Blog

Five lighting solutions

Fully lighting a warehouse at all times is one of the least-efficient ways of operating the facility - and the higher costs over time make it a financially poor decision in just about every single case. These five lighting solutions for energy efficient warehouse operations will improve your premises without impacting on workers' ability to do their job.

Zoning

Most warehouses have already begun the move towards sensibly zoning the facility by placing the most-picked items in close proximity to their final destination while infrequently-chosen items are allowed to languish in the rear.

This philosophy encourages zoned lighting, where low-hanging arrays can be installed to reduce the expense needed for lighting a given area.

Controls

Warehouses are understandably hesitant to implement manual controls for lighting aisles - the few seconds it takes to walk over and flick the switch can add up to a lot of lost picking time over the course of a year. However, automatic controls (such as occupancy sensors) have developed to the point where it's now practical to use them in a warehouse setting. People within the warehouse can simply move right to their destination without worrying about the lighting - though it's important for them to be able to see any hazards that may be in the way.

It's not yet practical to have separate controls for an entire aisle of products, but as technology advances, this will be worth looking into - why light the whole aisle when an employee only needs to move halfway?

Dimming Systems

Warehouses don't need to limit themselves to on/off switches. Dimming lights are also an option, particularly in any area that receives a significant amount of natural lighting. Sensors keyed to this can work in tandem with occupancy sensors to limit the lighting of the facility and ultimately create a truly efficient warehouse.

Dimming systems may also be worth using in areas well away from windows and doors if those areas still receive a lot of natural lighting. For example, windows that face the sun may offer enormous opportunities for natural lighting throughout the day, requiring only a minimum investment in lighting outside of the morning and evening hours.

LED Arrays

The dropping prices of LED arrays are making them an increasingly practical choice for warehouses that rely on higher arrays for providing adequate illumination. This isn't a minor consideration for any facility that's looking at replacing its current arrays - though it's also important to keep in mind that most of the savings from LEDs come over time, and they still tend to be more expensive when first purchased.

Over the next seven years, LEDs are expected to make up about half of the overall market for lamps, and further developments may speed this along.

LEDs are also more practical at lower levels, particularly for high-traffic areas where lights will need to be on almost constantly. The steady illumination and high efficiency are worth enough that many warehouses (and similar large, open areas) are at least seriously considering the change.

Alternative Solutions

High bays are not the only lighting solution that many warehouses should focus on. In many cases, alternative options like waist-level lamps along walkways can provide adequate illumination without the cost or waste of a higher array. This is something that can only be determined on a case by case basis - warehouses have many different designs, and alternative solutions require creativity as much as anything else.

The keys to keep in mind are the available technologies and the actual cost of the solution. Revisiting the lighting design of the warehouse on a regular basis can help ensure that it's always functioning in a sensible, affordable, and energy-efficient way.

SIMPLE UPGRADES TO MAKE YOUR WAREHOUSE MORE ECO-FRIENDLY

Adopting greener practices in your warehouse can improve your company's bottom line. There are lots of reasons for businesses to incorporate more environmentally friendly methods. Energy efficient practices can reduce costs, improve employee safety and health and decrease waste. If you want a more eco-friendly business, consider introducing some of the following practices into your warehouse design and management.

ELECTRICAL UPGRADES

Outdated electrical systems waste energy. With a new system, you could potentially reduce your warehouse's electricity consumption. Make sure to hire an electrical contractor that understands how to develop an efficient, streamlined design.

A qualified industrial contractor will be able to improve your systems with a minimum of down time. If you're interested in converting to green energy, your building contractor can advise you about how to proceed.

IMPROVED LIGHTING

In concert with updated electricals, redesigned lighting can make your warehouse more efficient. Well-designed lighting not only cuts your power bills, it can improve the effectiveness of employees. Poorly designed lighting may lead to accidents, contribute to reduced productivity and use excess electricity.

A lighting designer will make a thorough assessment of your warehouse, identifying areas that can be improved. After the analysis, your designer will draw up plans for a new system. Effective light placement and high-efficiency bulbs should be part of the design. The contractor should understand and comply with your area's safety codes. After the new design's in place, you'll have lower power bills, a smaller carbon footprint and a brighter, more comfortable environment.

