A storage system is only as good as the brief it was built from. You wouldn’t walk into an architect’s office and say “I need some walls”: so why approach storage design with “I need some shelves”?
The difference between a storage solution that works brilliantly and one that becomes a daily frustration often comes down to the quality of the initial conversation. When you brief a storage manufacturer properly, you’re not just getting product recommendations: you’re getting a tailored solution that fits your space, your workflow, and your future plans.
At Rackline, our storage design team has these conversations every day. And we’ve noticed something: the clients who get the best results are the ones who come prepared with the right questions. So here’s your framework: 10 questions that will help you get exactly what you need from your first design meeting.
1. What Is the Maximum Load Per Shelf or Bay?
This isn’t just a number to tick off: it’s the foundation of your entire system’s safety and longevity.
Think about what you’re actually storing. Archive boxes? Heavy automotive parts? Bulk catering supplies? Each has a very different weight profile, and getting this wrong leads to bowed shelves, structural failure, or worse: workplace accidents.
Be specific. If you’re storing 20kg boxes but might occasionally need to store 40kg drums, tell your manufacturer that. A good storage design accommodates your maximum load, not your average one. When you work with UK manufactured shelving suppliers like us, we engineer specifically for your stated capacity: there’s no guesswork involved.
2. How Often Do People Need to Access the Items?
Frequency changes everything.
Daily pick operations need completely different layouts than quarterly archive access. If you’re accessing items multiple times per hour, you need wide aisles, ergonomic heights, and possibly flow-through systems. If you’re storing items that get touched twice a year, high-density mobile shelving can triple your capacity by eliminating unnecessary aisles.
Ask yourself: Are we picking individual items or full pallets? Does the same person access everything, or does the whole team need simultaneous access? These workflow questions directly influence whether you need standard static shelving or mobile shelving systems.
3. Are There Environmental Requirements?
Not all storage environments are created equal.
Cold stores, food preparation areas, pharmaceutical storage, outdoor compounds: each demands specific material specifications. Standard powder-coated steel works brilliantly in offices and warehouses, but put it in a humid coastal environment or a chemical store, and you’re looking at corrosion within months.
This is where being honest about your environment saves money long-term. Need humidity resistance? Galvanised finishes provide superior protection. Working in food-grade environments? You’ll need specific coatings that meet hygiene standards. Chemical storage? Let’s talk about resistant materials and containment features.
Don’t assume “standard” will be fine: tell us exactly where this system will live and what it’ll face.
4. What Is the Ceiling Height and Floor Load Capacity?
Here’s where many businesses leave money on the table: underutilised vertical space.
If you’ve got 5-metre ceilings but you’re stacking boxes 2-metres high, you’re wasting 60% of your available volume. Industrial storage solutions can make use of that height safely: but only if we know what we’re working with.
Similarly, floor load capacity isn’t negotiable. Installing heavy-duty racking on a floor that can’t handle the load is dangerous and potentially catastrophic. If you’re in an older building or a mezzanine level, get a structural survey done before you brief the manufacturer. We can design amazing systems, but we can’t defy physics.
5. Does It Need to Be Lockable or Secure?
Security requirements vary wildly across different sectors.
Perhaps you’re storing controlled substances that need audit trails. Maybe you’re in retail and need to secure high-value items. Or you might be storing employee belongings and just need basic privacy.
The spectrum runs from open access shelving all the way through to secure steel lockers with individual locks, CCTV-ready cabinets, and access-controlled mobile systems. Don’t retrofit security later: build it into the storage design from day one. At Rackline, we manufacture everything from basic shelf dividers through to fully lockable secure cabinets, so let’s spec the right level of security upfront.
6. How Much Growth Should We Plan For?
This question separates strategic thinkers from those who’ll be back in 18 months asking for extensions.
Most businesses underestimate their storage growth. A good rule of thumb: plan for at least 30% expansion within 3-5 years. If you’re in rapid growth mode, make that 50% or more.
Modular systems shine here. When you choose storage shelving solutions that can be expanded vertically or horizontally, you’re future-proofing. Tell your manufacturer your growth projections: even rough ones help us design systems that scale rather than systems that need replacing.
