Warehouse space planning
Warehouse space is rarely something that remains consistent for most businesses. For one reason or another, the amount of space a company needs will most likely increase over time. Couple this natural growth with the rapid change in logistics businesses that have been triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, and what you end up with is thousands of warehouses now needing to maximize their space as quickly and cost-effectively as possible.
This is just one of the many reasons why warehouse operators should – and have been looking at – expanding their space, by working with an industrial solutions partner like Ambrey Baker, who can give them expert advice on better space design and refurbishing an existing structure.
Below, we’re going to explore in some more detail some of the other considerations that lead to companies investing in warehouse refurbishment and extension.
Aging Structures
As anything, warehouses age and different components wear out and corrode over time. This can cause significant issues in any industrial space but is particularly disastrous in cold storage areas where corrosion and ageing structures can seriously affect the carefully controlled temperature. For example, suppose the sealing around a doorway shrinks, cracks, or peels away over time. In that case, it can cause ice to form due to the cooling systems working harder than they should maintain a consistent temperature, which can then in turn lead to accidents or the door freezing shut.
Changing Safety Measures
Significant changes in workplace health and safety measures have been one of the key ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has affected every industry. In warehouses, this has meant that social distancing is now the new normal to protect the safety of employees while they are on shift and minimize the risk of virus transmission. In a confined space, such as a warehouse, this can be challenging because it often means that fewer employees can be in the space at the same time, reducing productivity levels and affecting overall profits in the process.
To address this issue, while still meeting your legal duties as an employer, your best option is to either convert your existing warehouse or extend the space so that social distancing measures can still be followed without reducing your normal staffing levels.
Meeting Increased Demand
One of the other significant impacts of the pandemic has been the sharp rise in online shopping with both end consumers and businesses now embracing e-commerce more than ever. And with home deliveries rising, warehouses are finding themselves requiring more space to meet this demand – especially when it comes to food items with a long shelf life. The need for more storage space has also become apparent to warehouses dealing with the storage of pharmaceutical items with stockpiling now becoming increasingly common as the result of not only the pandemic but the uncertainty around the availability of certain medications following Brexit.
