The importance of maintaining proper storage conditions in a warehouse

One of the very common problems that arise in warehouse activities is that of expired, damaged and old materials. We must always be prepared to accept that we may have several root causes and not just one, as in problem-solving manuals.

One cause may come from senior management - directives to keep large stocks of raw materials, larger than those necessary for the period in which we could use them - and then we do not have enough adequate storage space.

Another cause may be the purchasing policy, which "fills" the deposits even if we don't need so much raw material - "we found good deals" turns into "we have to pay someone to throw away the non-compliant or old raw material".

Another cause may be due to poor management of materials in warehouses and there may be several causes:

• lack of management and alert systems when the goods are about to expire, or slow movement of materials
• even if the systems exist, but the attitude of the operators is of the “I know better” type, there is a risk that the work procedures will not be followed
• ignorance or non-existence of material storage requirements

When we talk about proper storage conditions, we are referring to a set of requirements and rules. If this set or list or manual does not exist, we do not have the right to ask the warehouse operators to comply with it. Sometimes a simple roof over the goods is not enough, but we need a controlled temperature or controlled atmosphere (vacuum or pressure), or we need to have complete control over the storage environment (temperature, pressure and enclosures completely closed).

Step one: Define the rules of the game

Step Two: Make sure everyone knows the rules of the game

Step 3: Define the controls to make sure you follow the rules of the game

Step 4: Check and continuously improve the first 3 steps.