24 profissionais de armazém revelam os aspectos importantes a serem considerados ao projetar e organizar um armazém
Ao projetar um armazém e estabelecer sua planta baixa, há muitas coisas a considerar, desde estantes de armazém até permitir amplo espaço para empilhadeiras, tráfego de pedestres e outros equipamentos, além de otimizar a utilização do espaço. Em outras palavras, é um ato de equilíbrio delicado que exige que você considere cuidadosamente várias necessidades e encontre a solução ideal que oferece os maiores benefícios em todos os aspectos – desde seus funcionários de armazém até operadores de equipamentos e, é claro, o resultado final.
Para ajudá-lo a tomar decisões inteligentes de design e layout, contatamos um painel de profissionais de armazém e pedimos que respondessem a esta pergunta:
"Quais são os aspectos mais importantes a serem considerados ao projetar e organizar um armazém?"
Conheça nosso painel de profissionais de depósito:
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Continue lendo para saber o que nossos profissionais têm a dizer sobre os aspectos mais importantes a serem considerados ao projetar e organizar um armazém.
Mark Aselstine
@MarkAselstine
Mark Aselstine iniciou um clube de vinhos online chamado Uncorked Ventures, quase uma década atrás, bem antes de os negócios de assinatura serem tão populares. Como o vinho é tão fortemente regulamentado, eles optaram por se auto-realizar desde o início.
"Quando projetamos nosso primeiro espaço de armazém, tínhamos nossa área com temperatura controlada na parte de trás..."
Fazia todo o sentido na época.
À medida que ficávamos mais ocupados, porém, nosso vinho foi sendo entregue em quantidades cada vez maiores, o que significa que, em vez de algumas caixas, estávamos recebendo paletes de um quarto, que são significativamente maiores. Nosso problema foi que, para chegar à seção de temperatura controlada, o vinho tinha que ser carregado em incrementos de 1-2 caixas. Em seguida, o mesmo quando saiu para ser embalado.
Então, realmente, esse é o meu conselho. Tente e pense não apenas a curto prazo, mas também a longo prazo. O que acontece se o seu negócio crescer? Seu projeto proposto ainda será viável?
Tom Wilkerson
@ForkLiftCertify
Tom Wilkerson é o CEO da ForkliftCertification.com, líder nacional em certificação de empilhadeira on-line compatível com OSHA. Tom e seus funcionários ajudaram milhares de empresas a descobrir a maneira mais fácil de autocertificar seus operadores de empilhadeiras internamente.
"Um dos aspectos mais importantes a serem considerados ao projetar e organizar um armazém é..."
Largura do corredor, porque afeta a forma como as pessoas e as máquinas irão manobrar pelo espaço. A melhor maneira de tomar a decisão sobre a largura do corredor é baseada no tipo de empilhadeiras e empilhadeiras que você tem em mãos. Não é prático alterar a largura dos corredores do seu armazém se o seu equipamento não couber. Se você está comprando novos equipamentos ou tem uma variedade de opções de equipamentos, você tem mais versatilidade na forma como você organiza seu armazém e na largura dos corredores que você seleciona.
Doug Orlove
Doug Orlove é o vice-presidente de operações da Amify. Como VPO, ele supervisiona as operações e a logística e gerencia nosso armazém no escritório. Ele tem quase 20 anos de experiência com foco em Warehouse Management and Operations na Pepsico e Dole, e agora na Amify.
"Uma das decisões iniciais mais importantes é a localização..."
A análise de rede pode ser usada para determinar a localização geográfica ideal com base no equilíbrio do investimento em estoque com os custos de transporte de entrada e saída. O tamanho e o layout de um armazém devem ser adaptados aos volumes previstos de recebimento, armazenamento e remessa, giros de estoque, processos de trabalho e características do item. Por exemplo, alguns itens podem exigir condições especiais de armazenamento, como controle de temperatura. Os itens devem ser dispostos no armazém para facilitar os processos de trabalho. Dividir itens rápidos, médios e de baixa velocidade em zonas separadas pode ajudar a aumentar a eficiência do atendimento de pedidos.
