Warehouse Cold Storage Facilities
Frozen and cold storage warehouses differ very little. Polices, practices, and maintenance are also similar. Both have a team that organizes inventory, ships and receives product, keeps records, and securely stores the product. In both facilities, many different products can be stored that must remain at constant cold temperature. The two different subcategories are similar but have different temperatures and risks associated with them.
Cold storage warehouses contain items that must remain at a constant cool temperature. Items that require this are produce, meat, and flowers. The items are shipped to the warehouse from a manufacturer, grower, or farmer. Products vary in size from commercial to industrial. Warehouses use schematics to help organize products. Schematics are a map or a layout of where a product is placed and located.
Shipping and receiving is how products are tracked, whether they are moved by air, water or on the road. Shipments are unloaded on a receiving dock. Once shipments arrive, they are then cataloged by specific details. The items are then placed according to the schematic. Warehouses also ship out products. The product is inspected, given package labels, sealed, loaded onto a transport, and sent out.
Data basing, record keeping, and clean up are important. Data basing and record keeping are critical to warehouse operation. Because product moves so quickly, records are kept to see what is selling, how it is shipping, and where it is being delivered. Bar code scanners, spreadsheet applications, and computers are helpful to workers who do this job.
Warehouse Cold Storage Risk
Cold storage involves some risks and problems. One risk involves machinery becoming too cold. Operating machines in cold temperatures can shorten the battery life, as well as reduce the life span of the machine. The use of robotics can also be a risk. If for any reason a machine breaks down, it creates extra work for employees. Employees no longer have the benefit of the machine moving, placing, or transporting products. Variation in temperature ranges, even by a few degrees, can be harmful to a product. Inconsistent temperatures can cause or spread of bacteria, or illnesses.
