Frazier Project Manager Aaron Iellimo has been awarded a patent on an Alignment Tool used during the installation and fastening of storage racking. Typically applied in high rise rack installations, the Alignment Tool is a steel, conical shaped device that rests over anchors in the slab. It acts as guide for installers when they are attempting to place rack onto the anchors and into position. Once the rack is properly placed, the Alignment Tool can be easily removed and reused for the next rack placement in the installation.
Alignment Tool Patent Origins
Frazier’s Aaron Iellimo proudly displays his patented Alignment Tool.
Iellimo was originally sparked with the idea for the Alignment Tool a few years ago. He was sent to a project site where he witnessed the difficulty to place a large section of high rise racking. “I watched an installation team struggle with, to no fault of their own, aligning anchors into the holes on the pick of rack they were trying to place as part of a rack supported installation. It was extremely difficult for them to do. There are typically 30 to 40 anchors – ranging from 5/8 of an inch up to 1 and ¼ inch in diameter – that need to get lined up with the holes on the pick of rack. Many of these rack picks are over 20,000 lbs. too. For both the crane operator and team working on the ground to align them, it was a slow, burdensome process. I realized there had to be a more efficient way to achieve this,” explains Iellimo.
“My initial thought was that if there was something that could stick up from each anchor, it would make the alignment process easier. That is where the idea for the conical shape originated. From there, I worked with a machinist to make different prototypes. We worked with many different metals and heights until we came up with a final design that was both effective and economical,” per Iellimo.
Installation and Customer Advantages
Alignment Tools rest on anchor bolts prior to a rack pick’s placement.
Alignment Tools rest on anchor bolts after a rack pick has been aligned and placed.
The Frazier-unique advantages created by the Alignment Tool benefits installation teams and customers alike. According to Iellimo, “At the end of the day they help Frazier to be more efficient during install which helps us to schedule and execute more quickly. This in turn puts the finished rack project into the hands of the customer sooner than it otherwise would.”
The other measurable advantage to the customer comes by way of overall costs. “We typically have between 50 and 100 Alignment Tools made per job. Every pick uses 32 to 40, but they are a hundred percent reusable on the same project which keeps them from becoming an accumulating cost. More importantly, however, one of the more expensive portions of a rack supported installation is crane use. Being able to set the rack pick faster results in less hangtime with the crane in which the ultimate outcome in less expenditure,” concludes Iellimo. Frazier is able to pass along these savings to you, the customer, with extremely competitive installation timeframes and prices.
Congratulations to Aaron on this patent, which is also his first ever patent! It is ingenuities and new ideas like this that keep Frazier well ahead of the competition. Contact Us Today to learn about how this solution, or one of our other patented systems, like Glide-In® Push Back Rack or Ergo Series®, can help you gain similar advantages.
