How to Add Warehouse Capacity Without the Cost and Timeline of Traditional Construction

Inventory overflowing available space often leads to more than simple space challenges. It can affect your business operations and employee productivity (see more here) in other ways:

• Slow and difficult to receive material
• Cramped working spaces and aisles
• Difficulty in finding items
• Excess forklift movements

Is More Square Footage Really the Answer?

In many cases, when a warehouse is over capacity, a business may not necessarily need an addition. It could be a product flow issue, items that are not turning over as planned, inadequate loading space, lack of protected outdoor storage, or any number of other factors that are not necessarily solved with square feet.

Once you determine if a warehouse really needs additional space or just an opportunity to reorganize, consider the following when looking into a fabric-covered structure.

Fabric Structures Can Be Faster to Deploy

Fabric structures are built with prefabricated components, which helps expedite the process. The steel structure is fabricated in advance with minimal onsite modification, and then the fabric is tensioned over the structure. Traditional buildings require more on-site modifications, but a fabric building can also be an asset in many cases because it offers a clear-span structure with no interior supports to interfere with racking, equipment, or loading areas; the practical side of fabric buildings for storage and warehousing starts there.

When deploying a fabric structure to increase storage space, you are still considering site preparation, drainage, permits, and engineering requirements that can help determine the overall timeline. But in a pinch, businesses can plan for a decision time of 8 weeks before an overflow time to help account for approvals, site prep, sizing, and other planning.

This time can also be used to explore what is best for the business, including:

• What needs to be protected from the elements?
• How will product and equipment get in and out of the building?
• What types of products and materials will be in the structure?
• Do you need racking inside?
• What will be temporary and what will be more of a permanent residence?
• Where will staging areas be, and how much room will they need?
• If the structure is being used as a temporary storage option to clear out some slow-moving inventory, what other inventory can go back into the warehouse?

Match Protection to Stored Materials

There are certain materials that require protection and others that can get by with a roof over their head. A warehouse could have material like packaging, paper, and electronics that are susceptible to changes in weather that could affect quality or shelf life. Or they may have some equipment or tools that just require protection from rain and snow.

Fabric structures are designed to protect against many weather conditions, but it’s important to factor in things like condensation and ventilation when determining your needs and building specifications. A fabric structure allows natural lighting inside but keeps out most debris, sun, rain, and snow.

Compare Total Disruption, Not Just Construction Cost

There are a number of factors that should be compared when looking at the construction of a new warehouse space or addition. The cost is often the first comparison but should not be the only one.

Traditional building construction can cause a major disruption to business operations on the property. Traffic patterns in a yard can be interrupted, loading bays impacted, and general confusion can result from working around a construction project. This can mean overtime or even delayed shipments. These indirect costs can often be minimized with a fabric structure.

When comparing the two types of structures, it’s also important to take into account your local wind and snow loads, life expectancy, and equipment requirements. Visit this link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_load to know more. The best building may not always be the lowest cost in all situations.

Rules are different for materials that are not in the warehouse. Insurers and the fire department may classify buildings based on the product stored, how it is stacked, pallet configuration, and duration of occupancy by employees. This classification can dictate requirements for fire alarms, evacuation, fire extinguishers, aisle widths, and sprinklers.

If the building is for heavy equipment or items stored loose, a compacted gravel surface may be adequate. However, if pallets are stored or there will be extensive forklift usage, a concrete slab is usually required that will support point loads.

Plan your secondary storage to avoid common problems. Map drive paths for trailers to accommodate trailer approach, and designate areas to place snow. Determine where to drain surface water so it does not contribute to icy drive paths. The goal of good site planning is to make outdoor storage a logical extension of your warehouse and not just a catchall for overflow.

Be sure to update location coding, receiving processes, scanning capabilities, and all other controls to accommodate the new area before moving product there.

Overflow inventory should have clearly marked signs and should be included in regular cycle count schedules to avoid becoming disconnected from the rest of the warehouse.

Turn Overflow Space Into a Practical Plan

Before finalizing a fabric structure design, it’s helpful to look at the footprint in relation to the existing buildings, yard space, and loading areas. A common problem is not leaving enough room to turn pallets or forklifts. Planning your door and equipment clearances and making sure the proportions of the structure make sense is an easy way to avoid this problem. End wall doors are good for through traffic, while side walls can be helpful for a building that is being placed adjacent to a structure.

Keep in mind the height of the tallest item when determining structure size, but don’t forget to plan for forklift height when loads are up in the air. Clearance is an important part of this calculation. Height clearance is not just a function of door size but also lighting, racking, and overall equipment manoeuvring. Plan based on typical forklift movements. It can also be helpful to plan for lighting requirements, especially if your picking operations will be moved into the structure, along with perimeter drainage and product security, especially if product will be placed near exterior walls.

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