What are the principles to be followed in Warehouse designing building?

While designing the building certain principles must be become in mind.

1-    A stores building holds stock, which is increased by receipts and reduced in quantum by issues. The inward and outward flows are therefore, of primary importance.

2-    Quick vehicle turnaround at the receipt store is essential to efficient stores management. So also at the dispatch section. The layout of the stockyard plays an important role in keeping transport moving, since it allows vehicles to maneuver and to queue in an orderly fashion. Bad design of the stockyard can lead to considerable delays.

3-    Working area, including goods inward and goods outward, maintenance areas and packing areas should be grouped as closely together as is readably possible while retaining separate flows. This would mean the reduction of costs on providing common areas, e.g. toilets, etc.

4-    The office of the stores should be as close to the working areas as possible to facilitate proper supervision and good communication.

5-    Office can be on the first floor or on a mezzanine. The ground floor can be reserved exclusively for storage.

6-    The height of the building from the floor to the ceiling must be enough to permit maximum floor lading and should be higher than maximum stacking level of the materials being stored and the reach capability of the handling equipment used. The costs of building with height in mind are low compared to the cost of floor space.

7-    Main gangway are best placed to run the length of longer buildings giving access to all areas. In buildings leaser length gangways should be breadth wise to economies on storage space.

8-    Main gangways must be wide enough for two of the largest vehicles or mechanical equipment likely to pass each other without risk of collision.

9-    Proper lighting must be provided so as to illuminate stack faces adequately.

-Doors should be wide and high enough to be well clear of loaded vehicles or equipment like forklifts passing through them.

-Floor thickness and strength must be specified and checked during building construction.

-Fire precautions need to be carefully considered before the building is erected, and fire exists provided. Fire extinguishing systems must match requirement.

-Security arrangements to control access to both buildings and yards will be required and will involve the provision of a perimeter wall or fencing.

The first task in planning is to gather facts (not opinions). Some questions are:

1-Whome does the store serve? Where are they located?

2-What are the items stocked? What are their maximum and minimum quantities their nature (small, big, bulky, heavy, binnable, can be kept in stockyard, kept in crates or on pallet, liquid, hazardous etc) and the total space they are likely to occupy.

3-How are they received / dispatched? How much quantity per day/week? How many road trucks of what sizes per day are involved? How many railway wagons?   

4-Handling equipment required?

5- Number of staff – officers, supervisor, workers (of various categories)?

6-How much space is available? (Area, cubic feet?)

7- Requirements of receiving and dispatch sections?

8- What type of material handling equipment is envisaged? (Forklifts, overhead cranes, only manual systems?) Study proposals and evaluate alternatives.

The success of store building design will depend primarily on the facts that have been gathered and analyzed. The problem has to be studied in depth and no fact is small enough to be ignored.

The two basic considerations of a store layout project are:

1-    Materials to be stored (or job to be handled).

2-    Space available (Three dimensional). Make drawing to scale.

A complete study of space will assist in the computation of shelf heights for pallet racks and pallet width and depth. Look for columns in the building and their widths. Prepare a space chart.

Next, plot a plan of the building complex which will include store building, loading and unloading bays, roads open areas, railway sidings, etc.

Within the store building itself, plan out the actual storage area and the office and administration area. The receipt, storage, Issue and dispatch sections should be segregated. The overall plan of the store complex will enable one to know the exact volume of storage space available and also the possibilities for expansion.

The next step would be to prepare am outside and inside elevation drawing of the building which will include the ceiling and stacking height details, as well as floor load capacities.

Thanks for asking me,

I believe you should ask architects and civil engineers for this sort of information.

I fully agree with the answers been added by EXPERTS........Thanks.

