11 Proven Methods Used to Maximize Your Company’s Warehouse Floor Plan Design: Warehouse CAD Design

Warehouse 3D floor plan design is complicated. This post discusses 11 tactics used to maximize your company’s warehousing and storage space with the help of CAD drafting and design drawing services and floor plans, floor plan design with the option of 3D floor plan design, and 3D floor plan rendering for warehousing and CAD design. The 3D floor plan design of your warehouse can make or break the overall productivity of your business operation. It can affect labor hours and picking time and even increase safety risks because of poor traffic flow. Whether you are in the process of building your new warehouse from scratch or you plan to tweak your existing space to improve it, here are some tactics you can employ:

Table of Contents 

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11 Tactics used to maximize your company’s warehouse floor plan design

1. Create a process map

Evaluate how your warehouse and storage space work daily. Does the floor plan design have parts that cause slow production and bottlenecks? If yes, you must optimize your warehouse floor plan design to ensure efficient and smooth workflows. Create a process map detailing how the facility runs now, complete with the specific locations of every zone. Identify the areas that require changes. For example, if there is a bottleneck in packing and production, your new process map can move the packing zone to meet the production demands.

2. Determine your objectives before the start of the planning process

Defining the objectives when planning your company’s 3D warehousing and floor plan design for efficiency is essential. You have to align these objectives with your company’s overall warehousing strategy. You can define your goals at a high level, like providing maximum customer and lowering warehousing costs.

The objectives can also be equally specific, like improving warehousing efficiency using CAD modeling for floor plan design of walkways without boosting the resources, offering maximum warehouse flexibility, and maximizing warehousing space. Typically, companies start with 2D drawings and floor plans and then move to 3D floor plan design and 3D floor plan rendering. 3D floor plan design services are available to help companies create their 3D warehouse CAD designs.

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3. Identify spatial relationships between different parts of the warehouse 

After clearly defining the project, the goal of the process’s second phase is to develop an overall plan to lay out the different parts of the warehouse using a CAD 2D drawing and floor plan expert. There are freelance 2D drawing and floor plan design services for companies needing help with this step. It is the step when precise floor plan design details are intentionally ignored. But other floor plan design aspects are thoroughly evaluated. The most logical way to begin this phase is to identify the spatial relationships between warehouse areas.

You have to consider several aspects when drawing connections between these parts. Understating or overstating the impact or importance of any single factor may be detrimental to the warehouse design flow. The next step of the phase is to identify the amount of space every area needs. This task can be accomplished in several ways, and some methods might work better than others in a specific situation. For example, some facilities may already have established space standards, while others might need historical information for the parts to be laid out.

After setting the space requirements, you can adjust for every area’s specific needs and limitations. Some sites, for instance, may need an exit door, so giving other areas more aisle space makes more sense. A 3D floor plan rendering company can convert these 2D drawings and floor plans into 3D floor plan renderings later to view the warehouse design flow.

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4. Design your warehouse floor plan design for future use

Avoid designing your warehouse’s 3D floor plan design just for present use. Make sure you also create different 3D floor plan designs that will give way for project growth in the future. Several common issues with designing a 3D warehouse floor plan include empty buildings and overcrowded existing spaces. A good recommendation is to put your concepts and ideas on paper. While it may look great to have your warehouse floor plan designed by an AutoCAD 3D designer, it is still important, to begin with the basics of using paper and pencil.

Please pay attention to the most critical task: to create an efficient material flow from production to storage before reaching the end user.It is easy to immediately achieve an efficient flow of material with ample space, the right equipment, and storage mediums. However, everything comes down to how well-designed the 3D floor plan design is to endure your company’s rapid growth. It will be great to forecast future growth and develop a floor plan design for the present and a few more for future use.

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5. Understand warehouse inventory better 

Aside from understanding your specific work processes, you also need to understand the inventory you will store there. It means you have to know the shapes and sizes of these items, the specific material handling equipment that will be used to transport them, and the total amount of the SKUs that will be stored. There are several reasons why this in-depth understanding is essential. For starters, the item’s size is essential because the SKUs take up more space, and you will have less room for other items in your inventory, whether it is the same item or not.

