Pictured above: a bundle of orange racking beams on timber bearers in front of green-upright pallet racking runs, with load notices on the end frames, during an installation from our project archive (V3-3). Loose beams on the floor are where every added level starts, and they are the easy part.

Most warehouses reach the same point sooner or later. The pallets have got shorter, or the stock has changed, and there is an obvious gap above every load where another pair of beams would fit. The uprights already have holes punched all the way up. The beams hook in. It looks like a morning's work for two people with a forklift and a box of safety pins.

Sometimes it is. But the question is not whether a beam fits the holes. It is whether the bay is still rated for what it will carry once the beam is in, and whether it still works around your pallets, your forklift and your ceiling. This article covers what to check before anybody lifts a beam, in the order we check it.

Why an extra level is not "just one more beam"

A pallet racking bay has two separate ratings, and adding a level touches both.

• The load per beam level is what one pair of beams is rated to carry across every pallet sitting on it. On our V-series the number in the name is that figure: a V3000 level is rated up to 3,000 kg, a V5000 level up to 5,000 kg.
• The load per bay is what the whole stack between two upright frames is rated for, across all its levels. It is a separate figure, and it is not the level rating multiplied by the number of levels.

A new level can sit comfortably inside its own beam rating and still push the bay past what its frames were designed for, because every level of pallets comes down through the same two frames and the same base plates. That is the check people skip, because the new beam looks exactly like the others.

The second thing that changes is the arrangement itself. An upright's capacity depends on the unbraced length between beam levels, which is why a bay's rating belongs to a particular beam layout. Move the levels, change the gaps between them, or raise the first beam off the floor, and the capacity of the arrangement has to be established again. The rating on your handover drawing described the layout you were handed, not the one you are about to make.

Step one: find out what you actually have

Before anything else, you need to know what the racking is and what it was designed for. Look for:

• The make and the profile. Upright section, beam section, connector type. Different makers' uprights and beams are not interchangeable even when the connector looks similar, so the new beams have to come from the same system as the frames they hang on.
• The original load table or layout drawing. This states the rated load per level and per bay for the arrangement that was installed. If your installer gave you handover documents, this is where it lives. Racking handover documents covers what that pack should contain.
• The load notice on the end of the run. If there is one, it tells you what the racking is rated for as currently set up. If there is not, that is its own problem. Rack load notices sets out what one should state.

If you cannot identify the system and no load data exists, you are adding a level to steel of unknown capacity. Nobody can tell you from a photograph whether that is safe, and the honest next step is an inspection, not a beam order.

Step two: weigh what will go on the new level

The new level has to be rated for the heaviest pallets that could end up on it, not the ones you plan to put there. The racking does not know which pallet is going where, and a driver will put a heavy pallet into whatever gap is free, including the level you added for light stock.

Then remember that the catalogue number is not the working number. A catalogue rating assumes loads placed centrally, nothing knocked and no corrosion. The real-world rating is 70–80% of the catalogue figure once impact damage, off-centre loading and corrosion are allowed for, and that is the figure we design to. A level that looks comfortable on paper can be working near its limit in a warehouse where uprights get clipped every week.

Add the new level's worst case to what the existing levels already carry and you have the question for the bay: is that total still within what the frames were designed for, in the new beam arrangement? If the frames were chosen close to the original load, the answer can be no even when every individual level is fine. Working out the load class you actually need goes through per-level and per-bay ratings in more detail.

Step three: check the clearances, top to bottom

An extra level only exists if everything still fits in the height. Levels are not continuous. Being a little short does not cost you a little storage; it means the level is not there at all.

• Pallet height on every level. Adding a level shrinks the gap at every level, not just one. The gap has to suit the tallest pallet that could go there, plus room to lift it off the beam and draw it out without catching the beam above.
• The top of the stack. On a sprinklered unit the clearance above stored goods comes from the sprinkler design, not from a rule of thumb. Pushing the top level up to make room for another one can run straight into it. Clear height and racking levels explains how the usable height is really set.
• Your forklift's lift height. If the new arrangement raises the top beam, check the truck can still place and retrieve a pallet there with a margin, not at full stretch.
• The first beam and the floor. Raising the first beam to fit a floor-level pallet underneath changes the unbraced length at the bottom of the upright, which is the stretch forklifts hit most. That is a design question, not a tape-measure one.

Step four: look at the condition of the bay you are loading up

Adding load to damaged racking takes whatever margin the damage left and spends it. Before you add a level, look at the uprights in the bottom metre, where forklifts hit them, for dents, bows and bent bracing. Look at the existing beams for a sag that does not recover when unloaded, and at the beam-end connectors for distortion. Check that every existing beam has its safety pin or locking clip in place.

Damage to an upright lowers what the whole bay can carry, so a damaged bay is the last one you should be adding weight to. A bent racking upright explains the repair, replace or de-rate decision. If the racking has not been inspected for a while, this is a good moment. We inspect under SS EN 15635 principles and give a written report with green, amber and red triage. Typical cost is S$3.50–S$6.00 per upright frame, with a S$1,200 minimum per site visit.

Step five: if it checks out, do the job properly

• Unload the bay first. Beams are not moved or added in a loaded bay. Plan the work around the stock rather than the other way round.
• Use matching beams from the same system, at the length and section the design calls for, and seat both connectors fully.
• Fit a safety pin or locking clip on every new beam end. It is the part that stops a beam lifting out when a pallet or a fork catches it from underneath. Safety pins and locking clips covers why these small parts matter.
• Fit decking or pallet supports on the new level if the stock needs them, to match the rest of the run.
• Update the load notice so it describes the new arrangement. A notice that describes the old layout is worse than none, because people trust it.
• Record the change. Date, which bays, new beam heights, who did it. The next inspector, your insurer, or the next tenant will ask. The racking paperwork nobody keeps covers what to file.

If your racking was designed and stamped by a professional engineer, the change should go back through that design rather than around it. A stamped layout covers the arrangement that was stamped.

When adding a level is the wrong answer

We would rather tell you not to do it than sell you beams. The common reasons it does not work:

• The frames were specified close to the original load and the bay total will not take another level of your heaviest pallets.
• The top of the new arrangement runs into the sprinkler clearance or the lowest obstruction.
• The truck cannot reach the new top level safely.
• The uprights are already damaged, and the first job is repair, not more load.
• The system cannot be identified and there is no load data to work from.

In those cases the options are different: heavier frames in some bays, a layout that keeps the densest lines on the lowest levels, or a different kind of storage for light, hand-picked stock. Boltless shelving handles up to 200 kg per level and fits far more levels into the same height for cartons and parts. Boltless shelving versus pallet racking sets out how to decide.

What to send us

If you want a second opinion before adding a level, these let us give you a straight answer quickly:

• A photo of the end frame and the load notice, if there is one.
• The make of the racking, or a close-up of the upright and the beam connector if you do not know it.
• Current beam heights, and the new level you want.
• Your heaviest pallet weight and how you know it.
• Forklift type and its maximum lift height.
• Whether the unit is sprinklered.

The short version

• The new level must fit its own beam rating and keep the whole bay within what the frames were designed for.
• Adding or moving levels changes the arrangement the capacity was worked out for, so it has to be re-established.
• Check every gap, the sprinkler clearance and the truck's reach.
• Fix damage first. Unload the bay, pin every beam, update the load notice.

Thinking about adding a level? WhatsApp us on 9107 2601 with a photo of the end frame and what you store, and we will tell you honestly whether the bay can take it. Our load classes and systems are on the pallet racking systems page, and rack inspection is on our services page.

Related reading: pallet racking load capacity · clear height and racking levels · rack load notices