Full Agree with answer given by mr. Vinod Jetley 

and by ur sir

Being utilitarian facilities, warehouse designers should focus on making the warehouse spaces functional and efficient, while providing a safe and comfortable environment for the workers to increase productivity and control, reduce operating costs, and improve customer service. Even warehouses have to maintain a corporate image and provide for worker satisfaction. Building image and aesthetics, landscaping, and worker safety and comfort, become important issues in competitive real estate markets.

A. Types of Spaces

Depending on the program of the warehouse being designed, space types may vary dramatically.

• Storage Space
• Office Space
• Loading Docks for shipping and receiving
• Light Industrial Space
• Computer Centers

B. Space Configurations

Warehouses should:

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• Be designed based on current and future needs.
  • Facilitate changes in business/agency growth, and size/population of office and warehouse spaces within the building. Warehouse space should be easily adapted to new functions such as office (on ground or upper levels), computer centers, or light industrial/fabrication.
  • Accommodate need for future loading docks, truck space, and car parking spaces if space configuration changes through effective site design.
  • Address material handling technologies and business practice, such as "just-in-time" storage, which have fundamentally changed operation of warehouses and distribution centers, and will continue to do so.
  • Include roof design with built-in extra structural capacity to handle addition of future rooftop equipment.
  • Be designed with fire protection capacity to accommodate storage of materials with a greater fire hazard, especially needed with high plastic product content or packaging, and plastic shrink-wrapped pallets.
• Maximize utilization of space while providing adequate circulation paths for personnel and material handling equipment such as forklift trucks.
  • Use higher bays to take advantage of height allowances in the space.
• Optimize layout and configuration for the warehouse operation, including efficient circulation and material handling and storage processes.
• Relate interior and exterior receiving and shipping operations to the process flow of goods through the warehouse.
• Receiving and shipping are best separated to avoid congestion at the loading dock areas in the building, and in the truck maneuvering areas.
• Alternative material handling methods will determine other building aspects, such as aisle widths, lighting design, need for mezzanine space, fire protection, and egress design. Businesses will often use different methods of storage handling simultaneously for different products.

C. Durable/Functional

• Be planned to accommodate loads of stored materials as well as associated handling equipment.
  • Design of warehouses is to be based on the dead and live load requirements of the structure as it will be built. Snow, wind, and seismic loads shall be considered where they are applicable. Racking in seismic areas must be built stronger and be better braced.
  • Wind uplift can cause great damage to roofs and metal roof copings at the roof edge. Building codes recognize that wind velocity is greater across open areas, typical for warehouse zones.
  • Wind-driven rain can easily penetrate the vast surface areas of the warehouse walls. Design walls to permit any infiltrating water to evaporate harmlessly without collecting in the wall cavities or damaging stored product.
  • Proper floor types are an important consideration in the design. General warehouse space should be floored with a concrete slab to carry wheel loads and withstand the abrasion generated by the continual use of hard rubber and steel-wheeled forklift trucks. Consider adding hardeners and dustproofers to protect the concrete. Consider using epoxy coating on concrete floors near battery charging areas.
  • Floor flatness and levelness requirements are critical, especially for high ceilinged space and safe operation of high-lifting equipment.
  • Adequate space must be provided on-site for truck maneuvering, truck storage if the business owns a fleet, car parking for employees and future office space/population expansion (which might be driven by higher rent for center-city office space), and landscaped areas.
• Be designed to ensure that no structural member will interfere with the spacing of rail car doors or truck berths at dock spaces. Dock heights on the truck side of the terminal should be approximately 4'-4" above the pavement, with appropriate ramps at each truck berth to bring the height of the truck bed in line with the dock height. Dock heights on the rail side of the terminal should be approximately 3'-9" above the top of the rail to ensure that the rail car floor is even with the dock floor. Dock widths and areas inside exterior doors leading to dock space must be planned for maneuverability of forklift trucks and other expected types of material handling equipment.
  • Dock heights on the truck side of the terminal should be approximately 4'-40" above the pavement, with appropriate ramps, scissor lifts, or dock levelers at each truck berth to safely bring the height of the truck bed in line with the dock height.
  • Tops of doors should be high enough to accommodate full height pallet handling from the highest trucks.
  • Dock heights on the rail side of the terminal should be approximately 3'-9" above the top of the rail to ensure that the rail car floor is even with the dock floor.
  • Dock widths and areas inside exterior doors leading to dock space must be planned for maneuverability of forklift trucks and other expected types of material handling equipment. Consider using a non-slip finish on the concrete floor near loading areas for safety.