Rob Mericle
@mericleinc
Robert K. Mericle atua como Presidente e CEO da Mericle Commercial Real Estate Services, Inc., especializada em propriedades de corretagem comerciais e industriais. Ele tem mais de 30 anos de experiência em serviços imobiliários comerciais e é um empreiteiro geral licenciado com ampla experiência em desenvolvimento, construção, corretagem e finanças de imóveis comerciais. A Mericle Commercial Real Estate Services é uma das maiores incorporadoras comerciais/industriais da Pensilvânia e opera uma das maiores e mais competitivas firmas de corretagem comercial da região.
“Além de selecionar um site que…”
Oferece acesso rápido ao sistema interestadual nas proximidades de centros populacionais, os desenvolvedores de espaço de armazém em 2018 precisam fornecer alturas livres de teto de pelo menos 35 pés, pisos de concreto armado de pelo menos 7", 50' x 50' espaçamento de coluna com 60 pés ' nos cais de carga, iluminação LED com eficiência energética, proteção contra incêndio ESFR, provisões para até 4.000 amperes de energia e estacionamento no local abundante para reboques e veículos de funcionários.
Mickey Luongo
@TotalHomeSupply
Mickey Luongo é o VP de Total Home Supply. Mickey está envolvido no setor de HVAC há 14 anos e ajudou muitas empresas a projetar soluções de aquecimento e resfriamento para uma variedade de aplicações.
"Uma das coisas mais importantes a considerar ao projetar um armazém é..."
O aquecimento e resfriamento do espaço. O conforto do funcionário é importante para a produtividade e dependendo do que está sendo armazenado, também pode ser importante para o produto. Todo armazém deve ser aquecido. Há uma variedade de maneiras de fazer isso, como aquecedores a gás, aquecedores elétricos e aquecedores radiantes. Esses aquecedores devem ser colocados de forma que se concentrem nas seções ocupadas do armazém para manter as pessoas aquecidas. Nas áreas de carregamento, as cortinas de ar podem ser usadas para manter o ar frio fora e permitir que os aquecedores funcionem com mais eficiência. No verão, a maioria das pessoas opta por não resfriar um armazém, mas os ventiladores podem ser usados para ajudar a manter o fluxo de ar. Ventiladores HVLS (alta velocidade, baixa velocidade) são comumente usados para mover grandes quantidades de ar com um único ventilador. Esses ventiladores criam um efeito de resfriamento percebido, permitindo que as pessoas se mantenham frescas enquanto mantêm os custos baixos. Cortinas de ar também podem ser usadas no verão para ajudar a manter o calor do lado de fora. A configuração HVAC perfeita pode levar a um armazém geral mais eficiente, com mais produtividade e funcionários mais felizes.
Kriti Agarwal
@Orderhive
Kriti Agarwal é redatora de conteúdo da Orderhive.
"O armazém é um dos maiores ativos de qualquer empresa..."
Geralmente é negligenciado em termos de investimento e sua importância na cadeia de suprimentos. O armazém está no centro de todo o processo da cadeia de suprimentos, recebendo e distribuindo produtos para manter o negócio funcionando. Portanto, projetar o layout do armazém é crucial para o bom andamento das operações da cadeia de suprimentos.
Alguns dos fatores a serem considerados ao projetar um armazém:
1. Fluxo
Flow é a fácil rotação e circulação de mercadorias dentro do espaço do armazém. Envolve todos os movimentos pelos quais os produtos passam, incluindo expedição, recebimento e preparação de pedidos. Também está ligado ao conhecimento de onde o material está localizado e equipamentos e meios de manuseio.
2. Acessibilidade
Permite aos operadores de armazém um acesso rápido e fácil a cada palete dentro do armazém. O espaço do armazém deve ser organizado de forma a oferecer comodidade na obtenção e identificação dos artigos.
3. Espaço
As dimensões e a distribuição do espaço para os itens desempenham um papel vital na decisão do layout do armazém. Isso impacta no desenho das prateleiras, no cálculo da capacidade das instalações e na distribuição das mercadorias dentro do armazém.
