Principles to be considered in warehousing designing are:
1.Design criteria
2.Handling technology
3.Storage plan
A.Design criteria
-Factors to be considered are:
(a)Number of storeys in the facility
(b)Height utilization, and
(c)Product flow
(a)Number of storeys in the facility
•Ideally, the warehouse design should be limited to a single storey so that the product is not required to be moved up and down.
•Use of elevators to move product from one floor to the next requires time and energy and hence cost.
•Elevators can also become bottlenecks in product flow since many material handlers usually compete for a limited number of elevators.
•Hence, as far as possible, warehouses should be limited to a single storey unless it is situated in Central Business District where land is restricted or expensive.
(b) Height utilization
•Maximum usage of available space by allowing for the optimum utilization of height on each floor
•Maximum effective warehouse height is limited by safe lifting capabilities of material-handling equipment such as forklifts and fire safety regulations.
(c) Product flow
•Design should allow for straight product flow i.e. product should be received at one end of the building, stored in the middle, and then shipped from the other end.
B. Handling Technology
•Focuses on effectiveness and efficiency of material handling technology and primarily takes into account the following:
-Movement continuity, and
-Economies of scale in movement.
(a)Movement continuity
-It is better for a material handler or a handling equipment to make a longer move than to have a number of handlers make numerous, individual, short length moves.
-Exchanging the product between handlers or moving it from one equipment to another wastes time and increases the potential for damage.
(b) Economies of scale in movement.
-Warehousing activities should be designed to move a group of cases such as master cartons or containers, as grouping or batching reduces the number of activities and hence the cost.
C. Storage plan
•High sales volume or fast moving products should be stored in a location that minimizes the distance it is moved such as low height storage racks.
•The objective is to minimize the travel distance and also the need for extended lifting.
•Low sales volume or slow moving product can be assigned locations that are distant from the centre or higher up in the storage rack.
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