Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Warehouse - How To Pick The Right One

By Micheal Davies

With the massive growth in urban population, living area of city apartments and residences is reducing at a very high pace. However, we have been increasingly purchasing new domestic items under the influence of consumerism and availability of easy cash. These opposite forces have caused a dearth of space required to store domestic and office items, and this situation has set the cash registers ringing for the storage industry.

It is good to be careful when picking a warehouse for storage of articles. There are a lot of storage service providers in the market and you need to ensure that the one you are picking has the right facilities and processes to take good care of your important items. Here are some necessary checks that you must carry out before finally choosing a warehouse.

The most fundamental aspect of a good warehouse is security. The facility should have up to date systems which can ensure that your items are not prone to burglary. A good warehouse would generally feature door alarms, electronic access doors, and CCTV cameras.

In addition to security from theft, you also need security from accidents like fire. Warehouses are notorious for accidents caused by fire, and so fire fighting devices to ensure protection of your valuables must be there at the warehouse. The warehouse must have alarms that would go off at the slightest indication of a fire, and the storage areas must be made up of fireproof materials.

Your items will also require safety from the weather. Weather becomes a critical factor if you have stored valuables like antique furniture or paintings that can absorb the moisture from the air. If you have medicinal drugs or hi tech appliances to store, then they must be shielded from heat as well. To control levels of heat and moisture inside the facility, the storage company must have weather control technology in place so that your valuables don't get spoiled in any manner.

Your articles also need to be protected from all kinds of pests. Pests are almost undetectable and can cause irreparable damage to items like wooden furniture in a very short time. Thus the warehouse should have adequate pest control measures like use of pesticides and maintaining cleanliness.

Lastly, the warehouse should have employees who are always ready to help customers. In most cases they will be involved in loading, transportation, and unloading of the articles, and if your items get damaged in this process then it becomes irrelevant how good the storage facility is. Therefore, the employees must be well trained in these processes and should genuinely care for your things.

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