4. Rendimento
Para calcular a taxa de transferência, você precisa acompanhar o movimento de mercadorias pelo depósito por um período específico de tempo. Divida o número de itens movidos pelo armazém pelo número de horas de trabalho consumidas. Este é o tempo de processamento por item. Por natureza, essas são as características de manuseio, dimensões e quaisquer outros fatores que afetarão a forma como os produtos se movem pelo fluxo, como perigo, volume, fragilidade, requisitos de segurança e compatibilidade com outros produtos.
5. Pessoal
A quantidade de pessoal que trabalha no armazém é um fator decisivo na concepção do layout do armazém. O número de pessoas, seu nível de treinamento e os turnos que trabalham podem ajudar a definir o design do armazém. Se você tiver sistemas automatizados ou software de gerenciamento de armazém, precisará garantir que a equipe saiba como operá-lo. As normas de segurança e saúde e as condições de trabalho para o pessoal podem ajudar a decidir o layout do armazém.
6. Localização e orçamento
O local onde o armazém precisa ser configurado é uma consideração importante. Seja perto das docas de embarque, da localização do fornecedor ou das lojas. A conectividade e a facilidade de distribuição das mercadorias ajudarão a traçar o layout.
O fator mais importante para decidir o layout do armazém é o orçamento. Todo o funcionamento do armazém e suas operações dependerão de quanto dinheiro uma empresa é capaz de desembolsar para manter as funções do armazém. O orçamento incluirá aluguel, custo de manutenção, custo de estoque, instalações de armazenamento de produtos e muito mais.
Conclusão
Projetar um armazém é uma tarefa complexa. É necessário ter informações precisas sobre a localização, orçamento, quantidade de estoque a ser armazenado e o número de pessoas necessárias. Como o armazém é um investimento pesado para qualquer negócio, o layout deve ser feito com a máxima clareza.
Jeff Neal
@PennCoatInc
Jeff Neal é Gerente de Projetos/Estimador da PennCoat, Inc., uma empreiteira de pintura comercial e pisos epóxi. Eles estão frequentemente em armazéns, prestando serviços de pintura e piso epóxi.
"Um recurso crítico de um armazém é..."
Passarelas para pedestres, que são excelentes maneiras de direcionar o tráfego de pedestres, tornando mais fácil para os operadores de empilhadeiras preverem onde as pessoas podem estar andando no armazém. Esses recursos podem reduzir lesões e aumentar a segurança em cada armazém.
João Antônio
@DesignAShirt
John Anton é o fundador da Anton Sport, DesignAShirt.com e Anton Uniforms. Ele é um empreendedor em série, especializado em roupas personalizadas, produtos promocionais e uniformes escolares de varejo.
"Primeiro é escolher o arquiteto e engenheiro civil correto e..."
Certificando-se de que eles não especificam coisas que vão colocar você muito acima do orçamento. Você está construindo um armazém, não uma mansão. São coisas simples como permitir que os extintores sejam pendurados na parede em vez de serem envoltos em uma caixa com uma porta de vidro. A diferença por local pode ser de US$ 350.
Layout e fluxo são a próxima coisa a considerar. Com o armazém que estamos terminando, fizemos um gráfico de escala onde um quadrado é igual a um pé. Em seguida, medimos os equipamentos, estantes, mesas, empilhadeiras, etc. e fizemos recortes para cada tamanho para que representassem com precisão o espaço que ocupariam. Ao colocá-los em uma folha de papelão, pudemos brincar com o layout do edifício para ver como diferentes itens em diferentes espaços afetariam o fluxo de trabalho, fluxo de tráfego, iluminação e até mesmo o fluxo de ar do sistema de refrigeração.
O acesso ao armazém era algo em que gastamos uma quantidade significativa de tempo. Como os caminhões farão a entrega e, uma vez que a entrega seja feita, como queremos que os produtos fluam pelo nosso espaço.
Eu sei que pode parecer loucura, mas uma de nossas melhores experiências de aprendizado para melhorar nosso armazém foi visitar um centro de atendimento da Amazon e ver como eles faziam seu layout, fluxo e acesso. Felizmente, como estamos a menos de 30 milhas de um, não foi uma viagem difícil, uma vez que conseguimos garantir os ingressos. Fomos 10 e depois fomos almoçar e anotamos tudo o que vimos e aprendemos, o que gostamos e o que não gostamos.
