If you’re in the business of manufacturing, you know there is a lot more to designing the optimal warehouse floor plan than stacking pallet racks and ensuring the proper aisle clearance. There is a science behind crafting a warehouse floor plan designed for optimal efficiency of every square foot of floor space. Usually, warehouses are separated into several main sections: receiving, storage, picking, packing and shipping, and a break room or “free” area. Easy access to drinking water and ice is pivotal in maintaining your warehouse employees’ productivity.
A Hydrated Warehouse is a Productive Warehouse
It’s not uncommon for hundreds or sometimes thousands of workers to be spread out across a single warehouse at once. These oftentimes essential employees require at least eight glasses of water a day (often more if they are constantly on their feet or operating heavy machinery). Quench studies show that drinking water helps improve productivity, mood, memory, energy levels, and clarity, meaning your warehouse staff can benefit from an endless supply of water whenever they need it.
Keeping your large workforce hydrated can be a challenge, especially if you rely on a water delivery service. Traditional water delivery hassles like switching jugs on a five-gallon water cooler, escorting delivery people, keeping up with the plastic bottle waste, and worrying about running out of drinking water on hot days create barriers to proper hydration.
More and more warehouses and distribution centers are switching from five-gallon water coolers to bottleless water coolers these days. Point-of-use coolers that are plumbed into your warehouse building’s existing water supply offer many benefits (and don’t worry—a water source just needs to be available in the structure for us to install the coolers.).
Benefits of Bottleless Water Coolers for Your Warehouse
Safety
Five-gallon water coolers tend to be prone to spills, creating slipping hazards and possibly leaking water that could eventually seep into surrounding boxes and goods. “Our associates used to leave the tabs up on the five-gallon water jug dispensers, which would cause spills in the warehouse,” said Reginald Pero, Health Safety and Environmental Supervisor at DHL Supply Chain| ASOS. “We switched to bottleless water coolers to keep the building clean and dry.” Quench coolers are structurally sound and designed to prevent leakage. They only dispense water when a person is physically operating it, which reduces the risk of spills, leaks, and accidents.
As the names suggest, bottleless water coolers are bottle-free. They connect to your building’s existing water source and filter that water on-site. They do not require heavy five-gallon water jugs, which can pileup and create dangerous obstacles throughout the workspace. A bottleless water cooler requires minimal space and allows your workers to move about the warehouse with ease.
Quench bottleless water coolers feature advanced technologies that address health concerns as well. Our water machines use advanced filtration and sanitization technologies such as carbon filtration, reverse osmosis, UV sanitization, and antimicrobial surface protection to remove sediment, reduce lead and other chemical contaminants, and get rid of off-tastes and odors. Plus, we now offer several touchless water dispensers to give users the option to fill their cups and bottles without touching their water machines.
Convenience
If there is only a small handful of water coolers spaced out across tens of thousands of square feet, odds are, many will be reluctant to walk the distance to fill their water bottles. Quench conducted a survey in the Spring of 2018 that showed that a lack of time to get water creates the biggest barrier to proper hydration. A way to remove that barrier is by installing bottleless water coolers (which never run out of water) across all the major areas of your building. Quench water coolers are incredibly versatile. Our technicians have the equipment and skillset to install coolers quickly and with little disruption to your workflow; even in warehouses with over 30-foot ceilings. Discover the logistics of installing a Quench water cooler here.
For efficiency, warehouses are creating neighborhood layouts. The layout organically isolates employees into small groups, which also happens to be an effective way to reduce the spread of germs in the office. Since Quench bottleless water coolers are so easy to install and take up very little floor or shelf space compared to the storage of bottles or jugs, they can accommodate warehouse floor plans that implement neighborhood layouts within their warehouses and distribution centers.
“Our customers are ordering more coolers to create social distancing,” said Stretch Gronlund, National Account Manager at Quench. “As opposed to having one [cooler] in a break room where everyone is sharing a single water cooler, they’ll have multiple water coolers.”
Cost
Adding more water coolers to your workplace to accommodate a neighborhood may sound like an expensive feat. Yet, our research shows that renting a single bottleless water cooler that serves 50 people will wind up costing a company less money than a five-gallon water jug dispenser that serves the same amount of people. That means, even if you increase the number of Quench coolers in your building to adhere to social distancing guidelines, you can still save money on water in the long run.
The Best Coolers for Your Warehouse Floor Plans
If hundreds of people are passing through your warehouses and using your facilities every day, you’ll need durable machines that can support their physically demanding jobs. Rick Beres, Major Account Manager at Quench, recommends the Q5. “In manufacturing facilities, employees are often wearing gloves. They can easily operate a Q5 with gloves on,” said Beres.
The Q series machines are also great for manufacturing companies since they both dispense a special type of alkaline water called quenchWATER+. Studies suggest drinking alkaline water allows the body to absorb water more readily. So, it’s smart to offer it to your physically active employees who may dehydrate more easily than your average worker.
Regular water is usually all that is allowed on the warehouse floor. When it comes to the break room, however, there are multiple hydrating options. “In the break room, my go-to is the Quench 980-50,” said Beres. “The sensor version is in high demand.” The Quench 980-50 is a commercial capacity touchless water dispenser that also dispenses ice. It produces up to 425 pounds of chewable nugget ice in one day while storing up to 50 pounds. Translation: It’s great for serving a large warehouse of thirsty, busy people!
Quench Offers Best-in-Class Service
Quench offers top-notch service that is fast and reliable. Quench-badged technicians perform all service on your filtered water dispenser, and whether it’s preventive maintenance, a filter change, or repair, the cost is included in your monthly rental fee.
“Even after everything was installed, we had a few things that we needed to change and [our rep] made sure that we were satisfied,” said Bianca Pinnekins, Receptionist at Mogas Industries. “He continuously called or came by to ensure that our happiness was a top priority.”
Put our service to the test. Give us a call at 844-303-2841 or click the green get quote button to inquire about getting bottleless water coolers for your warehouse.
