Preparing a warehouse for the winter

Winter can not only impact how you tackle the weather but also how you tackle operations (since the sales of your product or business may fluctuate from season to season).  To help you navigate this time of year, here are some tips to make the winter season a breeze for your warehouse space.  

1. Ensure windows and doors are sealed 

Keeping any exterior weather conditions outside of your space is key to ensuring your warehouse space stays warm. Not only because your goods run the risk of being damaged, but also because you may let in cold air causing your space to get even colder. Additionally, many warehouse spaces don’t have a heating system in place. That’s why we suggest closing any windows and doors so that the outside weather stays outside.

2. Plan for snow removal 

Winter weather is unexpected and fluctuates regularly. Whether it’s a blizzard, snow showers, or just a regular sunny day with some light snow, it’s always important to plan your snow removal ahead of time.  If you’re renting your space, get in touch with your landlord and see if they’ve planned for a snow removal company (or anyone else) to come and remove the snow from around your warehouse space and ensure you have a backup in case they’re not available. 

If you’re the landlord, be sure to find a solution to removing snow from your property. Many landlords remove the snow themselves, and if that’s your plan, be sure to have the right equipment on hand: shovels, trucks for snow, snow blowers, and salters, are just some of the different tools you may need. Otherwise, you’ll need to hire an outside company to take care of snow removal. 

Important locations to consider when removing snow:

• Parking lot
• Passageways
• Entrance to dock-doors

3. Heating and air circulation

Many warehouses don’t have a heating system, but if yours does, ensure it’s working properly before it gets cold outside. Have the HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) inspected to avoid any emergency maintenance repairs during the winter. You should also identify any vents and routinely check that there is no ice blocking the flow of air into the building. 

4. Dress appropriately

Get your boots, gloves, and winter coats ready because it’s going to get cold. It might get cold in the space you’re working in, so be sure to have comfortable clothes to work in that also ensure you stay warm and most importantly, safe. If you can, try to provide your personnel with a space where they can warm up and take breaks. Equally important is to warn your warehouse employees of the winter weather and outline some safety measures, as well as identify risks that come with not dressing appropriately like frostbite and carbon monoxide poisoning. 

5. Expect delays and closures

Winter weather is something we should all plan for. But even with a lot of planning, there are still going to be unexpected rainfalls, severe snow storms, and other weather conditions. Hence, you should plan for the unplanned and have safeguards in place in case things do go wrong. Expect your employees running the chance of being late or goods you’ve ordered arriving behind schedule.

6. Meet customer demand 

Does your business run during the winter months? If the answer is yes, then take measures as early as possible to ensure you meet your customers’ demands. To counter this challenge, have in place the appropriate warehousing and inventory management strategy/solution. Here are a few tips that can help you manage the seasonality of demand: 

• Avoid having excess stock levels;
• Identify which products may be affected by seasonal demand;
• Keep suppliers informed of possible increases and plan to have orders delivered on time as much as possible;
• Optimize your inventory to have adequate safety stock levels in case orders are higher than expected. 

7. Protect your goods

It’s important to consider the condition in which your goods need to be stored in so that they don’t go bad or get damaged by the cold. Take into account the type of space you’re in, what the weather may look like, and if there’s a heating system in place. Here are some things to consider regarding the goods stored in your warehouse:

• The quantity of goods you have stored
• The type of material your goods are
• The temperature in which your goods need to be stored in
• The measures you can take to ensure your goods are stored safely in the warehouse

Warehouse spaces come in all shapes and sizes. You might also be sharing your warehouse with someone else, which adds additional challenges to consider. You may want to coordinate with other tenants in your space so that you are all aligned with the same safety measures. It’s also possible that your landlord has already considered some of the important safety protocols for your warehouse space. If that’s the case, be sure to communicate with them and see what safety measures they’ve taken ahead of winter.