Category: Warehouse Capacity

Benefits of having an organised warehouse

February 13, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Warehouse racking is a crucial aspect of any warehouse and plays a significant role in keeping the inventory organised and easily accessible.

An organised warehouse not only helps in improving the overall efficiency of the operations, but also ensures the safety of the employees and the inventory. With the help of proper racking systems, you can easily store, manage and retrieve items, reducing the time and effort required for these tasks. Moreover, the use of warehouse racking can help increase the storage capacity of your warehouse, allowing you to store more items in a smaller space.

Another major benefit of having an organised warehouse is increased productivity. When items are stored in an organised manner, employees can easily locate them, reducing the time and effort required to find items. This results in faster order fulfillment and reduces the chance of human error. Additionally, an organized warehouse also enables employees to move around the warehouse more easily, reducing the risk of accidents and improving the overall safety of the workplace.

An organised warehouse also makes it easier to conduct regular inventory checks and ensures that items are stored in the right place. This not only helps in reducing the loss of items due to misplacement, but also makes it easier to track inventory levels, helping you make informed decisions about restocking and ordering new items.

Furthermore, an organised warehouse also creates a professional and organised image for your business. Customers and clients who visit your warehouse will appreciate the well-organized and neat appearance, which can help build confidence in your brand and your ability to manage your operations effectively.

In conclusion, an organised warehouse is crucial for the success of any business that relies on storage and distribution. With the help of proper warehouse racking systems, you can improve the efficiency of your operations, increase the storage capacity of your warehouse, increase productivity, improve safety, and create a professional image for your business. If you are looking to improve your warehouse operations, consider investing in a high-quality warehouse racking system.

Different Types of Warehouses

February 6, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Climate-controlled warehouse

As the name goes, these warehouses are used to store items that need to be kept at a specific temperature, mostly perishables. Climate-controlled warehouses can range from humidity-controlled environments that can store fresh fruits, flowers, etc., to freezers that store frozen foods.

Reasons to Choose:

  1. Protection against natural elements
  2. Better inventory security

Smart warehouse

Automation is transforming the way warehouses operate, with AI driving everything from packing to delivering items. With minimal human involvement required and smart technologies taking center stage, modern warehouses are facilitating eCommerce giants like Amazon and Alibaba in speeding up their delivery times while cutting operational costs.

Reasons to Choose:

  1. Lesser chances of error
  2. Reduced manual efforts and cost

Consolidated warehouse

Need to save money on your startup’s shipping expenses? Consolidated warehouses act as a great resource, collecting small shipments from several suppliers and combining them into one full truckload. This allows you to use the same transportation costs that would have gone towards just one shipment – ultimately resulting in considerable savings!

Reasons to Choose:

  1. Economies of scale
  2. No capital investment

Which Warehouse Is the Best for You?

By now, you must have understood that each warehouse has a purpose of its own. You must choose the type that aligns with your business’s requirements.

The World’s Most Incredible Warehouses & Factories

January 6, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Explore some of the world’s most amazing factories and warehouses! From a luxurious wine cellar to an awe-inspiring factory where airplanes are built, these incredible photos will show you what goes into creating modern marvels.

1. DB Schenker’s Warehouse in Germany

DB Schenker is a giant in the logistics industry, and Christian Stoll captures their modern structures with incredible precision. His photos showcase just how powerful the organization really is.

2. Volkswagen’s Car Towers, Wolfsburg, Germany

The Autostadt in Wolfsburg is a sight to behold. It consists of two gleaming glass towers that stand side by side, powered by advanced technology allowing cars from the Volkswagen plant to move seamlessly between them and into the waiting hands of their new owners.

3. National Archives inWinsford, Cheshire

At the heart of Winsford, Cheshire lies a mysterious mine that has grown to an immense size – enough for 700 football pitches! Extending 100 miles deep under ground and growing every day, this salt cave is not just impressive in its dimensions; it also protects some very valuable materials. From confidential government documents to hospital records and historical archives belonging The National Archives, important items find protection thanks to stable temperatures and dry atmosphere inside the vast corridors of this unique subterranean complex.

4. Bank of England’s Vault Beneath London

Nestled deep beneath the bustling streets of London is a glittering secret – an incredible £156 billion worth of gold! Held within the Bank of England’s fortified vault, row after row of 24-carat golden bars shining in all their 28lb glory await discovery.

5. Amazon Warehouse

Amazon, the colossal online retail giant that began as a humble bookstore in 1994, owns an awe-inspiring warehouse somewhere out there. It’s whereabouts remain mysterious to this day – adding even more intrigue and mythos to one of our generation’s most successful empires!

