When it comes to storage, several types of building are available, chief among them the warehouse. Once you have large volumes of bulky goods to hold for any length of time, though, an ordinary building will not do. What you need, quite simply, is a high-bay warehouse. Our complete guide explains how they work.
To know whether a high-bay warehouse is what you need, start with what it is, what it is for and how it works. A great many different storage warehouses exist today, and depending on your business and your storage requirements, a high-bay structure may well be the better fit.
A high-bay warehouse is, as the name suggests, a storage warehouse considerably taller than any other structure used to hold goods. A conventional warehouse offers a storage height of 12 metres at most. Why? Simply because handling equipment (lift trucks among others) cannot reach any higher.
In a high-bay warehouse, the height ranges from 12 to 50 metres. This type of building exploits the space to the full, which is invaluable when you have large quantities of goods to store and no particular need to move them often. Automated or not, these warehouses first appeared in the 1960s and went on to become extremely popular.
The reason is straightforward: when storage capacity has to grow but a larger footprint is out of the question, using the height is the optimal answer.
Storage warehouses generally rely on manual handling equipment: forklift trucks driven by an operator, or pallet trucks. As explained above, these machines are effective but cannot reach goods stored high up, so other solutions are needed. That is where automation comes in.
A high-bay warehouse is therefore made up of tall, deep racking laid out in aisles. If you have opted for automated solutions, those aisles must be wide enough and clear enough for robotic equipment such as stacker cranes to move freely.
High-bay racking warehouses offer a great many advantages, in cost as much as in environmental impact. If you are wondering why you should consider a high-bay warehouse, this section of the guide is for you.
Compared with a conventional warehouse, a high-bay structure occupies around four times less ground area and half the volume. Everything is optimised so that each space is used effectively. Nothing here is superfluous: every machine, every piece of equipment and every installation serves the operation. You therefore need fewer staff, which brings operating costs down substantially. Operations in these warehouses are very often computerised, so there are fewer errors and greater precision and reliability, which is no small consideration.
A high-bay warehouse also saves a considerable amount of time day to day. The aisles serve only to store and move goods, so unlike a conventional warehouse there are no large areas to cross and no time lost crossing them. Thanks to automation, teams are far more productive: they work faster and in better conditions. To give you an idea, a stacker crane can handle up to 50 pallets an hour: no comparison with a manual solution.
The final advantage of the high-bay warehouse concerns employee safety. Manual equipment brings a higher frequency of accidents, falls and injuries. Automation and powered equipment, by contrast, make handling safer and less hazardous. There is always some risk, as in any other warehouse, but it is kept to a minimum. Whatever the case, remember that regular inspection and maintenance are essential. They are the most effective way to confirm that all your equipment is working properly and that employee safety is not being compromised.
There may be fewer aisles, but signage and floor markings remain essential and should not be neglected if safety on site is to improve further. As for lighting, a high-bay warehouse needs less of it, yet you still have to make sure the aisles are lit well enough to prevent falls and injuries during handling.
High-bay warehouses have grown in popularity in the space of a few years, and for good reason: building land is not always easy to find. On a small plot, having a large conventional warehouse built can prove complicated. High-bay racking uses the height while reducing the footprint, which makes it an attractive proposition. Some challenges do remain, however.
Forty-five to fifty metres is the maximum recommended height for storing goods. If you need more than that, you will still have to extend your warehouse or build another, which quickly becomes a problem. The main constraint on high-bay warehouses is the shortage of available buildings and of land able to accommodate structures of this kind. These buildings are certainly used more and more for their many advantages, but issues remain to be resolved before they are fully established in the sector.
Over the long term, high-bay warehouses are highly profitable. They do, however, represent a substantial initial investment: racking, equipment, powered handling machinery, IT systems, and so on. It is therefore important to study your project carefully and prepare it in advance by working through the costs. Do not skimp on quality equipment, because it is what allows your operations to run smoothly. Do not make the mistake of cutting your initial investment either, since you will have no choice but to reinvest later to replace what you bought, the opposite of what you set out to achieve.
Our guide has told you more about the high-bay warehouse: what it is, how it works and what it offers. If you need a building to store large volumes of goods, this type of structure should suit your requirements well. Take the time to prepare your project properly, though, and do approach our teams with any questions: we will help you make the right decisions. Weigh up everything set out in this guide to decide whether the high-bay warehouse is the right building for your business.
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