It is also crucial since every square foot will cost you money when running a warehouse. Knowing the material handling equipment required to move the items will also affect the width of traffic lanes required between inventory storage. SKUs that need forklifts and other heavy machines need a wider lane. You also have to consider the area’s overall foot traffic to guarantee the safety of all employees in the facility.

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6. Be familiar with local building codes 

Please ensure you know the local building codes regarding warehouse product storage when creating a 3D warehouse design. For instance, what minimum clearance is required for the sprinkler heads from the top of the pallet load? Is the warehouse located in a seismic location that necessitates special considerations for design? Ensure you are familiar with other safety considerations like foot traffic versus forklift aisles, egress paths, etc. This will significantly help when creating a floor plan design for your warehousing needs. There are also 2D CAD drafting services available for your warehousing design needs.

7. Seek input from contractors and managers

It can be tempting to start planning your 3D warehouse floor plan design immediately. However, creating a 3D warehouse design without input from others can be a severe mistake. Remember to discuss things with your warehouse managers, knowledgeable contractors such as your material handling company, and even the drivers of your company. Freelance 3D floor plan design services are available to help companies that need assistance. 

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Utilizing these individuals to help with the 3D warehousing and CAD design is helpful as they have years of experience in warehousing, planning, facility operations, and expertise within your warehouse. You should explain all your requirements and goals and listen to their recommendations for the new floor plan design.

8. Start with a schematic 

Good warehouse floor plan designs always begin with putting down everything on paper first, regardless of the space size. To do this, you can refer to a copy of the warehouse blueprint, particularly if the space doesn’t have a standard rectangle shape or the area is large. The landlord can provide you with a copy of the existing floor plan design if you rent. If you don’t have a blueprint copy, you can use grid paper to draw your 3D warehouse design schematic. You can try using one square – square foot on your schematic. You can also find 2D drawing and floor plan design freelancers to help create the existing floor plan design.

After you have an online or printed schematic complete with measurements drawn to scale, take note of stationary features like overhead doors, installed equipment, office area buildouts, supports or columns, and others you need to work around. You can start planning the space when the schematic is ready with major features noted.

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9. Refer to the historical data in your WMS 

Tap into the historical data in your WMS or Warehouse Management System. Invest in a WMS if you still need one, and data collection is critical in today’s cut-throat business environment. Using a WMS to help plan your facility’s 3D warehousing and CAD design floor plan design can be helpful. Modern-day WMS not only tracks inventory but also collects pertinent operational data. WMS can make suggestions like changing the product slotting philosophy from the traditional ABC product categorization towards a highly efficient approach like floating inventory floor plan designs.

Automated asset tracking data collection methods are also recommended to prevent downstream errors. Manual entries are a no-no here. You can take things further by assigning assets with unique tracking numbers. Don’t just rely on serial numbers that may not be unique at all. It would be best if you also tracked both movable and fixed assets.

10. Test the floor plan design before the installation of new racks and shelves

Before installing things such as shelves, pallet racks, or equipment, walk around your warehouse to confirm that everything is ready for installation. You can use masking tape for outlining major work areas. You can then carry things through it, roll around pallet jacks, and get other employees to simulate work simultaneously. It will give you a visual understanding of the space and determine whether or not it is optimized. Even the most minor error here may result in more severe mistakes later.

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11. Understand how products circulate through the facility

Here, circulation refers to the movement in logistics, like receiving, order preparation, and dispatch processes. Product rotation refers to the frequency of renewing the goods, with high-rotation products having higher output and input rates. Moving loads will involve costs, so it is better to lessen the movement if the company’s operational procedure admits this. Identifying these flows is critical since these contribute to defining what is required for an effective 3D warehouse design and 3D floor plan design.

How can Cad Crowd help?

If your company needs help finding a solution for warehouse floor plan design, Cad Crowd has freelance floor plan experts that can assist. We offer many solutions for efficient warehouse and storage space design. We can recommend 2D drawings and floor plans services, 2D CAD design services, 3D floor plan design services, 3D floor plan rendering services, and more. It can be challenging to get started, and Cad Crowd is available to help. Provide your project details through a free quote request today!