How Should I Plan My Warehouse?

Planning your storage space effectively allows for efficient warehouse operation and is dependent on its layout and design. Ensuring that you have a sound warehouse floor plan is essential in ensuring the efficient and safe operations within your industrial space. Where the planning is ineffective, efficiency and space optimisation will be compromised, resulting in negative impacts to your supply chain and workflow.

In order to maximise the efficiency of your warehouse, the planning stage is fundamental. During this planning stage, factors such as the space of your warehouse, storage options, aisle layout, production workflows and productivity equipment must be considered. Essentially, getting to know your needs by familiarising yourself with your storage space and its requirements are the first few steps of planning your warehouse. The process of considering the design and layout can begin to commence, once all of these factors have been considered.

Complying With Regulations

When working in higher-risk environments such as warehouses, complying with regulations set by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is a top priority.

When considering warehouse safety, the owner of the warehouse is responsible for most issues that can occur. That is why it is important to ensure that you are working with a storage solution company that can guarantee a safe, and top-quality service - and has been awarded with the necessary accreditations that highlight their commitment and understanding of safety within industrial spaces.

At DC, our accreditations speak for themselves. As a SEMA Approved Installation Company, we guarantee our commitment to health, safety and service across each stage of the planning and installation process of your storage solution.

The Process:

1) Mapping It Out

Designing a map or blueprint of your warehouse is one of the first few steps in the planning process. This map may already be in existence, or you may have to make a new one. This can be done using a pen and paper, or alternatively, can be done using layout design software.

Not taking any shortcuts when it comes to measuring your workspace is pivotal – ensuring you have the most accurate measurements you can get reduces risks of not achieving space optimisation. Hiring a warehouse design expert (like us!) will ensure that your design layout is optimised based on your needs and requirements.

2) Space Optimisation and Planning

The layout of your warehouse largely rests on the space available. Considering things such as storage, workflow areas and space for equipment is an important aspect of planning – and this should begin with planning your storage area first as knowing the amount of space you have to store your goods and products is perhaps one of the most important factors within these early stages.

Multiple methods of storage are available within your industrial space. Whether you should organise your storage using cluster methods or aisles depends entirely on the space you are using, as well as your requirements for your warehouse.

During this stage, ensuring your storage area has not gone beyond its capacity by calculating accurately the amount of space you have is crucial. Making use of vertical space at this point of the planning will also increase your storage capacity – allowing you to maximise your space.

3) Picking the Right Equipment for You

Equipment will be necessary within your warehouse for operations. The amount of equipment that is available for you to choose from is incredibly vast, but this can be limited by the space you are working with. Different products within your space require different handling equipment. During this process, factors such as spacing between aisles should also be considered in order to ensure the correct equipment is being chosen.

4) Testing and Recording

Before the designing stage of your warehouse, running tests is necessary to ensure the effectiveness of it. The best way to do this is by measuring the proposed layout that has been created, setting up the perimeter, and then walking through it. Make it a priority to test out the high zone areas.

Another important factor is using the equipment while testing to make sure everything can move with enough space and safely. Having your employees test out this new design is also beneficial as they can familiarise themselves with the design.

Effective Planning

Being aware of your space and being conscientious of all the necessary steps to ensure an effective and safe plan will mean that the planning stage of your warehouse design runs as smoothly as possible. Recording the results of the test stage of your planning will enable you to understand what may need changing, and can be used to alter your design as necessary.

With Our Help!

We offer a bespoke end-to-end service, ensuring our work is customer-driven whilst also prioritising top-quality service throughout. From the design, to the supply, installation, inspection and maintenance of your storage solution – DC has you covered!

DC offers a designing process which completely designs the way your industrial space should work. We do this through our industrial consultants who strive to ensure maximum efficiency and safety within your industrial space.

Contact us today for a no-obligation, free estimate service on all things planning for your industrial space.