep almost the whole inside footprint down to the floor, so a divider grid or a machine opening finds nearly the same room at the floor as at the rim. Empties take as much room as full ones.
- Stack and nest containers sit square on each other when loaded and drop inside each other when empty. Turn one 180 degrees to switch between the two.
- Stack & Nest Lug Totes switch between the two on a quarter turn.
- Attached lid containers stack closed and nest empty with the lids open.
- Straight wall containers stack but never nest.
- Collapsible containers fold flat for the trip back.
- Nesting varies by hopper front build and is stated per bin.
If the empties ride back on the same truck, let us know that, as well as the footprint you have to hold and how tall the container can be, so we can specify the size and the lid.
How do you turn a length into cells?
Along one length, the number of cells is the number of dividers across it plus one, so five dividers make six cells. Across the width the same rule applies. A cell’s clear opening is the inside length, less the thickness of every divider, divided by the number of cells.
Dividers span the container or tray from rim to rim. A long divider runs the longest side and a short divider runs across it. They cross in slots cut about half the height, so the tops finish level. The slots sit at set positions, so re-seating a divider moves a cell edge one slot at a time.
The smallest part sets the cell size, and the drawer or machine opening sets the outside size. Divider height comes from the tray or container. One divider set covers every layout with the same divider height and the same material, and a layout that changes either one gets a set of its own. A finished layout is ordered as one configuration code. The Divider Designer on our site draws Regular or Heavy Duty layouts for lift module trays and shelves.
What should you ask your operators?
- Which parts do you reach for most or least?
- How many of each part do you take in one pick?
- Do you wear gloves, and do you pick with one hand or two?
- Where do parts get mixed up, and where do you dig for them?
- Which containers are awkward to lift, stack or carry?
- What do you do with the empties, and where do they pile up?
- What do you read on a container, and from how far away?
What should you ask your install team?
- What is the measured opening of each shelf?
- Are shelf heights fixed or adjustable, and in what steps?
- What is the clear width between the guide rails on each conveyor, and where are the turns?
- What does a container have to clear: a rail, a sign, a louvered panel, a door?
- What is the tray size on each lift module or carousel, and who makes it?
- Where are containers scanned or labeled, and is there room for a label holder?
- How will containers arrive, and where will they be staged: nested, stacked or on a pallet?
What if you still do not know?
Send what you have and we will work out the rest with you: photos of the shelf, wall, rail or tray with a tape measure in the frame, a drawing, a sample of your biggest and smallest item, the container you use now, and the make of any machine that handles it.
What goes wrong at each kind of equipment?
Each kind of equipment shows a wrong container in its own way. These notes say what to look for, what to send us, and which industries run it.
Pick walls, shelving and bin rails
Bins that look alike on neighboring shelves send the picker to the wrong part. A front wall that bows or splays hooks on the shelf above, a hanger lip cut for a different panel twists or pulls free, and a scuffed label cover or a crooked barcode fails the scan.
Read more
Send the clear opening (height, width and depth), the pitch, and whether bins sit on the shelf, stack on one another or hang. Operations that use them include utility stockrooms, industrial distribution, schools and laboratories, distribution centers, e-commerce fulfillment sites and third-party logistics providers.
Gravity flow and carton flow lanes
A container with a foot, or a bottom that sags between rollers, hangs up, so the front of the lane starves while the rear stays full. One that skews can wedge between the guides, and one that reaches the end of the lane can throw its contents forward.
Read more
Straight wall, stack and nest, collapsible and made-to-order corrugated plastic pick bins can suit a lane. Hopper front bins and warehouse bins do not: the open front spills at the lane end. Send the flow bed and its spacing, the width between guides, and the clear height and length. Operations that run flow racks include industrial distribution and maintenance stores, distribution centers and third-party logistics providers.
Carts, dollies and mobile picking
A tote that nests when the route needs a stack falls into the one below it on a shelf or a dolly. A bowing wall or a flexing rim catches on the shelf above, a container that overhangs its position rocks, and a label that sits on a scuffed or curved wall will not scan.