Conclusão:a maior e melhor coisa que se pode fazer ao projetar um armazém é gastar horas no planejamento inicial, pensando e mexendo no layout. Essas horas gastas no front-end economizarão milhares em não ter pedidos de alteração, soluções alternativas e altos níveis de frustração.
Jesse Karban
@SafeAndSoundCA
Jesse Karban tem anos de experiência trabalhando no setor de segurança em vendas e marketing. Ele está na Safe and Sound Security desde 2017 e cresceu na função de gerente de marketing.
“Muitos proprietários e gerentes de armazéns estão agora recorrendo a…”
Sistemas de segurança para evitar roubos, acidentes e contestar reclamações de responsabilidade. Muitas vezes, há muitas ameaças em potencial nos armazéns devido a máquinas pesadas se movendo em torno de pessoas, prateleiras altas, perigos potenciais de cima e, claro, sempre que você estiver guardando itens valiosos, há uma chance de roubo.
A primeira coisa a considerar ao pensar em segurança para o seu armazém é a quantidade de espaço no edifício e de que material o próprio edifício é feito. A maioria dos armazéns não suporta sistemas sem fio que dependem de rádio, Wi-Fi e sinais de celular para se comunicarem. Isso significa que os sistemas que funcionarão de forma confiável em um armazém são sistemas com fio.
A primeira e mais óbvia solução são as câmeras de segurança. When thinking about the layout of the warehouse security cameras and wire placement should be considered to maximize the field of view and make sure that every area is covered in case of theft or incident. Often times warehouse owners or managers opt to use pan tilt zoom (PTZ) cameras to be able to move the field of view or zoom in on things happening in real time. There will be a wire, often a CaT 5 cable, running from the camera back to the NVR (the recording device). When considering the layout of the warehouse, it should be noted that the wire runs should be thought of as well as the area where the NVR is housed.
When laying out doors within a warehouse, people often opt to allow or restrict access to important doors with access control systems. These access control systems have a reader for a credential (like a pin code, or a card swipe) that runs back to the main access control panel. When planning the layout, the locations of readers and the location of the main panel should be considered.
Finally, when thinking about alarm systems for warehouses, placement of sensors should be taken into consideration. There are many different types of sensors including motion detection, glass break detectors, and door break sensors. Just like the other two systems, all of these sensors will need to be wired back to a main panel and the wire runs should be thought about in detail prior to installation.
Planning security system during the layout stage of moving into a new warehouse or constructing a new warehouse will save companies tens of thousands of dollars when installing a comprehensive security system.
Arthur Smith
@LEDwatcher
Arthur Smith is the lead editor of LEDwatcher.com, a blog that focuses on solar and LED lighting. With years of experience working in both solar and lighting industries, Arthur knows the ins and outs of them and has now turned to blogging to help others learn more about them as well.
“When it comes to the design and layout of a warehouse…”
Lighting, in my opinion, is one of the most important aspects to consider. But sadly, not many warehouse owners think about lighting since often storage solutions and warehouse management systems are the main things they are concerned with.
There are a couple of reasons why you should invest in proper warehouse lighting, the first being that good lighting will simply make your employees more productive. Because without good, bright lighting your staff will not only have a hard time seeing what they are doing, but it can also increase the risk of accidents. And who wants injured, unproductive workers if instead, you can get a healthy, hard-working staff that get things done quickly and efficiently?
The second reason for investing in good warehouse lighting is that this way you can actually save a lot of money on energy. The older your lighting is, the more watts it chews up and the more you have to pay for electricity each month. So consider installing newer, more energy-efficient lamps in your warehouse and you will see your energy bill decreasing.
Kelly Bedrich
@shopelectricity
Kelly Bedrich is the Co-founder of ElectricityPlans.com and President of Cypress Capital Ventures. He is an IT entrepreneur focused on acquiring, marketing, and improving e-commerce sites. His current emphasis is on taking ideas from startup to maturity with sustainable business benefits.
