Pallet basics
The common pallet footprints are 1,200 × 1,000 mm and 1,200 × 800 mm; both appear in the international pallet standard ISO 6780. Loaded height is limited by stability, the room and the door. Pallets need an aisle wide enough for a hand pallet truck to turn into the bay, or much more for a forklift.
The floor must be built for the wheel loads of pallet trucks and the point loads of racking. A standard insulated floor without a wearing slab may crack or crush under them. Freezer rooms on ground slabs also need protection against the soil underneath freezing and heaving.
Side-by-side comparison
| Aspect | Pallets | Shelving |
|---|---|---|
| Handling | Goods stay on the delivery pallet; little re-handling | Cartons and crates moved by hand onto shelves |
| Aisle | Wide, for pallet truck turning | Narrow, for a person |
| Best room size | Larger rooms, especially with taller racking | Small and medium walk-ins |
| Mixed products | Hard to reach items at the bottom or back | Easy to see and rotate |
| Door | Wide enough for the pallet and truck | Standard personnel door often enough |
| Floor | Heavy-duty wearing surface required | Standard cold room floor usually adequate |
| Air circulation | Leave gaps between pallets and walls | Leave gaps behind shelving |
Worked example: a 4.0 × 3.0 m room
Assumptions: internal 4.0 m deep × 3.0 m wide × 2.4 m high, door on the short wall; pallets 1,200 × 1,000 mm loaded to 1.5 m total height with 600 kg each; a 1.8 m aisle for a hand pallet truck along one side; shelving 0.6 m deep, 5 tiers, product 0.3 m high per tier at a stack density of 350 kg/m³.
Pallets: one row along the 4.0 m wall, 1.2 m deep, leaves a 1.8 m aisle. Allowing wall gaps and space near the door, three pallets fit: 3 × 600 = 1,800 kg.
Shelving in a U layout: two side runs of 3.4 m plus a back run of 1.8 m = 8.6 m. Shelf area = 8.6 × 0.6 × 5 = 25.8 m². Product volume = 25.8 × 0.3 = 7.7 m³; mass = 7.7 × 350 ≈ 2,700 kg.
What the example shows
In this small room, shelving holds about half as much again as floor-standing pallets, because the pallet-truck aisle takes more than half the floor and pallets cannot use the full height. In a larger, taller room with pallet racking two or three levels high, the balance shifts: the aisle becomes a smaller share and pallets can use height.
Labour runs the other way. Breaking down three pallets onto shelves takes staff time on every delivery and keeps the door open longer, which adds heat load. If deliveries are whole pallets of a single product and picking is by the pallet, pallets win even when they hold less.
A mixed approach often works best
- Reserve one floor bay for a pallet of the fastest-moving product delivered by the pallet.
- Shelve everything else for easy picking and rotation.
- Use low dollies or slatted platforms for heavy cartons so they stay off the floor without full shelving.
- Keep a clear route from the door to the pallet bay so the truck never has to weave between shelves.
Frequently asked questions
- How wide should a cold room door be for pallets?
- Wide enough for the pallet's widest side and the truck with room to steer, and tall enough for the loaded height. Measure your largest pallet load and ask the door supplier; a door that is too tight gets damaged and stops sealing.
- Can I stand pallets directly on a standard cold room floor?
- Check with the room's builder. Static pallets may be acceptable on some floors, but pallet truck wheels concentrate load and can damage floor panels that were not designed for them.
- Do plastic pallets work better than wooden ones in cold rooms?
- Plastic pallets do not absorb water, are easier to clean and do not harbour mould in humid chillers, which suits food storage. Wooden pallets from suppliers are common for deliveries; many sites transfer goods onto their own plastic pallets or shelves at the door.