6. Champagne Warehouse, France

The world’s best wines are aged to perfection in underground cellars like this one in Reims, France. After decades of careful maturation and nurturing, these champagnes reach the peak of their flavor for a truly exquisite experience.

7. M&S Warehouse, Castle Donington

With its grand opening in 2003, Marks and Spencer’s colossal e-commerce headquarters located in Castle Donington, Leicestershire creates a hub of activity. This 900,000 sq ft facility is capable of processing an astonishing one million items per day to satisfy the online shopping needs customers around the world!

Types of Warehouse Storage Systems

March 21, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Multi-Tier Racking

The centerpiece of any warehouse is the pallet racking system. These are made out wood, metal or plastic and hold inventory that’s received in large boxes- depending on how high up they go with an automated mechanism to help place them onto your desired location for storage/safekeeping!

Mostly, multi-tier racking concerns relatively lightweight items that are picked and organized manually. To get the most out of this warehouse storage system, organize each tier strategically and pack items as densely as possible, while at the same time paying attention to weight limits and ceiling-to-rack height compliance guidelines.

Mezzanine Flooring

Mezzanine floors are effective and space-saving storage options for any company with a budget. They’re an excellent way to keep your warehouse floor open while also providing additional safety against inventory loss or damage in case there’s ever something worth watching out for!

The most expensive option for a warehouse is likely going to be the one that has all of its features customised. It’s not just about what you need in terms on storage space, but also how it can best suit your needs and workstyle!

Wire Partitions

While mezzanine flooring is one of the more high-tech options, wire partitions are on the other end of the spectrum. Wire partitions are, effectively, strategically-placed wire cages that are meant to be installed and torn down quickly and easily.

Often, the inventory that is housed within wire partitions are the items that may need special security. Some warehouses are even known to use wire partitions to construct makeshift, temporary offices for managers who work on the floor.

Innovative ideas to make your warehouse more efficient

September 16, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Most businesses are always looking to be more efficient, but never more so than in the present day. A variety of difficult business conditions mean that warehouse and logistics operations are increasingly looking to save money and space. Oftentimes, the best way to do this is to invest in technological solutions – upgrading the infrastructure that your business relies on every day.

Some of the improvements that can be made to warehouse and logistics infrastructure are more familiar, while others are more on the cutting edge. From smarter shelving to roving robots to simply investing in your staff, here are five innovative ideas to make your warehouse space more efficient.

Smarter storage for your warehouse: While there are plenty of cutting-edge technologies you can apply to your warehouse, an equally effective solution is simply to reappraise your storage. A higher density form of pallet racking could easily increase your available storage space by more than half – or double the amount of floor space you have available for other tasks – giving you ample room to grow.

Employee training : Many warehouse and logistics businesses offer some sort of training to employees to help them carry out their roles, often in the realm of health and safety. However, by going above and beyond to offer additional skills training, you can both improve the quality of people’s work and reinforce the ties that bind them to your business. Offering and incentivising training courses can be a great way to sharpen skills, improve practices within your warehouse or logistics operation, and even to fill roles that you may be struggling with or anticipating a need for.

Automation: Warehouse automation isn’t just the future – for many businesses, it’s the present. While Amazon has been the front-runner in this field, they have kept most of their advances to themselves. Numerous companies have stepped into the breach to develop similar autonomous robots and other automated systems, which shepherd pallets and individual items around the warehouse.

The advantages of automation are numerous. Autonomous vehicles and robots can be more reactive, as they receive an order from a WMS and immediately know where to go to carry it out. They also present safety benefits, as they can support heavy loads and pose no risk of injury to human operators, with sensors to prevent them from colliding with people. Their suitability for menial, repetitive work also reduces the physical and mental load on human operators, who can be moved to other tasks.

Tips on How to Effectively Plan a Warehouse Layout Design

September 3, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Principles of an Efficient Warehouse Layout

Before you start designing your warehouse, you should understand what you’re trying to achieve with your warehouse layout design.

Here are 3 major principles to keep in mind when planning your warehouse:

Space

Consider how to maximise the space you can afford, taking into consideration storage, stock, offices, working areas, empty pallet storage, battery charging, etc.

With a wide variety of vertical racks and freestanding equipment, you should be able to design your warehouse in the way you need it initially, while being flexible enough to change it in the future if desired.

Flow

Warehouse flow can be summarised as the uninterrupted movement of materials, people, and traffic within your building.

Your first goal should be to cut down on any areas of high traffic or potential for cross-flow crashes.

So, each activity that an employee performs must be located as close as possible to the activity that precedes it and proceeds from it.

That also means materials used to perform those activities should be situated as close as possible to each workstation.

Your second goal should be to eliminate as much movement and disruption as possible.

