Cold storage facilities have to meet strict temperature guidelines. Designed well, they operate more effectively and lower costs for maintenance. Discover three concepts of design from Ware Malcomb principal Cameron Trefry that maximize real estate value in these exclusive facilities.
Owners of cold storage warehouses put more emphasis on the comfort of their employees to draw new workers. This is crucial as the labor shortage continues.
Maximizing Efficiency
Cold storage facilities need to be placed in locations with easy access for transportation facilities that could be accessed by a wide number of customers. Additionally, they need to be near raw materials, packaging, and even labor.
In the process of designing your facility be aware of the kinds of goods you’ll need to store and the amount you’ll be storing in each room. The different types of perishables create the heat in the form of latent heat, which needs to be sucked out through ventilation and cooling systems.
Also, using automation tools like Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV) at your warehouse will boost effectiveness and help reduce errors within your warehouse. Planning for these features within your design of the facility can assure that you’re prepared to take advantage of this technology in the beginning. It will save you time and money in the long run as well as ensure the cold storage facility you have in place can give excellent customer service.
Product Safety
Cold storage facilities are often used to store and ship perishable items, which require an extremely high level of treatment. Working in such a facility poses a variety of risk factors that need to be taken into account to safeguard the safety of employees in addition to product quality and efficiency of warehouses.
Safety measures for workers should include equipment, such as cold coats, gloves and insulated pants when operating in cold storage spaces. Additionally, any store that uses refrigeration systems that are based on ammonia should implement the proper measures to prevent fire.
Using sprinkler systems and regularly checking them regularly is a way to mitigate fire risks. Furthermore, incorporating areas that are conditioned into newly constructed open-air warehouses (a box-in-box approach) is another effective way to limit fire risks as well as protect stored food items from damage. Furthermore, a properly-designed design for warehouses can drastically reduce the time it takes to transport workers between various functional zones.
Key Considerations
Cold storage structures employ two primary kinds of refrigeration: vapor recompression and absorption. It is vital for the design team to comprehend the demands of these systems as well as their capability to work within a particular building.
A critical owner equipment consideration is the need for a refrigeration system that can operate on a continuous basis that consumes minimal energy, and an extremely small footprint. This is accomplished by integrating this system into the structure, which will decrease floor and roof square space without affecting the capacity of storage.
A further important consideration is the fact that cold storage facilities is best designed to be an enclosure that blocks outside air. This is vital for separate facilities as well as for cold storage areas in larger structures. For these attached facilities massive anterooms, which are kept at an intermediate temperature between outdoor and storage areas can assist in stopping condensation inside walls and roof assemblies.
Best Practices
Clear communication among each of the third parties that are part of the cold storage supply chain is vital to maximizing logistics. This prevents product issues that could cause expensive delays.
Equipment that has been specifically built for cold weather is crucial. For example, touchscreens on equipment should be designed to respond with gloved fingers. The buttons also need to be big enough for you to feel when you wear the thickest gloves. Also, it is important to replace batteries regularly, as they tend to degrade quicker when exposed to cold conditions.
It is also essential for you to seal and insulate the structure properly in order to ensure an uninterrupted vapor barrier. It will help to save plenty of energy over the course of time. Also, having efficient lighting is vital in order to make sure that employees can perform their work and to ensure visibility of safety signs for those working outside in the frigid winter.
Cold Storage Sustainability and Technology
Cold storage warehouses demand a lot of attention when it comes to maintaining the right temperature. This is particularly true of fruits and vegetables, which need to be kept at a specific temperature in order in order to maintain their high quality.
Numerous thi cong lap kho cap dong tai ha noi facilities today adopt eco-friendly design and construction techniques, often without realizing they are doing it. Using recycled insulation and eco-friendly construction materials can help reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide during manufacturing, as well as delivering long-term cost reductions by using energy efficient.
As well as the load of service from refrigeration illumination, ventilation as well as occupant traffic, cold storage facilities must eliminate heat that is generated through ripening fruits and different processes. The energy-efficient concrete slab construction and an envelope with a high R-value assist in decreasing the burden of heat which in turn reduces energy bills.