A professional mobile shelving installation follows a precise sequence from floor survey to PUWER handover certificate. Here is exactly what to expect.
Step 1: Floor Survey and Design
Every installation begins with a site survey. Our engineer measures the room to within a few millimetres, checks the floor for level (mobile shelving rails must be flat within tight tolerances or the carriages won't track properly), reviews the floor's structural loading capacity, and notes any obstructions — columns, radiators, fire equipment, electrical risers.
Back at the office we produce a scaled CAD layout showing every rail run, every bay, and the available aisle position. We also confirm load calculations: a fully-laden archive bay can weigh well over a tonne and you need to know the floor can take it before a single rail is fixed. Where loading is marginal, we'll specify load-spreading rafts, lighter aluminium construction, or recommend an independent structural assessment.
Only when the drawing is signed off does manufacture begin. Lead time on most UK projects is 4–8 weeks from sign-off to delivery.
Step 2: Track Laying
On installation day one, the room is cleared and our team begins setting out the rails. Track laying is the single most important step in the whole installation — if the rails are not perfectly level and perfectly parallel, the carriages will jam, bind, or drift, and no amount of later adjustment will fully fix it.
Rails are typically bedded onto a self-levelling mortar or a steel sub-frame and fixed to the floor with engineered anchors. We use laser levels throughout and tolerance the finished rails to within 1 mm over the full run. On floors that aren't suitable for direct fixing (raised access floors, listed-building stone slabs, suspended timber), we install a load-spreading platform first.
Rails are then capped with a low-profile ramp on each side so trolleys and wheelchairs can cross the system without a trip hazard. Where DDA / accessibility compliance is required, we design the ramps to meet Part M of the Building Regulations.
Step 3: Carriage and Drive Assembly
Once the rails are down, the carriages — the wheeled steel chassis that the bays sit on — are positioned and aligned. Each carriage has bogie wheels at the corners and an internal drive mechanism: a chain-and-sprocket linkage for handle-wind systems, a gearbox-and-motor for powered systems, or a simple release lever for lightweight manual units.
The drive is tested under no-load to confirm the carriage moves smoothly the full length of the rails, then again with calibrated test weights to confirm gearing and brake function. Anti-tip plates are fitted, end-stops are bolted into the rails to prevent run-off, and the aisle safety lock is set up and tested.
On powered systems this is also when the electrical containment is installed, the control panel is wired in, and the safety photo-beams (which stop carriage movement instantly if someone steps into an aisle) are commissioned.
Step 4: Shelving Erection
With carriages in place and tested, the shelving bays themselves are built on top. Uprights are bolted to the carriage, beams are levelled, and shelves are clipped or bolted in at the correct pitch for your stored items — typically 250 mm or 300 mm for archive boxes, custom pitches for files, books, parts or museum artefacts.
Back panels, dividers, end panels and label holders are fitted as specified. Where bays will store loose files, we fit lateral file dividers; where they store boxes, we fit shelf-lip rails to prevent overhang. Each shelf is load-rated and labelled with its safe working load.
Finally, the system is cycled fully open and fully closed multiple times under both empty and loaded conditions to confirm smooth operation throughout.
Step 5: PUWER Inspection and Handover
Mobile shelving is classed as work equipment under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER). Before we hand the system over, our competent-person engineer carries out a full PUWER inspection: rails, carriages, drive trains, safety locks, anti-tip, end-stops, structural integrity, load labelling and operator controls are all checked and documented.
We issue a written PUWER certificate showing the inspection date, the engineer's name and competency, the system specification, the outcome (pass / pass with remedials / fail), and the next inspection date due. A copy is held on file by us and a stickered hand-over notice is fixed to the system itself.
On handover day we train your operators — typically 30 minutes covering safe use, what to do if something jams, how to identify damage, and what triggers a call-out. Your team signs off the installation, we leave you with the operator manual and PUWER cert, and the system enters service.
After handover we offer annual planned maintenance with statutory PUWER re-inspection — keeping you legally compliant and the system in service for the next 20–30 years.