The rise of automation has been well documented over the past decade. While headlines would have you believe that robots are taking over, in reality automation has led to increased efficiencies, especially in the logistics sector.

From picking and packing to autonomous inventory monitoring, and even self-driving fork-lifts, automation has had a notable impact on businesses, especially as available labour becomes increasingly harder to come by. However, as the trend grows and more and more occupiers choose to use this kind of technology, how easy is it to get this type of operation up and running in existing warehouses? What’s clear is that it isn’t as simple as just flicking a switch.

In fact, the requirements of a building really depend on what kind of system is being utilised. If an occupier wants a fully automated warehouse, key factors such as the structural capacity of the steelwork, the precise levelling of the floor slabs and the availability of power are all essential ingredients.

Then again, if occupiers are only looking to automate individual elements of the process, it’s far simpler to retrofit into an existing building.

For those looking for a fully automated operation, the option to build to suit means that occupiers can now factor in these requirements from the outset of a new development, making sure the warehouse is capable of supporting automation, but not all businesses have this luxury.

While many systems can be successfully integrated into existing spaces, this is likely to come at a far higher capital cost and throw up a number of technical challenges.

With the trend for increased automation in the logistics and industrial sectors, it makes sense that developers would look to build these requirements into speculative warehouse design.

However, this is easier said than done. A number of new units have been built with the specifications needed for various floor mounted automated systems, but not everything can be accounted for in those crucial early stages. For example, structural elements of speculative warehouses are often designed with just stability in mind, a solution that is not suitable for top lifting automation systems.

Power is another limiting factor; this is frequently governed by standard industry guidelines and local availability in the grid, creating further limitations as a consequence.

For speculative builds, developers can be reluctant to include the features required to facilitate full automation from inception as the range of automation options and implications on building specifications are so vast they struggle to justify the extra capital cost. For occupiers, this makes it far trickier to build it in later down the line.

At present fully automated warehouses are still few and far between. However, as businesses adapt to pressures, such as a shortage of labour and next day delivery, it’s likely to become increasingly common.

Ultimately, now is the time for developers to incorporate these features in order to facilitate automation in the future, while occupiers need to consider how they can use automation to increase productivity and what shape this might take in both their existing and future warehouse space.

Further information

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