Read more
Stack and nest totes turned 180 degrees from their neighbors nest instead of stacking. Send the clear width and depth of the shelf, deck or robot platform that holds the container, how far apart the levels are and how many positions there are. Warehouses and distribution centers use carts for receiving and picking. Hospital and pharmacy supply rooms, utility stockrooms, schools and laboratories, and retail and e-commerce fulfillment sites run them too.
Conveyor and sortation lines
On a conveyor the container needs a rigid, flat bottom, an unbroken rim and a label in one fixed position. Without them it can jam where lines transfer or divert, sag between rollers under a heavy load, climb over its neighbors as containers accumulate, or fail the scan and end up in the reject lane.
Read more
Give us the type of conveyor, the spacing of its rollers or belt, every transfer and diverter the container passes, the footprints that share the line, the heaviest loaded weight and where the label sits. Industries that run these lines include logistics and warehousing, retail and e-commerce fulfillment, industrial distribution, automotive, aerospace and defense, furniture and building products, and government and public safety operations, along with the integrators who build them.
Vertical lift modules
A part or divider that stands taller than its cell can raise the height the machine records for that tray, and a taller tray takes room from the trays around it. A grid that opens at its corners lets the long walls bow and parts cross into the next cell.
Read more
If a divider ends short of the wall, parts can cross through the gap, and a divider that spans wall to wall leaves no gap. Send the machine maker and the inside measurements of the tray. Industries that run them include aerospace and defense, healthcare and life sciences, electronics, manufacturing, automotive and industrial distribution.
Horizontal carousels
As a carrier starts, stops and reverses, loose parts shift and cross between cells, and a light can point at an empty one. A container that overhangs its shelf can catch on the next carrier or on the frame as the carrier turns.
Read more
Divider grids and bin cups keep the smallest parts where they were placed. Tell us the carousel’s maker and model, the shelf or bin’s inside length and width, and the height step set for it. Industries that run them include aerospace and defense, healthcare and life sciences, industrial distribution and logistics.
Crane and mini-load AS/RS
When a tote’s outline differs from the rest, the machine engages it unevenly, and it can jam in the aisle or where it transfers to a conveyor. A base that bows sags on its support and scuffs the rack.
Read more
A destacker misfeeds when a tote nests that should have stacked, or stacks one that should have nested. A label that is scuffed, or placed differently from the others, can fail the scan. Send the machine and its maker, the footprint and height the rack position accepts, what a full tote weighs and carries, and where the scanner reads it. Logistics and 3PL operations run them, and material handling integrators install them. A mini-load holds small and medium parts such as fasteners, pipe fittings, sporting goods and unit-dose medication.
Cube storage, robots and goods-to-person systems
In these systems the machine handles the container on every trip. A bowed base will not seat squarely, and a container can hang on the deck or on its neighbor in the column.
Read more
If the cells do not suit the items, parts move between them and the software’s count is wrong. A label that shifts position fails the scan, and a stack and nest tote that arrives turned 180 degrees from its neighbors nests where a stack was meant. Send the maker and model, the deck, shelf or bin size the container has to fit in both inches and millimeters, and the heaviest weight it will carry loaded. Retail and e-commerce fulfillment sites run them, along with third-party logistics providers and distribution centers, consumer products makers, government and public safety agencies, and the integrators who install them.
Workbench, assembly and kitting stations
When parts migrate between compartments, a kit arrives mixed. A front wall that is too high makes the operator reach over it, and a bowed bottom rocks on a rail, scale or conveyor when the container is only partly full.
Read more
A label on a glossy or rounded face will not scan. Describe the part (longest size, weight, and whether it is fragile, sharp, loose, bagged or static sensitive), the station, and how containers are filled, refilled and emptied. Manufacturers of electronics and semiconductor products, aerospace and defense programs and general industrial plants run them.
