The Challenge
To find suitable premises around their current location in the Medway Kent area bringing together facilities in Bristol & Sittingbourne.
Having worked on prior occasions with STS from Dovetails origins at a smaller operation in Woking Surrey, STS were brought in as storage consultants to advise the suitability of units in surrounding areas.
Having spent around two years reviewing unsuccessful units with a local surveyor, it was felt that due to the heavy load capacities of the products and potential point load matched with the complex picking operation it was decided that a new purpose built warehouse would be built on a vacant plot at Eurolink in Kent.
The Solution
Historically clients sign or build a warehouse then design the racking, mezzanine & shelving solution around the design constraints of the building which is not always the best fit. STS storage systems recommended that this process was reversed and that a building was built around Dovetails operational needs.
STS Storage Systems set to work assessing stock profiles and quantities, bulk and pick ratios together with potential future requirements.
Once all the objectives and criteria were agreed a CAD plan detailing bulk pallet racking, a two tier mezzanine floor, longspan & small part shelving system were made.
The plans were drawn to construct Dovetail with a new purpose made 20,000 sq ft warehouse specifically around the STS Storage Systems CAD plan. A team consisting of architects, structural engineers and contractors were drafted in to ensure nothing deviated from the plans.
As the warehouse floor was laid over an old landfill site it had to be of a piled construction so particular attention had to be paid to the specific layout of the mezzanine columns and pallet racking frames to ensure the concrete was not punctured.
Throughout the build process, STS Storage Systems worked with all the contractors to ensure the project ran smoothly and on time and most importantly that the agreed storage needs of Dovetail were not compromised in any way.
How We Achieved It!
Mezzanine Floor
- Obtained necessary building regulation and fire service approvals for the client.
- BRE 437 approved mezzanine floor.
- Detailed CAD drawings to ensure correct alignment of Mezzanine stanchions and support piles.
- Lighting to the underside of the floors to NIC EIC and British Standards.
- 1-hour fire rating via suspended ceiling, clad columns & fireproof fascia.
Shelving
- 600mm deep Stow Longspan to store magazines, dvds & promotional materials.
- 400mm deep smaller Stowshelf to store lighter articles such as comics.
Pallet Racking
- 6 metre high Stow FEM Palrack to
accommodate heavy bulk paper loads and maximise available height. - Timber Decking to facilitate smaller pallets and allow accurate location for high picks.
- Anti Collapse mesh fitted to the back of single runs.