REDUCE AND REUSE MATERIALS

Most warehouses use a lot of packaging materials. Reducing shipping supplies can help you lower the cost of materials. It can also reduce shipping costs and the resources needed to move products within your facility. Here are some ideas to reduce extra packaging:

Identify areas of waste and make changes to eliminate excess packaging.
Choose biodegradable materials. Using more eco-friendly materials reduces pollution and minimizes your employees' contact with potentially harmful substances.
Reuse materials such as pallets, plastic totes and shipping supplies.
Recycle materials you can't reuse.
Adopting eco-friendly practices in your warehouse doesn't require a complete overhaul of your facility. Relatively small changes and redesigns reap big rewards in energy savings and a reduction in pollution.

Storee's professional electricians can help you convert your warehouse to more efficient and green systems. We've been designing state-of-the-art industrial and commercial solutions for nearly half a century. We can help you make your warehouse more eco-friendly with up-to-date, streamlined electrical and lighting systems.

Warehouse health and safety hazards

MEXICO CITY WAREHOUSES FOR LEASE AND SALE

Amazon Prime Air

The Top 10 Supply Chain Trends for 2016 

From this broad economic and technological perspective, Laverty posits 10 specific supply chain and warehousing trends we have seen in 2016:

1) Omnichannel strategies proliferate.

More organizations want to support an omnichannel environment with real-time demand fulfillment and provide a single, unified customer experience across all channels. "Expect to see the trend of more items purchased outside of brick and mortar stores propelled by a strong online showing in Q4," says Laverty. As omnichannel becomes the de facto approach to market, inventory optimization will take on greater importance, as product availability and timely fulfillment become essential across all channels.

2) Big data analytics improve demand planning and inventory optimization.

Big data analytics will drastically improve planning and replenishment, creating lean and balanced supply chains with sophisticated inventory systems. These tools will maximize workflow, increase efficiencies, and directly impact revenue by optimizing warehouse inventory and floor space utilization. "Demand planning and forecasting is an area where many organizations lack tools and process expertise," comments Laverty. Forecasts are based off of snapshots of past requirements, and then people guesstimate how much is needed for the coming year. "More and better data analytics are changing the landscape," says Laverty. "We see people trying new methods and tools as they seek smarter solutions to get the right data to create better forecasts. They will look for additional resources and systems of information."

3) Mobile continues to dominate.

Warehouse management continues to move away from traditional tools to tablets and smartphones. Mobile requirements from solution providers, partners, vendors, and clients are increasing as the expectation that all work functions can and should be completed from smart phones and other mobile connected devices. "Within a warehouse, whatever the function and whatever the role, we have to put money into supporting a total mobile experience for the workers," says Laverty. This includes individual performance metrics and the ability to see roadblocks or interruptions in real time to solve them in real time.

4) Labor looms as a challenge and cost-cutting target.

"In 2016, we see all organizations looking at labor as the primary area where they can reduce costs," says Laverty. "Labor costs will be an even bigger challenge as the minimum wage increases through new regulations." A primary concern will be a shortage of warehouse and transportation labor. Shortages will continue as the labor market tightens, something else likely to drive up hourly wages. "Being able to track productivity and forecast where labor is going to be needed and how it is going to perform is going to be a critical need," predicts Laverty. "Programs that tie compensation to labor production will be a solution that more companies will look to implement." Labor retention will also be a major concern; in states where minimum wage increases are mandated, expect to see advances and investment in warehouse automation. Material handling systems will be prominent in this development.

5) Demands for traceability will be on the rise.

Requirements for traceability continue to be important as FDA and government regulations on food and medicine increase and as stronger pharmaceutical requirements will be enforced in 2016 and beyond. "We see a growing trend of requirements for tracking chain of custody that flows with the product, rather than just what is in your facility," notes Laverty. Traceability will be essential not only where the product is in real time as it moves, but also relating to its pedigree: where it came from, how did it get here, how long has it been in route, was it modified along the way. All that information needs to be passed downstream.

6) Data security requirements become more rigorous.

