Management of a cold storage warehouse includes consideration of storage requirements of products, loading and shipment plans, hygiene rules, regular operation of cooling devices and periodic maintenance of the devices.
Manage the Temperature Correctly: One of the most important requirements for cold storage is the correct management of temperature. Inappropriate temperature value does not only affect the quality and safety of the products; it also causes continuous operation of the cooling devices to provide the desired value. This leads to increase of electric consumption. Homogeneous cooling of each room is important for maintaining the freshness of the products. Homogeneous cooling is possible by selection and installation of correct refrigeration devices and using sandwich panels which have high insulation value.
Apply FIFO (First in First Out) Principle: This principle is a very important method to monitor product movement in cold storage. Spoilage possibility increases for the products that are not shipped for a long period of time. In order to increase the efficiency of cold storage warehouses keep tracking the expiry dates and dates that the products received to the warehouse. Hence establish a system rotating the oldest to be shipped out first.
Make Proper Stacking: Though Industrial cold storage warehouses are consist of divided sections with different temperature regimes, this is not enough to use cold storage effectively. An important key to efficient use of the cold store is the proper stacking. Stacking is possible by placing the aluminum shelves or chrome shelves (AISI 304, stainless steel) in the most accurate way. For the efficient operation of the truck and forklift, cold storage shelves should be placed by taking into account of the dimensions of the crates or pallets and the corridor gap as well as the internal net dimensions of the warehouse.
Make Sure Sensitive Product Handling: There may be a considerable difference of product handling in production and during logistic operations. Special attention should be given to ensure that the packaging of any product is not torn or damaged and the temperature of the products is maintained during the entire transportation process. The stability of the temperature during transportation is very important for maintaining the cold chain and maintaining the freshness of the product. Even a slight change in temperature can greatly increase the possibility of product deterioration. The products spoiled because of broken cold chain have to be separated and removed from the warehouse. Move away those from coming into contact with other products to avoid spoilage of other products.
Check the Temperature Constantly: Cold room temperatures have to be checked regularly. You cannot even guess that this step has been accidentally skipped by many users and lead to unintended consequences. In order to keep your products safe, the cold storage temperature should never fall below the recommended threshold. In order to achieve this, the alarm system can be installed or the remote monitoring system may be preferred.
