Cold storage facilities need to adhere to stringent temperatures. If designed properly, they will operate better and can reduce costs for maintenance. Take a look at three design principles by Ware Malcomb principal Cameron Trefry that will maximize the real estate value in these exclusive structures.
The owners of Cold Storage Warehouses put more emphasis on comfort for employees in order to lure the attention of more workers. This is crucial as the labor shortage continues.
Maximizing Efficiency
Cold storage facilities must be in areas where there is easy access to transport infrastructures that are able to connect to a huge customer base. They also need to be near raw materials, packaging, and even labor.
When designing your facility be aware of the kinds of goods you’ll need to store and the amount you’ll be keeping in each space. Different types of perishables produce inert heat which must be cooled and dispersed through ventilation or cooling systems.
Furthermore, installing automation capabilities like Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV) in your warehouse will improve the efficiency of your warehouse and decrease errors in handling in your facility. A well-planned approach to planning these systems to be integrated into your building design will assure that you’re prepared to take advantage of this technology from the beginning. This can save time and cost in the end as well as ensure your cold storage warehouse is able to be a great service for customers.
Product Safety
Cold storage facilities are often used for the storage and transportation of products that are perishable, and require special and careful. Being in a such facility has a number of risks to be weighed for the safety of workers, product integrity and warehouse efficiency.
Workers must be wearing appropriate safety equipment like warm coats, gloves and insulated pants when operating in cold storage areas. In addition, any business which uses refrigeration systems that are based on ammonia must implement proper fire prevention measures.
Installing sprinkler systems regularly and testing them is one way to mitigate fire risks. In addition, incorporating the conditioned areas into newly constructed outdoor warehouses (a box-in-box approach) is another good option to minimize fire hazards and protect cold stored products from destruction. Additionally, a well-designed design for warehouses can drastically reduce the time it takes for workers to move between various functional zones.
Key Considerations
Cold storage buildings employ two primary varieties of refrigeration: absorption and compression. It is vital for the design team to know the specifications for these types of systems and their capability to work within a particular building.
An essential consideration for owners is a cooling system that operates continuously using minimal energy and the footprint is small. This is done by integrating the system into the structure, which will cut down on floor and roof square areas without degrading the capacity of storage.
Another crucial aspect is the cold storage facility must be constructed as an enclosure that blocks outside air. This is vital for isolated facilities as well as cold storage spaces inside larger buildings. These attached structures, large anterooms maintained in a temperature that is regulated between storage and outdoor spaces can aid in preventing condensation from walls and roof assemblies.
Best Practices
Clear communication among each of the third parties that are part of the supply chain for cold storage is crucial to optimizing logistics. This can help avoid product difficulties that may cause costly delays.
Using equipment that is specifically designed for cold temperatures is important. For instance, touchscreens on equipment should be designed to respond with gloved fingers. Additionally, the buttons need to be large enough that they can feel in heavy gloves. It’s also essential to change batteries frequently, because they will degrade more quickly when in cold temperatures.
Finally, it is crucial to insulate and seal the building envelope properly to maintain an ongoing vapor barrier. It can help save lots of energy over time. Also, having efficient lighting is essential in order to make sure that employees can perform their work and to ensure awareness of safety signals for workers who work in freezing cold.
Cold Storage Sustainability and Technology
Cold storage warehouses require a lot of attention in maintaining the right temperature. This is especially the case for veggies and fruits that need to be kept at a specific temperature in order to preserve their quality.
Many lap dat kho lanh cong nghiep tai ha noi companies today adopt eco-friendly design and construction techniques even without knowing the benefits. Recycled insulation and environmentally-friendly building materials helps to reduce the carbon footprint of production and also provide long-term savings through energy efficiency.
In addition to the service load from refrigeration lights, lighting, as well as occupant traffic cold storage facilities need to dissipate latent heat produced by the ripening process of fruits as well as various other processes. Energy-efficient concrete slab installations and an R-valued building envelope assist in decreasing the burden of heat which in turn reduces energy bills.