Organizations will become more demanding of top-of-the-line data security and will begin creating more strategic plans about destroying data and monitoring what they are capturing, since the more they capture, the more liable they are. "It will become very important to be able to offer the highest level of data security and encryption possible," says Laverty. "People want to know what contingency plans are in place for data security and how they are administered." Those storing data within a multi-tenancy community want assurances that their data is never mixed with another client's data.

7) The cloud transition continues.

In 2016, costs will prove to be a huge driver to the cloud for those organizations that are still running legacy applications. The challenge of infrastructure, maintenance, and labor costs will necessitate their transition to the cloud. Four out of five new buyers are looking to the cloud simply because they don't want to deal with the infrastructure, labor, and additional layers of responsibility and risk. "A big trend we see right now is that many organizations are transitioning to the cloud due to an aging workforce," adds Laverty. "A lot of really talented technology professionals are leaving and in most cases these people are irreplaceable. How do you compensate for losing people that you can't replace? You put in a system that doesn't ever need to be replaced."

8) Collaboration is king.

Organizations now expect things to work together and collaborate; full integration of all systems is the goal and there will be lower tolerance for cost and time in realizing this need. This "collaborative orientation" will drive more people toward Platform as a Service (PaaS) offerings, where they have pieces of a platform rather than dealing with systems as separate entities. This shift will require additional understanding of how they all work together.

9) Coping with complexity will be vital.

Perhaps one of the biggest trends of the year will be complexity. The supply chain and warehousing industries are adding more levels of complexity. Taking complex issues, making them easily understandable, and then breaking down that information into packets that are easily consumable will become a major need and driver for creative thinking within the sector. One practical example: instead of making you dig down through a 350-page guidebook, Upp Technology now offers videos, tutorials, audio podcasts, and quick guides in order to break down the complexity of each subject and make it easily understandable for everyone.

10) EDI persists.

Electronic Data Interchange will continue to be an important trend, with more people subscribing. Companies that haven't used a formal process in the past are going to find it harder to exist without using EDI. "In the 3PL and wholesale distribution world, it's obviously a huge trend," says Laverty. "Organizations must adopt EDI to stay compliant with their vendors. We see more partnerships occurring to embed EDI in applications. We also believe that the adoption of AS2 as a communication platform will only increase because it's free."

Simply Pick Faster with Autonomous Robots in the Warehouse.

Our solution gives workers more time on task, minimizing time spent walking around the warehouse. LocusBots work collaboratively and safely alongside your associates. You can easily meet peak period demands and respond to volume increases - simply add more LocusBots.

Warehouse Management Software Company

3PL Warehouse Management Software Company (WMS)After all the anticipation for Curotec's new Third Party Logistics(3PL) software, Order Manager, the product is out, in use, and living up to the hype!

5 Fundamental Practices to Make The Implementation of Warehouse Technology Pay off Big Time.

Make Warehouse Process as Simple, Efficient, and Technologically Driven as Possible

Minimizing the steps in the process is a good way to ensure you have a more rapid movement through the warehouse and the freight process. You can benefit from automated packing and shipping processes, such as the use of a transportation management system, for a more efficient outcome and flow around the warehouse on the outbound side of getting out product to your customer. It will take some operational changes and a look at implementation of technology such as ERP, WMS, and TMS, but it will be well worth the effort in the long run. This is especially important when it comes to storage facilities and storage solutions in general.

Technology is Amazing, But Let's NOT Forget the Common Sense Fundamentals to Maximize the Use of Warehouse Technology