“One frequently overlooked aspect of warehouse layout and design is…”
Energy efficiency. Lack of insulation, poor airflow, outdated lighting, or inadequate heating/cooling can lead to higher-than-expected energy bills which can cut into your company’s margin. By simply designing a warehouse layout to promote better airflow and using ultra-efficient HVAC systems, a company can significantly reduce their long-term energy expenses and increase comfort by avoiding hot spots in the warehouse.
Tim Trampedach
@torqued_io
Tim Trampedach is the president of Torqued, the premier retailer of motorsports and auto racing parts. They believe in 100% accurate stock, fast shipping from an efficient warehouse, great customer service and a no BS return policy.
“We recently went through an extensive warehouse layout and design process, which taught us a few lessons…”
But thankfully, not through mistakes.
Laws and regulations:Make sure to check with local code, state law and fire code before you begin. A good rack installer should also be able to help with most of these. Our experience was that we wanted to maximize our 20’ ceilings, but thankfully the reputable installer we went with told us there’s as 15’ limit in California. There’s also a mandatory 5’ spacing between racks.
Fire code and sprinklers:We were considering using our 20’ ceilings to create two levels of racks. Most systems would require additional sprinklers with two levels, which significantly upped the cost.
Drawing for a landlord (and yourself!):At the time it felt like excess paperwork, but we drew a layout of where racks are being installed, documented the method in which they’re fixed together, and stated the licensed vendor we used to do it. Not only is this important for potential liability, but also once we vacate the property, it’s clear where the anchors in the concrete and walls are.
Rack height &flexibility:Our products are not at all in uniform shapes, ranging from little bags to boxes for car seats. We took an educated guess at what kinds of rack heights we might need. So far, so good, but the beauty of boltless racks is that it would be easy to change rack heights or add additional shelving. As long as that’s being tracked and updated in the Warehouse Management System, having this flexibility is key.
Think quick access vs storage and ergonomics:We ended up creating fairly low rack heights from waist to slightly above head height for easy access. Above head height is for parts which we don’t plan to access daily and below waist is for larger items.
Buy some carts and a rolling ladder:Don’t carry the stuff around. Get some rolling cars and perhaps a rolling ladder for accessing the storage up high. Protect your health and that of your team.
Don’t build it all in advance:We looked at setting up racks in the entire warehouse vs just the section we need for the next 6 months. At least for us, there was no additional cost in building out capacity as we need. This allowed us to deploy cash towards other opportunities for now and also allowed us to learn a little bit with the racks we do have right now.
Be organized:We’re extremely pedantic about labeling and have a clear row, section, rack + location system. For example, when something is in “A-3-5-1”, it means row A, the third section, fifth shelf from the bottom, first thing on the shelf.
Overall, we are very happy with the outcome and wouldn’t do it any different. Soon we’ll be building out phase two!
Ed Klimek
@KSSArchitects
Ed Klimek, AIA, NCARB, Partner at KSS Architects, has 30+ years of experience. Ed’s passion is the Architecture of Commerce. With clients like Coca-Cola, Mercedes-Benz, McKesson as well as nationally-recognized developers like Prologis, Forsgate, and Innovo Property Group, Klimek is a frequent contributor to NAIOP, has lectured at MIT, and has been a consultant to the USGBC.
“A few important considerations in designing and laying out a warehouse are…”
- Limit clear height:Typically, these facilities only require between 18-24’ clear.
- Organize site development to amortize ramp infrastructure over more than one building.
- Organize ramps to in relationship to ground traffic circulation, minimizing turns.
- Take advantage of excess pile capacity by considering pile types.
- Limit structural loading:A typical terminal facility only requires a floor loading of 250 pounds per square foot for palletized storage as opposed to racked buildings that may require 500 to 750 pounds per square foot floor loading.
- Understand deflection:A floor can be designed as a good, hard, and even surface for fork lift traffic while still allowing for deflection. Deflections in a terminal building can be up to L/360 as opposed to racked buildings that would be limited to L/600 or even less.
- Keep the column bays reasonably tight:This is also a marketing factor that must be carefully considered. Spans that are closer to 40 to 50 feet are more economically delivered.
