How to avoid heart failure in your battery room
01st February 2010One of the critical aspects in any warehouse or distribution centre is the materials handling equipment. If forklifts and employees are the life blood of the logistics operation, the battery room is the heart of the operation keeping those teams in motion. Batteries are the often the most overlooked and under managed asset in a warehouse - leave the battery room design to an afterthought or the inexperienced and you can find yourself in a critical condition. However, by working with the right partner from the start it can be a relatively straight forward and cost-effective process.
When you select a battery room equipment partner, ensure they can demonstrate a thorough understanding of your requirements, can provide assistance in accurately scoping the project, and can identify a solution that takes into account all of your needs. A potential partner should be able to demonstrate their experience with reference sites and contacts.
In designing a battery room there are several primary considerations that should be decided upon with some certainty as early as possible:
- The location of the battery room within the DC
Identify the operational areas for the MHE and the main power supply feed location. The ideal positioning of the battery room takes into account cost of moving a forklift from its working area to the change area, along with the cost of piping significant amounts of power around the facility. The heart should have the shortest distance to pump the blood.
- The quantity of batteries that will be stored and charged
There are many items to add to the cost of overhead associated with a battery room; racking, chargers, batteries, real estate to name a few. Traditional methods of establishing the quantities of these items divert cash into them. Requirement should be based on actual needs, not the old theoretical methods of a battery per shift per forklift. Your battery room partner should be able to advise you on the number of batteries and chargers your site will need based on experience of fleet managed operations. Beware the First In, First Out battery management systems and ongoing commitments to a single supplier.
One of the essential questions to ask at the drawing board stage is what will the MHE requirement be in 5, 10, 20 years time? “The flexibility of multi level and adjustable, battery change system, will enable the battery room to grow with demand.” stressed Ian Baines, a Project Manager at Philadelphia Scientific, who design, build and install battery rooms, “We can come back to a site to add capacity at any time if the right measures are put into place at the design stage.” A child’s heart won’t supply an adults body.
- The room dimensions.
When considering a new battery room consider the cost per metre of the real estate (floor space) versus the cost of going up. Don’t let the unused space above the chargers go to waste! There is a point in battery room operation design when the number of battery changes in a day warrants a man aboard changing system and a dedicated attendant. Do the sums on using multi-level racking, which can go up to 6 levels high as opposed to wasting valuable warehouse space with long lines of single level racking. When a normal heart is going to fail, a bionic heart may be required.
From this point forward the battery room partner can begin to develop proposal drawings of the battery racks and changing systems allowing you to visualize the layout of your specific application. Work through the following questions as comprehensively as possible with your battery room partner (they’re by no means exhaustive and they may lead to more, but they’ll help you to avoid heart failure):
How will the room be laid out and what are the traffic flows?
Where will the forklifts, enter, change and turn?
Where are the pedestrian zones and walk ways?
Where are the emergency exits, safety showers and spill kits located?
How will be the assets in the room be protected?
How are the forklifts configured for battery removal?
Is the floor suitable?
Can it take the weight of the racks?
Is the surface flat and level?
How will essential battery services be provided, such as watering and cleaning?
What is the requirement for water and air services?
Does the existing water meet battery standards?
How is waste water from battery cleaning
Is compressed air required for machinery operation?
What is the contingency for equipment failure?
What is the parts and support provision for the changing system?
Who will be supplying technical support?
Who will look after the day to day maintenance of the batteries?
Where will parts be stored?
What ventilation is required for the batteries and how will it be provided?
Philadelphia Scientific is at the forefront of battery room technology. Philadelphia Scientific provides a full design and consultancy service which will be able to guide you through the minefield of battery room installation, and help facilitate a long and industrious life for your battery room.
< back to latest news
