Sentry’s FIT System and new configurator are potential game-changers in the world of warehouse safety, writes Peter MacLeod.
As modern warehouses continue to grow in scale and complexity, one design trend is becoming increasingly clear: fewer columns, but much bigger ones, to maximise available storage space. To optimise storage density and vehicle movement, developers are opting for wider structural pillars, and unlike in the past, not all of them are of uniform size. While this makes architectural sense, it presents a real challenge when it comes to protecting those columns from impact damage.
Sentry Protection Products believes it has the answer, with its Column Sentry FIT System and a newly launched online configurator designed to take the guesswork out of specifying protection.
“The reality is, not every column is the same size anymore,” explains Jim Ryan, the founder of Sentry Protection Products. “Newer facilities are being built with bigger columns, and there can be a lot of variation across a single site. We wanted to give people a solution that adapts to that environment without a struggle.”
Flexibility
At the heart of the system is flexibility. The Column Sentry FIT range includes Small Fit and Medium Fit modules, along with a new variation called the Fit Combo. This combines two small and two medium pieces to form a rectangular protector, a configuration that Jim believes is unique in the market.
“That pretty much makes a rectangular protector, which I don’t see anybody else having out there,” he says. “It gives us another option to deal with these larger, wider columns.”
The system can be further extended using dedicated extension pieces, allowing protection to be built up to suit a wide variety of column dimensions. The result is a modular approach that can be tailored precisely to each site, rather than forcing operators into a ‘one-size-fits-all’ compromise.
Intuitive and Practical
However, with flexibility comes complexity, and Sentry has been keen to remove any barriers that might discourage customers from investing in protection.
“With so many possibilities, if people are trying to figure it out by themselves, it can get really confusing,” Jim admits. “If they’ve got a lot of different column sizes and different things going on, it’s not easy to work out what they need.”
That challenge led directly to the development of Sentry’s new online configurator tool. Designed to be intuitive and practical, it allows users to enter the number of columns, the size of each column and other relevant details. The tool then calculates exactly how many FIT pieces and extension components are required.
Crucially, it doesn’t stop there. The configurator also generates a visual diagram showing how the protection will look once installed, and will even produce a costed quote via Sentry’s reseller portal.
“It will tell you exactly how many pieces you need, exactly how many extension pieces you need, and show you a diagram of what it’s going to look like,” Jim explains. “And it will even give them a quote on how much it’s going to cost.”
For many warehouse operators, uncertainty around fit, cost and complexity can be an easy excuse to delay or avoid investing in safety. Sentry’s approach is clearly aimed at removing those objections.
“There’s often this reluctance to invest in safety,” concludes Jim Ryan. “People say ‘I can’t afford it’, or ‘I don’t think it will fit’, or ‘my site is unique’. We hope that tools like this will help counter all of that by making it simple, upfront and transparent.”
In an industry where damage to columns can have serious structural, financial and safety implications, the combination of a highly adaptable protection system and a user-friendly configurator represents a significant step forward. For operators dealing with today’s bigger, broader and more varied columns, Sentry’s FIT System could be a very fitting solution indeed.