- Use readily available steel sizes:At smaller bay sizes with the greater allowable deflection, multistory terminal buildings can even utilize joists and joist-girders. Where this is not possible, however, special steel shapes should be avoided due to limited steel runs.
- Keep the building light! A greater factor in multistory buildings is the impact of building mass on seismic design. Also needing to be accounted for is the weight of product in the building. While utilizing pre-cast, tilt-up, or masonry construction can be considered for lower floors, consider the use of lighter materials such as metal panels for upper stories.
Andrew Rawson
@Traliant
Andrew Rawson is the Co-Founder and Chief Learning Officer at Traliant. He came to Traliant with more than 25 years of experience in strategy, operations, and marketing. Most recently, Andrew served as the Global Head of Compliance Learning (eLearning) at Thomson Reuters, an information, technology, and services company with more than 60,000 employees.
“One of the most important aspects to consider when designing and laying out a warehouse is…”
Logistics. First, you want to consider the flow of work that needs to be done in the warehouse. For instance, you want to make sure the warehouse is laid out in such a way that each sequence in whatever process you are carrying out is conveniently located to one another. Second, you want to make sure your warehouse design and layout is accessible for the product you are moving. Finally, make sure you have enough space in your warehouse design. If you do not have enough space for your product or processes then that particular design or layout will not work for your purposes.
Robert Lomax
@rsleducational
Robert Lomax is a director of RSL Educational, an educational publishing company.
“For smaller businesses which may not have the most advanced warehouse management technology…”
Reorganizing warehouse space can be extremely costly and time-consuming. Therefore, it’s important to form your initial layout with an eye to the longer term. An easy mistake is to prioritize access to goods which are currently in demand, relegating slower-moving stock to inaccessible areas of the building. This can create chaos as your business grows and patterns of demand change. Instead, ensure reasonably easy access to all stock, even if this means that your current best-sellers are a little less convenient to access than they might be. This will reduce the need for major reorganization in the medium- to long-term.
Dan Sabia
@BuiltWellSolar
Dan Sabia is the founder and CEO of Built Well Solar Corp., located on Long Island, New York, in the business of capturing the power of the sun since 2001. He has been featured as a true “solar pioneer” in various solar and other publications. With a background in facilities management and home improvement, he holds a B.S. in Architecture/Occupational Education from the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT). He is also retired Major in the U.S. Army National Guard, called back to serve as a first responder after the collapse of the Twin Towers on 9/11.
“Aside from laying out inventory in keeping basic common-sense logistics, access, and safety…”
Energy efficiency measures matter most and are often overlooked.
One great choice is LED lighting. This does not give off heat so, in addition to savings in labor and materials in not needing ongoing bulb replacement, it reduces air conditioning costs.
Probably the most cost-savings measure long term is to map out the roof to fit solar panels. This really should be included in any current design, because flat rooftops are just begging for them. The 30% federal tax credit for commercial solar drops to 10% in 2021, so timing right now is everything. Additionally, depreciation often applies.
Depending on the size of the roof area, solar photovoltaic systems can offset a tremendous percentage of a warehouse’s electricity costs using dollars that are tossed out the window to the local utility. The quickest payback ever possible today means free electricity in no time.
Arlinda Copani
@CAG_report
Arlinda Copani is the CEO of Copani Advisory Group.
“Your business competitiveness will be affected by its locations…”
It will also have an impact on costs such as transportation and labor. The location of the warehouse is also costly and time consuming to change. That makes the election of location of the warehouse a key decision.
One of the features is the efficiency with which the products will be transported to customers.
Also, handling of the product is the costly part in the warehouse. Do not try to use one warehouse process for all order types whatever size and service requirements they might have. Segmentation and integration of processes are key.
Khris Bhattan
@RTG_solutions
As the President of RTG Solutions Group, Khris K. Bhattan’s passion and success lies in leading teams that solve problems, eliminate waste, reduce costs and increase efficiencies. Khris is the impetus to change as he identifies, develops, trains and implements systems that ensure organizations’ success in a competitive marketplace.
