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Tag: Warehouse Solutions (page 3 of 4)

There Is More Than One Type Of Office Partition

Office partitions allow you make the most of your office space as well as reorganise and create new workspaces. It is, however, essential to consider which office partition will work best in your particular environment. Here are some of the merits of each type…

Solid Partitions
As the name suggests these are more permanent partitions. These are most suited to office spaces where confidentiality is important. Solid partitions can always be mixed and matched with glass partitions to brighten things up.

Glass Partitions
Glass partitions are great for smaller offices where you want clutter kept to a minimum. They also create brighter more collaborative workspaces which tend to keep staff happier in comparison to solid walls which can create unnecessary barriers in some offices.

Demountable Partitions
These are highly flexible and easy to move around if your office space is more fluid. With many old town centre buildings being transformed into enterprise hubs and business incubators, demountable partitions can provide a way to create separation between work spaces and allow plenty of scope to change layouts at the same time.

For more information or guidance on installing office partitions give us a call today or look through the range of services we provide.

When To Use Cantilever Racking

January 20, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments

Cantilever racking is a type of storage system which is used for all sorts of purposes and typically appears in builder’s merchant yards and factories. Like any racking system, cantilever racking is very versatile as well as being strong.

Cantilever racking is at its most useful when used to store longer lengths of materials and items, which typically consist of sheets of wood, steel, tubes, pipes and so on. A cantilever system can also be used to effectively store odd shaped items which might otherwise take up a lot of space in a warehouse or other storage facility.

The typical cantilever systems we see in use today are used to store items that can be up to 10 metres long and up to a 30,000kg in weight. The arms used are usually around 2 ½ metres with adjustment possible depending on the size of materials stored.

The other great thing about using cantilever lever racking is the ability to add to it over time as storage requirements increase. You can simple add to the bays as time goes on to massively increase your storage capacity.

Cantilever racking can be used indoors and outdoors (as long as it is galvanised). Please get in touch if you would like to know about the racking systems we have available.

Is Your Warehouse Ready For Black Friday?

October 20, 2017 / admin / 0 Comments

This November is likely to be a record breaking month for mobile smartphone shopping with 10bn predicted to be spent this year. Meanwhile overall spending across all devices is predicted to top 20bn.

The behaviour of online consumers in recent years has been shaped by Black Friday, an event imported from the United States where retailers offer large discounts on their items. Unlike the high street where peak times tend to be the run up to Christmas and the January Sales people are understandably keen to purchase presents online in November to take advantage of low prices.

All this extra spending on online purchases will certainly increase the demand for storage and distribution facilities and bring added pressure to capacities. So how can you adapt your warehouse space to this demand?

Fortunately, there are several ways including the introduction of mezzanine floors to maximise unused headroom. Investing in additional racking and shelving will also help increase storage space significantly. Investing in double racking for example will mean pallets can be stored two deep.

If space is restricted then you could consider reducing the number of access aisles to further increase pallet storage capacity.

Why You Need Warehouse Crash Barriers

September 30, 2017 / admin / 0 Comments

Warehouses can be dangerous places for staff when fork trucks are constantly moving around and racks are stacked high with various goods. This is where crash barriers act as an important safety feature.

The number of injuries in the transport and storage industry numbers approximately 2,500 every year. Each one of these incidents will not only result in injuries and even fatalities in some cases but also damage to goods and time off work for those with seriously injured.

Crash barriers then are an essential feature all warehouse designs should incorporate along with layouts that help minimise the potential for accidents to occur in the first place.

Warehouse barriers should be designed to serve a number of functions in addition to protecting workers. Barriers will minimise damage to racking which can be expensive to replace and reduce the impact of collisions with moving objects such as forklift trucks.

Warehouse crash barriers do this by spreading and absorbing the force of impact, which dramatically reduces the injuries likely to be sustained. They also act as a means to slow down vehicles during collisions.

If you require more information about installing racking and safety features in your warehouse, give us a call.

Guide to Office And Warehouse Partitioning

September 19, 2017 / admin / 0 Comments

Making sure your offices reflect the ethos of your business can be a difficult task in some building but if you have enough space to play with, partitioning could be the answer.

Before considering which partitioning is right for your workplace, some important questions will need to be answered first such as will it reduce noise levels? Should you go for glazed or simple stud partitioning? What colours should it be? Should these colours be the same as your branding? This process will be made easier by consulting a specialist company to help sort out your partitioning requirements.

In terms of choice, the 2 most common types of partitioning you will come across are:

Stud partitioning
This is an incredibly versatile type of partitioning which is as useful for warehouses as it is for offices. It is a great choice for those workplaces that need to reduce noise levels. IT can then be decorated using your own choice of colours and finish.

Glass partitioning
Glass is ideal if you want to let in plenty of light and gain the benefits of partitioning. It is also very flexible when used in offices. If you do require privacy, then you can also add blinds but glass is less effective at reducing sound levels.

How To Solve The 3 Most Common Warehouse Efficiency Issues

August 22, 2017 / admin / 0 Comments

The volume of space we have at our disposal is something that is always changing and if your business revolves around the storage of items you will encounter times when space becomes a real issue if you are affected by these 3 common issues.

