Imagine your workers breaking their backs storing and palletising heavy goods in the warehouse. An average employee works 8-14 hours per day managing the daily inflow and outflow of inventory. On top of it, poor ventilation and heat stress cause severe fatigue making employees less productive. Similarly, severe colds can trigger various chronic diseases which can be life-threatening.
Temperature regulation and airflow are a necessity for employees’ health. Additionally, perishable items require specific temperatures to preserve their quality. That is why, warehouse ventilation enters the picture.
Let’s explore the best practices to maintain proper ventilation in warehouses.
Warehouse Ventilation – A Brief Guide
This refers to the process of circulating fresh air throughout a warehouse to maintain air quality, temperature, and humidity. Efficient ventilation systems remove fumes, dust, and other particles while bringing in fresh air.
This is also crucial for ensuring a safe and comfortable working environment, preserving the quality of stored goods and eliminating mould, mildew, and machine overheating. Warehouse ventilation directly affects the health of workers and buildings.
Yes, you heard it right. Buildings are also affected due to a lack of temperature, humidity, and ventilation control. Excessive moisture and temperature fluctuations weaken building materials, causing rust on metal structures, and degrading insulation.
Okay, let’s navigate to how poor ventilation can affect your workplace.
The Dangerous Effects of Poor Warehouse Ventilation
Poor ventilation system causes plenty of health conditions ranging from mild to chronic diseases. Here are the major implications.
1. Poor Air Quality
Inadequate ventilation leads to the accumulation of harmful pollutants, dust, and bacteria, posing significant health risks to workers. Headaches, fatigue, and respiratory disorders are common symptoms experienced by workers impacting health and productivity.
2. Sick Slab Syndrome
An acute syndrome when occupants inside a building experience discomfort and health problems due to the surrounding environment. Poor ventilation creates excessive carbon dioxide causing a significant increase in aerosol particles in the air. These particles are exhaled during coughing, sneezing, talking and even breathing.
With improper warehouse ventilation, the contaminants spread to others’ lungs causing adverse health effects. Major air pollutants include:
- Paint
- Glues
- Copy Machines
- Tobacco Smoke
- Dirty Ventilation
- Gas stoves
- Pollen
- Air fresheners
- Carpet dust
3. Cognitive Decline
Poor warehouse ventilation systems are linked to impaired cognitive functioning. Workers find it difficult to focus and think clearly. Their analytical and critical thinking skills are affected. Indoor air pollution also causes asthma, hypersensitivity, humidifier fever, and Legionnaires disease.
Now, let’s go to the best practices for installing robust warehouse ventilation in your manufacturing unit.
Consider 8 Best Practices For Ventilation
Do you want your employees to perform at their peak efficiency? Then building a warehouse with great air inflow is the need of the hour. Let’s check how you can master this with 8 essential practices:
1. Eliminate Hot Air During the Day
Daylight hours are when everyone is energised and ready to work at their full potential. To maximise productivity, you must keep your warehouse ventilated and cool during this time. Install sufficient vents in your building to remove hot air or install AC units in strategic areas to boost airflow in crucial flooring spaces.
2. Zoning
Temperature regulation matters where people occupy spaces. Warehouses are used primarily to store inventory, which means unless the items require cold storage to avoid perishing, temperature control in these spaces is a waste of time and money. To improve efficient resource allocation, zoning is a recommended practice to keep specific areas cooler.
It involves dividing the spaces occupied by employees to deploy heating and cooling measures in these areas. Operators should consider efficient administrative systems to monitor worker traffic and bring them into a set space to work optimally. Use radiant unit heaters or high-efficiency air conditioners to manage air inflow and outflow in these spaces.
3. Destratification Fans
Air stratification is a natural phenomenon where hot air rises to the top and cold air settles at the bottom. Enclosed warehouses triple the effects of stratification leading to excessive heating. To prevent such drastic scenarios, install large, destratification fans with high volume and low speed.
Ceiling-mounted fans cover large areas providing higher ventilation compared to smaller fans. If possible, use large industrial fans to diffuse heat in the warehouse.
4. Insulation
The topic of warehouse ventilation is incomplete without insulation. Containment of heat and cold is usually compromised due to leaks. Insulation seals off leaks, improving temperature and humidity control. One of the most important warehouse ventilation requirements is insulation.
Install vinyl strips in the doors to create a barrier between indoors and outdoors. The strips are air barriers retaining the heat and cold during winters and summers respectively. Implement high-grade seals to insulate the huge number of doors, windows, and open spaces.
5. Cool Roofing
Roofs compromise air conditioning in warehouses, trapping hot air in the summer. Experts recommend warehouse roof ventilation systems like cool roofing to keep the heat out. They are poor heat conductors, absorbing zero heat from the sun and radiating heat outdoors. You can also paint your warehouse roof white to deflect the harsh temperatures outside.
6. Adopt Smarter Technology
Emerging warehouse ventilation technologies like HVAC systems are efficient and cheaper. Integrated with smart sensors, they monitor worker movements through motion and heat sensors to send signals about which areas to heat/cool. The smart thermostats reprogram warehouse heaters directing the hotter and colder winds to areas where they are needed reducing wastage.
7. Buy Dehumidifiers
Humidity contributes significantly to hotter temperatures especially if you live in humid areas. Control the humidity in your warehouse by buying a dehumidifier to protect your goods from moisture. Invest in a pack that has an effective heating and cooling system.
8. Air Filters
Warehouses depend on basic industrial ventilation to bring fresh air and dump hot air outside. Install air filters to remove dust, pollutants, and other contaminants eliminating the fumes and particle buildup in workplace areas where heavy equipment handling is undertaken daily.
Finally, the best practices for warehouse ventilation are over. Let’s head to the FAQs.
FAQs – Warehouse Ventilation
How to ventilate a warehouse?
We’ve already discussed the best practices to ventilate a warehouse. Install Smart HVAC systems, air purifiers, dehumidifiers and large industrial fans for smoother air inflow and outflow.
What are the 3 types of ventilation?
The three basic types of industrial ventilation include mechanical, hybrid, and natural.
What are the 3 Cs of ventilation?
The three Cs of ventilation are coordination, control, and communication. These are the basic principles used to create robust ventilation systems and safeguard workers during emergencies/fire hazards.
Conclusion
Emerging technologies are being introduced to increase the efficiency of warehouse ventilation. The growing demand for workplace safety and sustainability emphasises the importance of customised solutions that monitor air flow and boost worker productivity. Adopt these 8 smart strategies discussed earlier to stay ahead of the curve. For detailed supply chain optimisation solutions, feel free to connect with Qodenext today.
