Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Tips For Choosing A Suitable Warehouse For Your Needs

By Farrah Davies

With the enormous growth in city population, living space of city apartments and residences is reducing at a very high pace. Whereas, higher levels of disposable income and impact of consumerism has made us indulge in a spending spree and we are tempted to buy new articles for our house. These two opposite forces have led to a situation where people are running short of space to keep their articles, and this has led to a fast growth in the storage industry.

You must not be hasty in your look out for a warehouse and be cautious before picking one. There are a lot of storage service providers in the market and you need to ensure that the one you are selecting has the correct facilities and processes to take suitable care of your valuable items. Here are some important considerations that you should take into account while choosing a warehouse.

Security must be your first and foremost concern for warehouse selection. The warehouse must have updated security systems in place to safeguard your valuables from acts of theft. A good warehouse would generally feature door alarms, electronic access doors, and CCTV cameras.

Your articles need to be guarded not only from burglars but also from fire. Fires are very common in warehouses and it is crucial that the company has adequate fire fighting capacity to protect your articles. The warehouse should have fire alarms, and the company must have made the greatest possible use of fire retardant materials in the building.

Your items must also be protected from the fluctuations of weather. Weather conditions, especially humidity, can damage delicate items having excellent aesthetic and historical value, like paintings and antique furniture. If you are storing pharmaceuticals or hi tech goods then you might also need protection from high temperatures. To deal with these problems, the storage company must provide climate control technology, which can keep the conditions inside the storage at an optimum level to avoid any harm to your articles.

Another natural force that your items need to be protected from is a pest attack. Pests are not easy to find and can cause substantial harm to wooden furniture in a very short period. Therefore there should be proper pest control measures regularly implemented in the warehouse in the form of regular spray of pesticides and ensuring appropriate sanitation.

Finally, the employees of the warehouse must be cooperative and willing to assist. In most cases they will be involved in loading, transportation, and unloading of the goods, and if your articles get destroyed in this process then it becomes irrelevant how good the storage facility is. Therefore, the employees should be well trained in these processes and must genuinely care for your goods.

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