The wrong type of pallet racking
Has pallet racking in your warehouse been correctly thought out or is it no longer meeting storage requirements? It’s easy to overlook how pallet racking is installed even though it is one of the most important areas to check. Sometimes changes can be made such as making better use of the height or aisle space of a warehouse. Regular inspections should be made to ensure that racking is not only set up to maximum efficiency.

Outdated shelving
This can be a safety hazard as well as a storage concern. If shelves haven’t been inspected there can be hidden safety issues as well as impacts on storage capacity. In these cases it can be useful to speak to an expert who can advise on the best solutions for your warehouse storage facility.

Items stored on the floor
Of all the storage solutions, floor space is the least efficient. Using floor space not only creates hazards for employees it also limits your options when it comes to utilising all the space that could be available.

Drones Set To Power A Warehouse Boom

April 11, 2017 / admin / 0 Comments

Drones may be a relatively new technology but they are about to become the next stage in a retail revolution that is transforming not only the way we shop but also the how goods are stored and distributed.

Amazon drones are already grabbing the headlines and ecommerce stores which were once simply a complement to established high street chains are now available to anyone who wants to set upo an online shop.

Yet even with drones and the internet doing a lot of the work, there is still the basic need to store those products and the simple warehouse is set to become a big draw for investors who sense that the returns in this sector are set to boom.

While drone technology is yet to become commonplace with issues such as the amount of drones that might be flying around at any given time, it is clear where things are heading. Drones are capable of dropping off an order less than 20 minutes after a button is clicked on a website.

The amount of infrastructure required to meet the demand for this type of service will spark a scramble for available warehouse space.

According to the latest figures, online shopping now accounts for 15% of all UK sales. Worldwide, ecommerce transactions are set to hit $4trn dollars by 2020.

How To Make Pallet Storage In Industrial Warehouses More Efficient

February 20, 2017 / admin / 0 Comments

One of the first things to do when you have identified a warehouse suitable for your storage needs is to assess how that space is used for optimum efficiency.

To do this you will need a storage professional to help you not only help plan how the space will be used but also increase the profitability of your warehouse. Of course a lot about planning your space will depend on the kinds of products you will be storing and how much traffic is likely to be entering and exiting the building.

When it comes to the pallets themselves there are three important areas to keep think about:

The size of products
The ideal use of space is to store your products according to their common sizes although this may not always be possible. The focus either way should be to keep the fastest moving products nearest the exit door so that productivity can be maximised.

The number of pallets
When calculating how many pallets you need to fill the available rack space you should also allow for growth in stock levels over time.

The size of your pallets
It is important to allow some clearance around your pallets rather than have them tightly packed together. A forklift truck should have enough room to pick a pallet out of each slot without risking damage to surrounding products.

There are of course plenty of other factors to consider including the rent per sq ft and so on but the above should help get you started. If you need more information please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Internet Shopping Drives Demand for Warehouse Space and Investment

November 20, 2016 / admin / 0 Comments

Fund managers are pouring money into warehouses around the world as the long-term fundamentals of the sector remain strong and set for future growth.
A recent deal involving Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund saw the purchase of a $2.4 billion portfolio of warehouses in Europe. Demand for warehousing has been largely driven by the growth in online retailing, which is revolutionising the way we shop and how businesses store their products.

Amazon, one of the trailblazers is already investing in more and more warehouses to help keep pace with customer demands for fast deliveries.

While one after another big high street retailers with long histories seem to be toppling, online shopping has gone from strength to strength and this will only increase demand for warehouses in the future.

Building a warehouse of course requires a lot of space, therefore unlike other commercial property sectors, warehouses can be more profitable than other asset classes because demand is kept high.

Returns from warehouses are said to be better than for office towers by almost one percent, though returns have diminished slightly as more investors have entered the sector in an attempt to find an alternative to bonds. Yields have fallen lower on bonds due to loose monetary policy in Europe and other parts of the world.

How To Improve Forklift Safety In Warehouses

July 11, 2016 / admin / 0 Comments

Fatal accidents involving forklift trucks have been reduced significantly thanks to better safety procedures, training and advances in technology. Unfortunately, there are still just over a handful of fatalities each year so what can be done to improve safety to reduce accidents in today’s warehouses?

Driving a forklift truck brings its own set of responsibilities that can soon be overlooked if a driver is in a hurry and cuts corners. This is why proper training to drive forklifts is a must and compulsory in organisations.

Another factor, which is often overlooked is the general condition of the vehicle. Is it inspected regularly for signs of wear and tear? Tires are of particular importance if the vehicle is driven outside on rough terrain. Just like a car poor tyre condition can be a cause of many accidents.

It is also important to select the right forklift truck for the job. If there warehouse within which the forklift is operating has narrow aisles, then a vehicle with a good turning radius is a must not only from a safety point of view but in terms of productivity as well.

It is also important to plan the layout of your storage facility to ensure that forklifts can be operated safely.