1.-Make sure the Warehouse is Aligned to What the Business Wants: Align the operations of your warehouse with the business goals you set in mind when you decided to implement new processes and warehouse technology. Even if you have pressure coming in from your customer base to speed things up, you should still keep your business objectives in mind as well. Find a good balance of action and strategy to ensure you meet both ends of the spectrum for optimum results.2.-Training: Employees must be trained on procedures, including interaction with the warehouse technology you are implementing such WMS, ERP, or TMS . The excellent manager spends quality time with each team member to coach and encourage him or her. The WMS provides individual performance data to inform the manager as to who needs what specific training. The manager needs to then continually improve using this data.3.-Employee Motivation: Employee motivation can begin as simply as posting charts of comparative performance to encourage competition. After some data have been collected from the WMS, standards should be established for each warehouse task. Employees who exceed standards can be rewarded informally with perks or specific prizes. Ultimately, a formal gain sharing program can entice an appreciable increase in productivity. Productivity increases of 30% have been reported.4.-Physical Plant: An excellent warehouse includes adequate dock capacity, ample staging areas, appropriate storage (pallet rack, shelving, flow rack etc.), and suitable equipment (carts, pallet jacks, fork lifts, order picking trucks, etc.). In general, a single level warehouse is preferable, but conveyors and other mechanization can make a multi-level facility nearly as efficient. The excellent warehouse manager plays a proactive role in planning physical improvements.

5.-Automation technology: Of course, fundamentals are exactly what automation is all about. It takes manual tasks, that when executed exactly the same with best practices in mind, can do well, and uses technology to always have the process repeat and scale as expected. This includes vertical and horizontal carousels, conveyors, automatic stacker cranes, automatic pallet wrappers and many other mechanization. The forward thinking warehouse manager will periodically evaluate potential automation projects. The guiding principle here is whether any proposed automation investment in the various warehouse technology available, provides an acceptable financial return. Picking rates using a well engineered bank of horizontal carousels can be three to four times those possible from fixed shelving, transportation costs and resources are now lowered due to less errors, more control, and increased customer happiness....and finally, the accounting department, with great visibility into these processes, will love the new look of a more profitable bottom line.

New Warehouse Construction Timelapse. 

November 23 , 2016

Security Projects for logistics centers and transport companies.

November 15, 2016

Security systems for the interior and exterior of the ship. Mobile protection systems for vehicles.

Videocontrol logistic

Closed Circuit Television systems to cover areas of loading and unloading, access, areas of risk material. Decentralized systems for multi-station video surveillance management.

Alarms Intrusion

Special intrusion protection systems for interior of ship, and perimetral systems for external detection, for early detection.

Access control

Access control systems for entry of vehicles authorized by license plate, tag, hands-free, remote opening, etc.,

FIRE PROTECTION

November 11, 2016

The Firetrace Indirect Fire Extinguishing System uses the tube as a fire detector and system activation device, not as a discharge path.

Once the pipe detects the fire, then it breaks resulting in a drop in pressure causing the indirect valve to activate.

Then the fire suppression system comes into action, the extinguishing agent is discharged from the cylinder through diffusion nozzles, flooding the area into a mixture of effective fire extinguishing chemicals, suppressing the fire quickly and completely.

This system is typically used in larger areas requiring a high volume of extinguishing agents, to effectively suppress fire. Multiple diffuser nozzles can be added to meet specific application requirements.

3 tendencias que moveran al sector inmobilirario en el 2016

19 july 2016

A pesar de dificultades como la apreciación del dólar y el clima de inseguridad en el país, el sector inmobiliario salvará este año y seguirá creciendo, gracias a tres factores. Aquí te contamos. La depreciación del peso frente al dólar y el clima de inseguridad en varias regiones del país serán los principales retos que enfrentará el sector inmobiliario en 2016. Sin embargo, los jugadores en el mercado esperan que los crecimientos del sector se mantengan a lo largo de los próximos 12 meses. A continuación te presentamos tres tendencias que moverán al sector inmobiliario durante 2016, de acuerdo con la perspectiva de los jugadores en el mercado.

1. Desarrollo automotriz, imán de inversión inmobiliaria.- La industria automotriz ha sido una de las más dinámicas en México. La instalación de nuevos complejos automotrices de firmas como Honda, Nissan-Renault, Mazda, BMW, Mercedes-Benz y Audi tiene el potencial de detonar inversiones en el sector inmobiliario. Los lugares relacionados con la industria automotriz se verán beneficiados por las inversiones inmobiliarias que se realicen, mientras que los espacios relacionados con energía aún no logran atraer inversiones, comenta Pedro Azcué, de JLL.

