Cold storage facilities, such as warehouses, are a vital part of logistics and play a crucial role in maintaining the cold chain in major industries such as food, agriculture, and pharmaceuticals. They allow temperature-sensitive items to be manufactured, packaged, shipped, and stored in a way that keeps them in optimum condition.
As the global trade for these kinds of items continues to grow, so does the need for cold storage warehouses. Essentially a cold room but on a much larger scale, these temperature-controlled environments need an expert team to construct correctly, such as industrial solutions providers Ambrey Baker.
Make Cleanliness Your Top Priority
While the current Covid-19 situation across the world requires an exceptional level of cleanliness in all environments, this has been a critical consideration for cold storage warehouses long before the pandemic. As temperature-controlled facilities are most often used to store either pharmaceutical or food items, space must be designed and build with sanitary working, processing, and storage at its heart. Due to the thorough and regular cleaning that is carried out in cold storage facilities, they should be constructed to accommodate this with as much of the area finished seamlessly as possible to eliminate any nooks or cervices that could promote the growth of mold, fungus, or bacteria.
Specialist construction companies will also know to consider installing underfloor heating systems in cold storage facilities in certain situations. While, on the surface, this may appear counterintuitive as the purpose of cold storage warehouses is usually to maintain a chilled environment, there is a good reason for this construction choice.
The right kind of heating can help to keep floors dry, eliminating the damp environment that can quickly become a breeding ground for bacteria, creating an unnecessary risk in areas where food or pharmaceutical goods are processed and packaged.
Futureproofing the Space
When it comes to building a cold storage warehouse, just like any facility, it is vital to keep not only the current requirements in mind but also to do a degree of futureproofing on the project. This is to ensure that space can accommodate any changes or growth that could occur in the future. Custom-built facilities don’t come cheap, so it is worth ensuring that they will meet the future needs of the client just as well as their current ones.
The goods being manufactured and stored will also need to be taken into consideration as these will affect both current and future size requirements in the space. An excellent way to ensure that a cold storage facility is futureproofed, in addition to its capacity, is to consider its energy efficiency and temperature stability as both of these are critical factors in the daily operation of any such facility.
Energy Efficiency
Speaking of temperature stability and energy efficiency, these are yet more considerations to keep at the top of your list when constructing a cold storage warehouse. The entire cooling system will be at the heart of the facility and is the most crucial component to get right to ensure its longevity and efficient operation. This is where choosing the right suppliers and contractors can make the most significant difference as their decades of hands-on experience can be invaluable in designing and constructing a cooling system that will work with the rest of the infrastructure in the warehouse to run efficiently and consistently.