Accessibility

Every product and all products on pallets should be accessible by everyone, usually without the need to move one product to get to another.

That means structuring your pallet racks in rows that are wide enough to accommodate pallet jacks and trucks, and stacking and stocking items strategically for minimal interference with one another.

What Is External Racking?

July 10, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Are you looking for a way to utilise your yard space that will be completely unaffected by adverse weather conditions? External racking could be the solution for you.

External Warehouse Racking is a storage system that has been galvanised to ensure that the racking will have the longest lifespan possible.

By galvanising the racking you are providing the system with extra protection, ensuring that rust and corrosion are not a problem that you will encounter.

If you have an outdoor space, installing an external racking system will provide useful space for your materials whilst utilising the available space.

Where Could External Racking Be Used?

There are multiple applications that external racking is ideal for:

  • Outdoor retail storage
  • Storage yards
  • Builders Merchants

Advantages of External Racking:

  • Weather resistant – the racking is galvanised to prevent any rust and corrosion
  • Ideal for cold or damp locations
  • Utilising available space in your facility – outdoor space is often under-utilised, outdoor racking allows you to use this space efficiently

Disadvantages of External Racking:

  • The racking must be galvanised to protect it from the elements – this increases the costs and often lead times
  • The products stored must also either not be affected by the elements or be protected from them – this may mean protecting the racking with some form of cladding
  • The floor area must be concreted, flat and level as in an internal warehouse

If you would like more information regarding warehouse racking solutions, call us today on (01942) 603344 or email info@millennium-si.co.uk to arrange a no obligation visit.

5 Critical Pallet Rack Safety Hazards

June 25, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Physical damage to the pallet rack

Often this damage occurs from lift truck collisions. Sufficient clearance space and clear aisles are both great ways to prevent this kind of damage. Always encourage employees to promptly report all minor impacts or observable damage.

Misaligned Racking Safety Hazard

This can cause collapse or failure of your pallet racking system. During inspection, use the manufacturer’s instructions to check that racks are properly aligned, plum, and level.

Loose Floor Fittings

OSHA is clear that rack columns are bottom-anchored to the floor with column base plates secured with anchor bolts.

Suitability of forklift truck

Your material handling equipment and pallet jacks should be sized to meet your needs.

Weight of stored goods versus capacity of racking system

To prevent dangerously overloaded racks, ANSI/RMI MH16.1 suggests posting the maximum permissible unit load, average unit load, and maximum total load per bay.

In the end, whether your racks are damaged, overloaded, improperly anchored or misaligned, they’re a serious safety hazard that can result in serious injury. OSHA recommends warehouse managers develop a thorough maintenance and inspection program. Be liberal with safety audits that include everything from pallet rack signage all the way up your material handling equipment.

How To Keep Your Warehouse Clean

March 25, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Top tips on how to keep your warehouse clean and safe

  1. Keep an updated cleaning schedule.
  2. Clear your bins regularly. Bins should never get to the point of overflowing.
  3. Have cleaning supplies available for your staff at all times.
  4. Give employees areas to keep clean.
  5. Clean as you go, ensure everyone tidies up after themselves. It is highly recommended that your staff clean litter such as metal shavings as they work maintaining the standard set by your firm and keeping the area hazard free.
  6. Recycle the rubbish that you can.
  7. Provide staff with the correct safety equipment.
  8. Barriers – there are a range of barriers you can get for your warehouse to ensure complete safety of your staff members and keep restricted access to vehicles such as forklifts. This not only keeps your warehouse cleaner, but also ensures organisation.
  9. Label shelving and floors to ensure your staff know where everything is located.

How To Increase Your Warehouse Capacity Ready For Brexit

February 18, 2019 / / 0 Comments

If you’re a business owner relying on imports and exports for your business to function, Brexit is most likely going to be an unwelcome distraction this year. Uncertainty over supplies is going to be the biggest problem, therefore stockpiling is going to be the best answer to getting through the uncertainty in March.

Carrying more stock, however, means freeing up more storage space and doing that can mean taking a fresh look at how you use your warehouse space and where possible reconfiguring it. Reconfiguring your warehouse space is likely to be far more cost effective than moving to a different warehouse and it saves the time involved in moving everything.

To begin with it’s a good idea to do an inventory of the stock you already have. You will need to factor in any likely increases in stock levels and how much demand there is likely to be.

Next take a close look at your current storage methods – you may find that pallet racking needs to be replaced so that it makes better use of the space available. If the space between racking is overly generous then you could add considerably more storage capacity and still provide enough space for your forklifts and pickers.

If you are taking on extra stock, then it will be important to make sure that you can easily access stock that will be in higher demand in the coming months. This means distances to the exits should be shorter than for products you are storing long term.

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