"El desarrollo del sector va a estar muy en línea con el crecimiento de la economía, entonces seguiremos viendo crecimientos en el piso de ventas y una estabilidad en las ocupaciones", explica el analista de Ve por Más.

Nuevo León, Jalisco, Querétaro, Guanajuato y San Luis Potosí son otros estados que muestran una dinámica creciente en el desarrollo inmobiliario, agrega Marco Medina.Asimismo, otros sectores podrían incentivar el crecimiento inmobiliario. Se requieren centros logísticos conforme llegan nuevas empresas e incluso el comercio electrónico también crece con la llegada de Amazon, dice el analista, quien observa espacio para nuevos proyectos en Monterrey y Guadalajara."Yo creo que aún hay confianza por parte de los inversionistas en cuanto a nuevas inversiones", apunta Medina.

2. Uso mixto, el desarrollo preferido.- La falta de espacios ha traído consigo un avance del desarrollo de proyectos de uso mixto en el sector inmobiliario. Hospitales, centros comerciales, hoteles y oficinas son algunos de los usos que caben en estas construcciones.El dinamismo que ha tenido la Ciudad de México ha propiciado el desarrollo de los usos mixtos: "Vivimos en una ciudad donde la movilidad es bastante complicada, donde los espacios públicos no son los que quisiéramos tener y nos vemos forzados a permanecer en un área de influencia. Los desarrollos de uso mixto nos brindan esa oportunidad de tener todas las ofertas en un lugar muy conveniente y seguro", afirma Elías Mizrahi, director de Relación con Inversionistas de Fibra Danhos. Monterrey, Guadalajara y la capital del país son territorios fértiles para erigir este tipo de proyectos, aunque la zona del Bajío también podría ofrecer oportunidades en el largo plazo.

"Nosotros creemos que, sin duda, la zona metropolitana de la Ciudad de México sigue siendo el mercado inmobiliario más maduro del país y probablemente lo siga siendo por mucho tiempo", dice el directivo de Fibra Danhos.

3. Más Fibra para el mercado .- Las Fibras son una tendencia que seguirá impulsando al sector inmobiliario en 2016. "El panorama general para las Fibras se ve bien para el año que entra. Hay muchas oportunidades de crecimiento", dice el director de Relación con Inversionistas de Fibra Danhos. El año pasado, Luis Méndez Trillo, presidente de Coldwell Banker Commercial en México, aseguraba que cerca de 10 nuevas Fibras enfocadas a bienes comerciales podrían sumarse a los 11 jugadores que actualmente cotizan en la Bolsa Mexicana de Valores (BMV).

"Hay espacio para que se incorporen hasta una decena de Fibras generales", dijo Méndez Trillo en la inauguración de sus nuevas oficinas corporativas en el poniente de la Ciudad de México. "Llegaremos a un punto en que la curva se estabilice", dice José Elizalde.

Por lo pronto, empresas como Coldwell Banker observan un año prometedor para el desarrollo de las Fibras y de todo el mercado inmobiliario. El 2015 trajo un crecimiento de 100% en venta de franquicias para Coldwell Banker, y cerraron con 69 oficinas, de las cuales 11 son nuevas y para 2016 esperan superar las 80. "Vemos un 2016 prometedor para la parte residencial y comercial", explica Elizalde.

En la actualidad existen desarrollos residenciales de tipo medio que presentan un costo por metro cuadrado que se vende a partir de 23,000 a 30,000 pesos con buenos servicios en zonas como Lomas Verdes. El mercado mundial de capitales inmobiliarios se estima en 245,000 millones de dólares (mdd) anuales, mientras que en México apenas alcanza 5,000 mdd al año. "Somos una parte muy pequeña de las operaciones mundiales por la escasez de terrenos", dice el CEO de JLL.

Sin embargo, no considera que las Fibras vayan a ser los principales desarrolladores de usos mixtos, ya que aún falta que el mercado de inversionistas sea más maduro en estos instrumentos, pero sí ve como jugadores centrales del negocio a las empresas inmobiliarias.

A pesar de que 2015 no fue el mejor año de las Fibras, las inversiones continuarán este año y el sector inmobiliario quiere poner los cimientos en un crecimiento sostenido hacia 2020.