WELL - DESIGNED WAREHOUSES ARE WHERE PROFITS FLOW
lessons learned
Coordinate column spacing with your racking is just good practice.
When designing a new warehouse or expansion with pallet racks, column bay spacing is crucial.
Here are some things not to do when designing column bay spacing for a warehouse:
- Columns cannot impede vehicle or pedestrian flow within aisles
- Know your clients preferred isle spacing. A 42’-0” wide isle would be the correct column spacing with 13'-0" aisles. The building column will land directly in the racking flue. Avoid reducing storage capacity and adding unnecessary cost to the project.
Not coordinating column spacing with the racking flue is a waste of dollars.
Blocking a rack position with a building column, eliminates four high racking. This results in 8 lost pallet positions, costing approx. $1,200 in unusable racking. The wasted warehouse space is 32 sq. ft., valued at approx. $3,800. This totals an unnecessary expense of approximately $5,000 at each column.
Incorrect Loading & Receiving Dock Door Width
When designing an effective dock door, many plan for a maximum legal truck width of 8’-6″. However, an 8’-6″ door may cause inefficiencies if side-by-side pallets are unloaded or the truck is off-center. A 9’-0″ wide door reduces the risk of damage, accommodates side-by-side pallets, and allows for slight off-center truck positioning.
Do Not Install an Unreinforced Concrete Slab in a Beverage Facility
The use of unreinforced concrete floors in beverage warehouses is a growing trend, with both merits and concerns, particularly in heavy forklift environments. An unreinforced slab should only be considered after carefully weighing its advantages and disadvantages for the owner’s specific needs.
Advantages
- Less expensive
- Faster Schedule
Disadvantages
- Thicker
- Differential joint movement
- Much more prone to cracking
- More joints to maintain
Industry best practices for loading dock slopes
Emphasize the importance of a 1.5% to 2% dock apron sloping away from the dock. This grade recommendation ensures efficient loading and unloading with pallet jacks or forklifts to minimizes potential safety hazards.
By following industry best practices and maintaining a 1.5% to 2% grade for loading docks, warehouse managers and business owners can optimize their loading dock operations, ensuring a smooth transition and safe working environment for their employees. Careful planning and adherence to these best practices can lead to reduced risks, increased efficiency, and ultimately, a more successful operation.
Receiving Dock Opening Design consideration for cold and windy climates
In a drive-through application, tractor trailer rigs back up to the receiving dock with their doors closed. When the trailer is secured to the dock, the dock door opens, the trailer’s security seal is broken and the doors are then opened into the warehouse. This prevents the opportunities for bodily harm or exposure to outside elements.
Blindside backing into a dock position is NOT desirable.
Emphasize the importance of designing a dock door approach to be on the sight side.
Blindside backing is when a driver has to park with an impediment to the passenger side of the vehicle. Designers should avoid this type of backing if possible because of the complexity and lack of visibility inherent in the task.
Blindside backing can be dangerous and result in damage to the truck, its surroundings, and even driver injury.
All dock doors should be 10'-0" high from the finished warehouse floor
Emphasize the importance of designing a dock door 10'-0" high to the top of the finish floor.
The dock height should be 48" from the dock apron to accommodate trailer deck heights.
Not Planning for Growth
Another common mistake is insufficient planning for future growth. While wholesalers might account for current space needs, they often fail to consider how changes in product range, storage requirements, or operational processes will affect the warehouse. For instance, a company might plan for a 7% annual growth rate but overlook how this will impact their inventory profile, such as an increase in SKUs or a shift in storage needs from ambient to cooler space. Effective planning should involve analyzing past growth trends and forecasting future needs to ensure the warehouse can accommodate changes without major modifications.
Understanding the difference between ceiling height and clear ceiling height
The difference between ceiling height and clear ceiling height is that the ceiling high as measured from the floor to the underside of the roof, and clear ceiling height is measured from the floor to the underside of the lowest hanging object on the ceiling, whether that be the lighting, HVAC, roof drains, structural beam or the sprinkler system.
If automation is in the future consult with your vendor for their required clearances.
Lack of coordinating a sanitary sewer elevation for construction can be a costly mistake.
To coordinate a sanitary sewer for construction, you need to: obtain detailed site plans, locate existing sewer lines, determine the proper pipe size and depth, mark the alignment on the ground, coordinate with other utilities, and ensure compliance with local regulations by submitting plans for approval before excavation begins; this typically involves working closely with engineers, surveyors, and local utility companies to ensure the sewer system is designed correctly and efficiently.
A single unit covers up to 150,000 sf. of floor space.
Air Rotation for a Mechanical Retrofits
An air rotation system, also known as an air rotation unit (ARU), is a climate control system that circulates air throughout a warehouse to maintain brewery setpoint requirements.
Benefits:
- Maintains uniform temperature throughout a space, even with high ceilings.
- Lower energy consumption
- Lower maintenance costs.