Adjustable VPD: Vertical divider within a bay that can be cut to any height on site. The cap is inserted over the cut VPD and then tek screwed into the beam at the top and bottom. (See also Vertical Posts, VPD and L-rails)
AISI Standards: American Iron and Steel Institute. Authoritative guidelines on design of cold formed steel members and connections.
Aisle: Area between upright runs used for common traffic of customers and forklifts.
Anchor Bolts: Special bolts used to fasten uprights to the floor. Different bolt sizes are required in different areas of the country based on local building codes or seismic design needs.
ARU: Abuse Resistant Upright – An upright with a secondary column to resist impact from forklifts or pallets. Abuse resistant uprights are used in high traffic areas where damage could occur. The front and rear posts have an extra column up to 96”.
Back Stop Bracket: Bracket which attaches over the beam to secure column for pallet back stop. Helps keep product from being pushed into the aisle behind.
Back To Back: Uprights that are placed directly behind each other with only a flue area separating.
Barrel Bolt: A special bolt with a rounded cap which can secure accessories (i.e. column protectors) without protruding into the bay where product is stored. This helps keep product from being damaged.
Base plate: (foot plate) Metal plate at the base of an upright used to support upright and attach it to the floor. Different sizes of base plates are required in dif- ferent seismic areas of the country or for different size columns.
Bay: Product storage and display area between two uprights. ex. A 102” bay is the distance between two uprights that product may be displayed in. i.e. the length of the beams.
Beam: A horizontal member of the rack system. Two beams are placed at the same level, front and rear, to make a shelf. Wood or wire decking is placed on top of the beams to create a product display platform.
Beam Connection: (angle, beam clip) End clamp on a beam that fastens it to the upright. Com- prised of various locking devices and a number of studs which rest in the keyholes.
Beam Length: Measurement from inside of angle to inside of opposite end angle which correlates to the distance between two uprights and the bay length.
Beam Spread: Occurs when excess weight in the center of the shelf causes beams to bow outward. Ex- cessive beam spread can cause the decking to fall through and the merchandise to fall to the floor or shelf below.
Beam Step: Ledge of beam which the wood decking or wire decking rest upon.
Board Rack: Special upright used to display wooden boards or specialty lumber. Angled backward for better product display and customer access.
Bolts: Hardware used to attach accessories, beams and uprights.
•M-Divider: 3/8” x 3-3/4” Whiz –
•Tool Holder: 3/8” x 3-3/4” Whiz –
•Row Spacer: 3/8” x 3-3/4” Whiz –
•Column Protector: Barrel Bolt Upright Extensions: 1/2” x 3-3/4” Whiz –
•Safety Column: 3/8” x 3-3/4” Whiz
Bracing: Horizontally and diagonally welded steel channels that tie columns together to form an upright.
Bundles: Stack of beams or uprights banded together for shipping. Approximate Bundle Sizes:
•3” beams: (80)
•3.5” beams: (64)
•5.5” beams: (56)
•6” beams: (48)
•Uprights: (15)
C-Weld: Additional welding required for seismic conditions which welds top, front and bottom of beam.
Cable Beam Holder: Tool holder with a special hole for stringing a cable through to keep lumber and other tall items from falling forward into the aisle.
Camber: (beam camber) Inward curve in the mid dle of a beam.
Carbon Content: Amount of carbon in chemical makeup of steel which provides hardness.
Carriage Bolt: A round headed bolt with an en- larged square neck at the top.
Codes: Local and national system to insure safety of structures and installation of racks.
•BOCA: Building Officials and Code Administrators
•IBC: International Building Code
•UBC: Uniform Building Code
•SBC: Southern Building Code
Coil: Roll of steel threaded through production mills for a continuous run to produce rack parts. Each coil weighs 10,000 – 15,000 lbs. (5 – 7.5 tons)
Channel Beam: (fan beam) A special beam that at taches on an angle in the fan area and houses a lighting track that is necessary to electrify the fans and light fixtures for display.
Column: Roll formed post section with punched key holes used to make an upright.
Column Back Stop: (safety column, pallet back stop) Post used vertically to stop pallets from falling or being pushed into aisles behind. Attached to rack system with column back stop brackets.
Column Protector: Steel accessory attached to the upright to take abuse so the column is not damaged by forklifts or pallets being moved.
Concentrated Load: (point load) A load which bears on a small area of the beam rather than being distributed throughout the pair of beams. ex. A pallet loaded in the center of a bay can cause a decrease in the capacity of the beams.
Core Carrier: List provided by customer of specific freight companies they prefer to use.
Coupon: Bone-shaped piece of steel used for a tensile test to determine its properties.
Cross Section: A piece of a column that is cut in the cross direction to provide a sample for testing.
Crossbar: Lateral tie which supports pallet loads and keeps beams from spreading.
Customer: Always right.
Decimal Thickness: The measure of the thickness of steel in inches. ex.: Upright Decimal Thickness = 0.120 i.e. the thickness of the upright is 0.120 of an inch (a little less than 1/8″ thick)
Decking: Wood or metal material used to span two beams and create a shelf.
Dedicated Truck: A truck that leaves the manufacturer and drives directly to the store with product and does not combine it with any other product that may be going to the same area or to the same store.
Deflection: The downward distortion (sag) of a beam caused by load or force. The allowable deflection of a beam is determined by dividing the length of the beam by 180.
ex. Beam Length = 102î 102/180 = .566 Allowable Deflection = approx. 1/2″ sag at the center of the beam.
Diagonals: Bracing in an upright that runs in the di agonal direction.
Divider: (grid divider) A series of trays which hang over the beam to hold ceiling grid or other long pieces of merchandise displayed horizontally.
Divider Arm: (tool holder) A bracket with a single arm made of square tubing, which divides or separ ates product.
Double Column: (ARU) An upright with a sec ondary column to resist impact from forklifts or pallets.
Drop Clamp: Method of welding a beam flush with the bottom of the connector (floor beam)
Earthquake Zone: (High Seismic Zone) An area or region with a history of earthquake occurence. These zones will require specially designed racking and calculations.
ex.: Zone 1 – Less Severe Zone 4 – Most Severe
EDI: Electronic Data Interchange. The paperless exc- change of data including purchase orders and payment information between customer and vendor.
Embedment: The depth that an anchor is fixed into the concrete slab.
Engineering: Department on staff to perform calculations to approximate what rack members will hold and how they should be designed.
Extenders: (extensions) A short upright frame with no base plate that is attached with a splice plate to the top of an existing upright to make it taller. Extender
Floor Plan: (plan view) A drawing of the store as if looking down on it.
Flue: Space between uprights that are installed back to back. Flue space must be maintained for fire safety. Typically the distance between frames in a retail store is 6î minimum.
Foot Plate: (base plate) Metal plate at the base of an upright used to attach it to the floor. Different sizes of base plates are required for different seismic areas of the country or for ARU uprights.
Frame: (upright) The vertical member of the rack system which beams lock into. Consists of two columns and welded bracing.
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