“The most important aspects when developing a layout for a warehouse include…”
The flow of material, inventory, or product into and out of the warehouse. A flow analysis should be developed to understand the most efficient method of moving material, inventory, or product through the various processes and staging areas. In addition, a capacity analysis should be done to ensure proper capacity requirements for inventory, equipment, and industrial requirements for the people who are working in the warehouse environment. Lastly, but certainly not least, is safety. In my experience, safety requirements sometimes fall to the bottom of the design requirements package listing. However, this should be built into the design, rather than added to the design after the warehouse is complete.
Jessica Thompson
@YOGOanywhere
Jessica Thompson is the CEO of YOGO.
“There are several important considerations in designing and laying out a warehouse…”
- What activities does the warehouse need to serve? If it is distribution, there might not be as many long pick and pack hours. Are you doing computer work here? You need a pleasant work area that is temperature controlled and has ample electricity, Wi-Fi, the ability for workers to sit or stand comfortably, and good lighting. If you are doing B2C distribution, you will need a large staging area/table and racks with tools, supplies, and stock within one or two steps from there. Plus, a snack area and possibly tunes! Happy warehouse workers =happy boss =happy customers!
- FIFO
- Cost per square foot versus the cost of putting things upwards:You can save on a lot of rent if you install large industrial racks and stack vertically. This is good for long term storage but involves a fair amount of labor to get it up there. The higher your rent, the more likely it makes sense to go vertical. This also makes FIFO rotations more expensive.
- Where is the work area? You want to reduce the number of movements and steps for daily routines. Try to locate all the daily items (and especially things you do several times a day!) in the desk or work area.
- Staging area and egress clear for pallets.
- Best shape/orientation of the pallets versus pallet jack and forklift entry. Puzzling pallets in allows for paying less rent, but it might take more labor to access them later.
- Make sure to store things so that you have access to all SKUs.
- It’s recommended to have a small stock of all SKUs at the pick and pack table if that is what you are doing.
- Plan out where things go BEFORE the inventory shows up.
- Security. There may be a need to reposition for security optimization (for example, if part of the area is visible to a camera).
Justin Riordan
@SpadeArcher
Justin Riordan is the Founder of Portland-based Spade and Archer Design Agency with offices in Portland, Seattle, and Palm Springs.
“When planning our space, our first concern was…”
That the largest, bulkiest items were closest to the door, and from there we worked our way back to the smallest items being furthest from the door.
Our second concern was for appropriate shelving systems being created from scratch in order to hold items in an efficient way. We custom built shelving 12’ apart and 8’ deep to hold our area rugs. Large arms extend out from the wall to hold bed frames. Triangle posts extend from wall to floor at an angel to prop up dining room table tops. Each time we custom build a shelving system, we find our efficiency has grown exponentially.
The last item we take great concern for is organizing our items by colors and neutrals. Neutrals are ordered from darkest to lightest (black, brown, grey, silver, tan, cream, white) and our colors are organized in rainbow order (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple). We do this because the items are selected by a team of designers whose work is highly concerned with each color going into each room. This helps them to organize their thoughts and design cohesive and thoughtful spaces.
Emna Everard
@kazidomi
Emna Everard is the CEO and founder of Kazidomi.
“There are a few important aspects to consider in designing and laying out a warehouse…”
1. Best sellers at hand reach size:You’ll sell them more so make sure there are easy to get.
2. Fragile and heavy stuff at the bottom to avoid breaking them.
3. Always make sure there is nothing that is actually on the floor (to make cleaning very fast and avoid damage in case you have flooding issues).
4. Think about the returns and keep a space for it, because you’ll not be able to manage them in real time and it takes up a massive amount of space quickly.
5. You should optimize both the way you put the products in the boxes (the best path for your pick and pack) and the best path to put the products on the shelves. That depends on whether you have many SKUs, but if you do and you are not following a chaos-type of allocation of your goods, you’ll most likely take quite a bit of time for each supplier unless you order products by supplier.
6. If you ship products once per day, make sure you have enough space to have all your orders ready to ship together and that the accumulation is not going to be an issue.