D. Energy-Efficient

• Be designed with passive solar concepts, solar geometry, and building load requirements in mind.
• Possess light colored roof to reflect a large percentage of solar radiation, reducing HVAC loads, and energy consumption. First cost is also reduced, due to the smaller plant size required. When a large roof area is anticipated, this effect can be significant, especially for temperature controlled warehouses. Greater heat reflection will increase wroker productivity in the summer.
• Be planned with interior dock space in colder climates to reduce energy consumption and provide more tolerable winter working conditions for dock workers.
• Use ceiling mounted fans to reduce heat stratification and provide air movement, thus increasing worker comfort in both summer and winter. Mount fans above highest forklift level for worker safety.
• Consider specifying white painted metal roof decking, thereby increasing ceiling surface reflectivity, lighting efficiency, and worker comfort without any added energy cost.
• Use energy-efficient fixtures, systems, and appliances, e.g., motion sensor instant-on lighting systems, wherever feasible.

E. Safety/Security of Personnel and Material

• Address the traditional life-safety and health concerns common to all buildings, including measures to prevent occupational injuries and illnesses (work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD), trips, falls, etc.), ensure electrical safety, and eliminate exposure to hazardous materials. The following operations have historically contributed to significant numbers of warehouse injuries and are considered to be the most hazardous: docks, powered industrial trucks, conveyors, materials storage, manual lifting/handling, roof ladders and hatches, and charging stations. Other serious operational safety problems include inadequate fire safety provisions, improper blocking of exits and egress paths, chemical exposure, improper use of lockout procedures, lack of ergonomics, and failure to wear personal protective equipment.
• Incorporate proper signage to clearly warn of hazards or to direct personnel to take precaution. The specific strategy for the warehouses signs must be determined early in the facility design process.
• Possess non-slip surface treatments on floors subject to wetting, such as outdoor docks, to eliminate slips and falls to personnel.
• Be designed with fire sprinkler systems engineered to cover the specific commodity classification in the specific storage configuration for the planned warehouse. The adequacy of the sprinkler system must be evaluated when changes occur that can increase the hazard classification, such as introducing a new product line, using a different packaging material, or changing from wood pallets to plastic pallets.
• Include appropriate security systems incorporated into the overall warehouse design.

F. Health/Comfort

• Provide proper ventilation under all circumstances.
• Provide local exhaust for restrooms, kitchens, janitor's closets, copy rooms, battery-charging areas, etc.
• Consider installing CO2 sensors to provide real time monitoring of air quality.
• Integrate daylighting with the electric lighting system.
• Allow for natural lighting where possible. Provide lighting controls that turn off lights when sufficient daylight exists. Consider dimming controls that continuously adjust lighting levels to respond to daylight conditions.
• Consider the different natural lighting designs for warehouses.
• Minimize HVAC system noise in occupied space.
• Use furnishings, chairs, and equipment that are ergonomically designed and approved for that use.
• Design equipment and furnishings reflective of healthy work practices in an effort to eliminate repetitive motions as well as prevent strains and sprains.
• Strive to create a 'sense of place' such that the warehouse has a unique character that engenders a sense of pride, purpose, and dedication for individual workers and the workplace community.

G. Example Design and Construction Criteria

For GSA, the unit costs for this building type are based on the construction quality and design features in the following table (PDF 187 KB, 14 pgs). This information is based on GSA's benchmark interpretation and could be different for other owners.