Better to leave some bays empty initially than to run out of room and face the disruption (and cost) of a complete redesign.
7. Are There Specialised Items That Need Specific Storage?
Not everything fits in standard boxes on standard shelves.
Long items like timber, pipes, or carpets need cantilever racking. Plans, maps, and architectural drawings need plan chests with horizontal drawers. Hanging garments need rails. Small components need bin systems. Bulky, irregular items need adjustable systems.
Make a list of your awkward items. These are the things that currently live propped in corners or take up three times the space they should. A good storage manufacturer can often accommodate these challenging items within a unified system: but only if you mention them.
This is particularly important for made-to-order solutions. Our Stoke-on-Trent factory can manufacture custom configurations, but we need to know what problems we’re solving.
8. What Are the Site Access Restrictions for Installation?
An amazing storage design is useless if it can’t physically get into your building.
Think about: narrow doorways, staircases, lifts with weight limits, restricted delivery times, working-hours-only access, security clearances, and whether you need out-of-hours installation to avoid disrupting operations.
If you’re on the third floor of a listed building with a tiny Georgian doorway and no lift, that matters. If you’re in a city centre with no loading bay and parking restrictions, that affects delivery planning. If you operate 24/7 and can’t shut down for installation, we need to know.
Site surveys help, but giving us a heads-up about access challenges means we can design solutions that assemble on-site rather than requiring large pre-assembled sections.
9. Does It Need to Meet Specific Standards Like SEMA or PD5454?
Compliance isn’t optional in many sectors: and penalties for getting it wrong are severe.
SEMA (Storage Equipment Manufacturers’ Association) standards cover pallet racking and industrial storage safety. PD 5454 is the British Standard for archive storage, crucial for local authorities, museums, universities, and the NHS.
If you’re in an industry with regulatory requirements, state them upfront. We design and manufacture to these standards: but the design approach differs depending on what you need to comply with. For example, PD 5454-compliant systems need specific loadings, fire resistance, and environmental controls that standard warehouse shelving doesn’t require.
Don’t discover compliance gaps during an audit. Build them into the specification from day one.
10. Where Is It Actually Made?
This isn’t just patriotic preference: it’s a practical business decision.
When you choose UK-manufactured shelving from somewhere like our Stoke-on-Trent facility, you’re getting several advantages: shorter lead times, easier communication for custom tweaks, reduced carbon footprint, quality assurance you can actually visit, and support from people who understand British building regulations and standards.
Imported systems often look cheaper initially, but factor in longer lead times, higher shipping costs, communication challenges for modifications, and the environmental impact of shipping heavy steel products halfway around the world. Plus, if something needs adjusting post-installation, having your manufacturer a few hours’ drive away rather than several thousand miles makes a significant difference.
Ask where your storage is actually manufactured and what that means for customisation, delivery, and ongoing support.
Why This Matters: We’re Manufacturers, Not Just Retailers
Here’s the thing that makes Rackline different: we’re manufacturers, not just retailers. We don’t pick products from a catalogue and ship them out: we design and build storage systems to your specific requirements.
That means when you bring us these 10 questions with detailed answers, we can actually do something with that information. We can adjust heights, modify loadings, add custom features, integrate different system types, and manufacture solutions that precisely fit your space and workflow.
Standard products work for standard situations. But most businesses aren’t standard: they’re unique combinations of space constraints, workflow requirements, compliance needs, and growth plans. Manufacturing capability means we can accommodate that uniqueness.
So before your next meeting with a storage design team, work through these 10 questions. Get your team involved: warehouse managers, health and safety officers, operations directors. The 30 minutes you spend preparing will save you months of working around a system that’s almost-but-not-quite right.
Ready to have that conversation? Talk to our team on: 01782 770144, email us on info@rackline.co,uk or fill in the form below and one of our team will be in touch.
Our storage design team is here to turn your detailed brief into a storage solution that actually works for your business. No guesswork, no one-size-fits-all: just practical storage design based on real requirements.