7. Leave some empty spaces in your shelves to make easy changes in case it’s necessary.
8. Space between shelves:There is a trade-off because you can lose a massive amount of space there, but at the same time it needs to be easy to navigate. Most likely you’ll be using a cart or something similar, so make sure it easily fits in there.
9. Temperature and light, which depends on type of products (e.g., wine, medicals, food, colored goods, etc.), but some rooms may be exposed to it less or more and you should definitely think about that when you start allocating the different positions.
10. Automation:Make sure it’s easy to continuously improve your automation levels and think early on if you want to apply a more men to goods vs. goods to men model (see robots picking or AGVs from Amazon and Alibaba).
Darren Cottingham
@cottingham
Darren Cottingham is director of DT Driver Training, Australasia’s largest provider of online training for forklift operators and drivers of work vehicles.
“Safety-conscious design will minimize the risk of injury or death where pedestrians and vehicles intersect in work areas…”
Separating pedestrian traffic and vehicle traffic where possible is essential to minimize the risk of injuries. Pedestrians include workers working in the warehouse, site visitors, clients, contractors, and suppliers. Vehicles include lift trucks (forklifts, order pickers, etc.), elevated work platforms, delivery trucks, cleaning equipment, and more.
Forklift accidents can happen due to inattention by the driver, when the pedestrian is obscured by the load, if a pedestrian is walking where they shouldn’t be, or if they are standing too close to an operating forklift. Solutions for separating pedestrians from forklifts include:
- Signage at the site gate and the entry to any areas where forklifts are operating
- Painted walkways
- Bollards and rails (or cones for temporary workspaces)
- Designated crossing points with clear instructions
Solutions for improving the interaction between vehicles and pedestrians include:
- Convex mirrors at the ends of aisles or at other tight turning points
- Company policies on using warning lights and audible devices such as horns, especially where drivers are going from strong light to low light or visibility is compromised
- Mandatory exclusion zones around vehicles (e.g., three meters unless the vehicle is in neutral with the handbrake on)
- One-way traffic systems
- Mandatory high-visibility clothing when in vehicle zones
Anticipate which areas might be busy pedestrian areas, for example:
- Where do trucks deliver to or collect from your premises and where should the truck driver wait
- How are materials brought into the warehouse?
- What type of lift trucks are being used, (e.g., counterbalance, order pickers) and how much aisle space do they need?
- What areas can authorized site visitors access, for example, a prospective client who is being shown around the company?
- What areas are designated for maintenance of forklifts?
- Where are the emergency exits?
Safety around forklifts is critical. Provide health and safety training for people who work in the warehouse and develop solid health and safety policies for visitors.
Each forklift should have a designated parking space which is away from emergency exits and doesn’t block ramps or passageways. A separate space for storing forklift keys should be provided and all drivers and operators should know the correct method of storing the forklift.
Curt Doherty
Curt Doherty is the CEO at CNC Machines Network.
“It’s essential to have…”
ERP and other systems in place that help employees be efficient and minimize workflow interruptions and mistakes. However, one of the biggest issues we see is in training employees and operators.
Operating a warehouse isn’t very complicated when systems are in place with continuous training to help inventory and processes be completed on time with very little delay.
The key is making sure you have the right people and train them to be efficient and use technology systems to ensure smooth operation. Automation mixed with highly competent, trained employees is the competitive edge in the 21st century.
George Keliher
@LOCATEInv
George Keliher has been involved in the making and stocking of parts for over 30 years, both as an entrepreneur and as a small business consultant specializing in inventory management. George is having so much fun with LOCATE Inventory that his retirement plans have been put on hold. In addition to growing and expanding LOCATE, George keeps himself busy with a regimen that includes inline skating and standup paddleboarding.
“One of the most important aspects to consider is…”
Figuring out what your top moving parts are. You want to make sure those parts are in an easy-to-get-to location, since they will be picked upon the most. This will help speed up the picking process. Something else to consider is looking at the size of items you plan to store. Are they large and heavy? You’ll want to make sure to store big, bulky items in easy-to-get-to areas that are close to the ground, while keeping the smaller, lighter items at the top. This will go a long way toward helping to prevent injuries during the picking process.
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