bin cards
stock Checks: see inventory section for different samples or in the Annexes
stock loss reporting
reporting of stock levels.
Resource Requirements
In addition to the work methods, equipment and space requirements it is essential that the warehouse is adequately resourced. This is done by planning or
estimating the requirements for people and equipment in order to operate the warehouse facility.
There is a trade-off to be made between the people and handling equipment requirements for any given workload.
In global warehouse operations, which are run like commercial operations, the focus is on minimising the cost of running the operation. In this situation, it is
often better to invest in handling equipment and reduce the dependence on people resources.
However, in field operations, many humanitarian organisations prefer to hire local labor which provides employment instead of relying on handling
equipment.
The requirement for the total amount of resources required will be determined by the amount of goods flowing into and out of the warehouse, as shown in
the diagram below.
Basic Warehouse Equipment
Various types of equipment are required to ensure the smooth execution of work in a warehouse. All equipment should be properly stored when not in use
and a regular maintenance schedule posted. Warehouse staff should be trained in standard daily maintenance practices and the correct use of equipment.
Where necessary, they should be equipped with personal safety equipment such as work gloves, work boots, goggles, etc.
Required equipment may include:
sufficient quantities of standard forms, calculators and stationery to keep proper storage records;
small tools for opening cases, such as hammers, pliers, crowbars, steel cutters;
tools and materials for store repair and simple maintenance;
supplies for reconditioning damaged packaging, such as bags, needles, twine, oil containers, stitching machine, strapping machine, adhesive
tape and small containers or cartons;
a sampling spear for inspecting foodstuffs;
scales for weighing goods;
standard wooden pallets in sufficient numbers – ideally international;
standardization organization’s “Euro” type (120 × 80cm);
two-wheel hand trolleys for moving supplies within the warehouse;
a pallet-jack to move pallets;
a forklift where pallets are to be loaded and offloaded from trucks;
brooms, dust pans, brushes, shovels, sieves, refuse bins for cleaning and disposing of collected waste;
first aid kits, flashlights, fire extinguishers and other fire-fighting equipment both inside and outside the warehouse;
weighing scales; and
ladders.
Care of Warehouse equipment
Warehouse equipment is maintained to prevent accidents and breakdowns from occurring.
Maintenance activities consist of inspections, regular servicing and monitoring performance for failure trends, as this will enable symptoms to be
recognised before failure occurs.
Equipment maintenance has a strong health and safety bias. Often health and safety legislation will impose on management an obligation for safe systems
of work. Ensuring safe policies and procedures of work will require an examination of men, machinery, methods, materials and environmental aspects.
Some areas to pay attention to:
planned maintenance
maintain equipment
maintain building
completion of maintenance records
Legal Considerations
Leasing Temporary Warehouses/Contracting.
The common practice in emergencies is to lease or rent, not purchase warehouses. In this situation, there is often a shortage of suitable buildings or
locations for warehouse space and this can often cause the costs to increase significantly. Therefore, it is often necessary to utilise temporary warehouse
space for as short a time a possible.
Care must be taken with the drawing up of the lease agreement (See Warehouse Rental Contract sample) with the owner. The following items are basic
inclusions and in a lease agreement:
the cost for the lease;
the duration of the lease agreement;