Kevin Stegall knows a thing or two about shelving. Over 18 years and 300+ installations, he’s seen it all. We asked him to share his best practices and the most common mistakes he sees. Here’s what he had to say.

What mistakes do foodservice operators make when they are requesting shelving?

They often order the wrong sizes. When reordering, replacing or adding additional shelving, operators measure the traverses, not the overall length of the shelving.

What advice would you give foodservice operators regarding the process of selecting their shelving and having it installed?

Contact the local Cambro rep and have the rep do the measurements and site survey. Have a qualified install company install the shelving to eliminate any issues.

What are some tips or tricks you can share for making installs go smoothly?

Giving complete and detailed information to the design team of how you want your shelving layouts is extremely important.

Measure twice! Installers should also review layouts with customers and have them sign off on the layouts before beginning the install.

And you can’t go wrong with always having a supply of extra shelving parts for unforeseen issues and mistakes (like an installer breaking parts!).

What are the most common mistakes people make while installing Cambro shelving?

One common mistake is not measuring correctly and missing obstacles, such as vents or pipes. I also see instances where the dimension changes when using corner connectors and shared posts are not taken into account. This does not allow maximum space and cube for the customer.

Also, foodservice operators often don’t review the product stored on the shelving so they can make informed suggestions on lengths, depths and how many tiers will be needed.

What’s the most memorable install you’ve done?

At Fr. Joe’s in San Diego, Cambro marketing staff tried to film us installing in a -2 degree pallet freezer. They are true Southern California people and couldn’t handle the cold! Lead installer Justin Larsen said his memorable moment would have to be helping with the Facebook install and getting to see Mark Zuckerburg in person.

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About the Author: Annamaria Barajas is the Associate Marketing Manager for Camshelving. . For more posts related to shelving, click here.