Line-side replenishment and kanban
Mixed footprints jam flow lanes and leave gaps in racks, and a tote that arrives facing the wrong way nests where a stack was wanted. A wall that bows fouls its neighbor, a closed front forces a reach-over, and a label or card that goes unread leaves the line to run dry.
Read more
Specify from the rack outward: the opening, then the part, how the operator reaches in, how the refill signal reaches the line and how empties are returned. Using the same footprint on every line and in every plant gives you a single rack pitch, a single cart and one label position. General manufacturing, automotive and mobility, and furniture and building products plants run it, and logistics operations use it at pack and kitting stations.
Start here by kind of operation
From our order records, these are the lines operations like yours order most. Ranges are the middle half of orders, in inches, longest side by shortest side. Sizes are as listed. Treat them as a starting point. They are not a specification.
Component kitting and line-side supply
Dividable bins and boxes come first: 17.5 to 31 by 4 to 10.4, with 24 x 12 x 12 as listed. System totes, hopper front bins and dividers for lift-module trays follow.
Hospital pharmacy and clinical supply
Dividable bins and boxes and system totes come first: bins 16 to 24 by 4 to 10, totes 24 x 5 x 4. Hopper front bins, attached lid containers and tray dividers (34 x 96, 864 x 2438 mm) also appear.
General parts storage and picking
Dividable bins and boxes and system totes come first: 24 x 12 x 10 and 24 x 6 x 4 for the bins, 20 x 15 x 15 for the totes. Stack and nest containers such as 24 x 16 x 12 follow.
Bulk warehousing
Stack and nest containers come first: 23.5 x 15.5 x 12 as listed. Hopper front bins, attached lid containers (21 x 15 x 12) and bulk boxes (48 x 45 x 34) follow.
ESD kitting
ESD and conductive containers come first: 18 to 24 by 3.6 to 8.6, with no single size repeated enough to name. Tray dividers (34 x 96, 864 x 2438 mm) are also ordered.
Automated storage and picking
System totes and dividable bins and boxes come first: totes 22.2 to 24.2 by 8.7 to 14, bins 15.5 to 23.2 by 4.5 to 10.3. No size repeats enough to name, so bring the machine’s opening.
Lift-module trays
Send the tray size if you have it.
Questions and answers
What size container fits my shelf?
Measure the clear opening: the height under the shelf above, the width, and the depth from front to back. The container has to clear the shelf above, slide out freely and keep its contents within reach from the aisle. One footprint often comes in several heights, so the same face can fit a tighter or a taller opening.
Do I need dividers or an open bin?
One kind of item in volume wants an open bin, and many kinds want dividers. The smallest part sets the cell size, and the drawer, tray or machine opening sets the outside size. Dividers span the container or tray from rim to rim, so they leave no gap at the wall.
How do stack, nest and collapse differ?
Stack and nest containers sit square on each other when loaded and drop into one another when empty, and turning one 180 degrees changes which happens. Attached lid containers stack closed and nest empty with the lids open. Straight wall containers stack but never nest, and collapsible containers fold flat for the trip back.
Which totes run on conveyor lines?
Stack and nest totes and straight wall totes run on conveyor lines. Stack and nest totes need their orientation set in the specification, because one that arrives turned 180 degrees nests instead of stacking. Send the conveyor type, the roller or belt spacing and where the label sits, and we specify from there.
Which containers suit a gravity flow lane?
Straight wall, stack and nest, collapsible and made-to-order corrugated plastic pick bins can suit a lane. Hopper front bins and warehouse bins do not, because the open front spills at the end of the lane and there is no stiff flat underside to ride the rollers.
What do I send to get a quote?
A shelf opening, a conveyor width, an item list or a tray size is enough to start. Photos with a tape measure in the frame help, as do a drawing, a sample of your biggest and smallest item, the container you use now and the make of any machine that handles it.
YOUR CONTAINERS NEED A SPECIFICATION. LET’S WRITE IT.
Call us at 908-871-7000 or send your answers to [email protected].