All About Pallet Racking Anchors

The two most common types of pallet racking anchors in New Zealand are tru-bolt and screwbolt. These may be bonded to the concrete with chemical anchoring and can be a number of different finishes and sizes. To ensure you have the correct anchor for your configuration and seismic zoning, an engineer should specify through a Producer Statement (PS1), the anchor required for your racking. This will be in alignment with the Australasian standard AS4084:2023.

Engineers certify racking with a twenty-five year lifespan. This doesn’t mean that your racking is no longer fit for purpose after this time, but it is highly recommended that an engineer re-certifies the racking in accordance with any updated standards. Racking coming up on its lifespan can often have less anchors than may be acceptable today, especially under light load, however new rules would dictate a minimum of two anchors per baseplate.

Tru-bolts, sometimes known as sleeve anchor bolts, have two separate components that sit above the baseplate: a portion of thread and the nut. Over time through interacting with the racking, exposed tru-bolts can be knocked by pallets and/or forklifts causing loosening of the nut or worse – sheared completely at the baseplate causing little to no anchoring of racking.

Screwbolts are a single item without moving parts. Due to the construction of the screw, they are more suited to bearing knocks from forklifts and pallets, and are rarely damaged to the point where a replacement is required.

Both types of anchor have good points and bad points, but from an operational point of view, screw bolts are easier and more forgiving when used in a warehousing environment.

Anchors during and after install

During an installation, it is common to use shims in order to level out the bay or row of racking with the slab. In such cases it is important to ensure that minimum embedment is still achieved; that is set out through the PS1.

There have been several cases where either the incorrect anchor has been installed or the use of shims resulting in minimum embedment not being achieved or a combination of both. This is easy to identify if screw bolts are used, as the sizing should be marked on the bolt head.

A typical install would have a minimum embedment depth of around 80mm allowing 20mm for the baseplate and shims for a M12X100mm anchor. To be clear, 80mm anchors would not achieve the minimum embedment depth in this scenario.

If excessive shimming is required, a longer bolt of the same brand and spec should be used to ensure the requirements of the PS1. Alternatively, you should confirm with the original engineer if lower embedment is still acceptable.

If this gets raised during an inspection, Magnitude can act on your behalf and discuss with the engineer/racking company to rectify. In the past this has either resulted in a revised PS4 or the racking company coming back and installing longer anchors.

If you would like us to inspect your racking and provide you with a third party report get in touch using the form below or on our CONTACT page.