Rethink Your Warehouse Design for Enhanced Productivity

a warehouse full of wooden pallets

If you’re an entrepreneur or building owner, you’re probably aware that, contrary to popular belief, a warehouse is much more than a storage area. Beneficial to any logistics system, a warehouse serves as a central location for receiving, storing, and distributing products. Businesses that use a warehouse to store and transfer products usually keep an inventory that ensures products get ordered and shipped on time. Warehouses are just as practical for customers as they are for businesses. Keeping products stored in one central location rather than multiple locations is more efficient and allows customers and businesses to enjoy reduced delivery costs.

With everything considered, utilizing a warehouse can be great for business. The economic benefits resulting from a warehouse that runs like a well-oiled machine can contribute to a business’s profitability and enable the organization to remain competitive. For this reason, the structure of the warehouse itself must be conducive to productivity. Read on for ways to redesign your warehouse and enhance productivity.

1. Keep the layout and environment of the warehouse suitable for the products you’re storing.

The warehouse design must be adequate for storing certain products—a crucial aspect in renovating a warehouse. For instance, if you keep clothes in your warehouse, there are fewer requirements than if you use your warehouse for housing food or other perishable products that are sensitive to temperature. When rethinking your warehouse’s design, always keep in mind any environmental factors, such as temperature or humidity, that can impact the limits of the contents inside your warehouse.

2. Make your warehouse comfortable for employees.

Employees’ productivity is likely to increase when they’re comfortable. Consider redesigning your warehouse in a way that increases your workers’ comfort levels. One way you could increase comfort and productivity is to play the music that makes your employees feel good and inspires them to be active. Another way to enhance comfort is to have comfortable rest areas for your employees to relax when they’re on break. Additionally, have comfortable mats in concrete places where employees regularly stand while they’re working.

The most important way to make your warehouse more comfortable for employees is to ensure it has excellent ventilation and indoor air quality. Insufficient air circulation and poor indoor air quality can result in stagnant exhaust and fumes, pollutants, and odors which can be detrimental to human health, wellbeing, and safety. Furthermore, efficient HVAC systems with the capacity to cool large spaces are beneficial because they can prevent employees from overheating in the warehouse and provide heat that keeps them warm when working in the winter.

Indoor air quality can promote greater productivity, so be sure to consult professional HVAC technicians who can keep your cooling and heating systems in working order. HVAC experts have the skills necessary to replace outdated systems with new HVAC systems and give them the thorough cleanings they require for optimum working and improved indoor air quality. Units and filters filled with debris, mold, dirt, and dust mites can result in bacteria, fungi, and contaminants, which can threaten employees’ health, especially if they have allergies or asthma. Having your system cleaned regularly, especially amid the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis, can keep your employees and clients safe and healthy.

3. Redesign your warehouse in a way that makes it spacious and safe.

Some work environment conditions can put warehouse workers and occupants at risk of experiencing illnesses, injuries, and workplace incidents. For instance, some warehouse workers may operate large machinery or special equipment that could make them prone to accidents if they collide with other machines, workers, or objects in their path. Other potential workplace risks include being exposed to harmful chemicals and substances and being hit by items that fall from shelves, cabinets, and other surfaces.

Increasing the workplace safety of your warehouse could enhance productivity. When your warehouse is undergoing renovations, be sure to mark any zones identified as hazardous with stickers and signs. Also, always label dangerous equipment, materials, and racks to prevent severe injuries. Furthermore, determine the weight a shelf or rack can handle and how to stack and store materials and objects to prevent objects from falling and injuring employees. Stacking and storing materials neatly in designated areas can maximize the workspace and prevent spills, falls, and overcrowding.

Obtain Employee Feedback

Ultimately, it can be beneficial to include your employees in your warehouse renovation project. Ask employees for their input and what changes they’d like to see in their workspace. From there, plan a budget and schedule that prioritizes the renovations that will be advantageous to your warehouse.