The hardest item in a warehouse move is chilled stock: the old cold room shuts, the new one has not yet reached regime and the product sits in between. FAO notes that for foods needing temperature control, temperature irregularities in transport can let micro-organisms grow to unsafe levels (FAO).
- Before the move date, run chilled stock down as far as possible.
- Run and measure the new room before product arrives. The air of an empty room reaches target quickly, walls and shelves take hours; putting product into a room that has not reached regime is riskier than waiting in containers. Also check alarms and airflow.
- Move the remaining stock in insulated containers pre-chilled with plates; the containers act as a temporary cold room. If there are not enough containers, split the move over two days.
- Load the cold cargo onto a separate vehicle and unload it first at the new warehouse.
Match pallet or container IDs at dispatch, loading, unloading and receipt; at each handover write the time, giver, product and lot, quantity and measurement point. Vehicle air does not stand in for a product reading, and loggers placed in the containers document the transition. After a delay, breakdown, open door or out-of-limit reading, mark and set the load aside and record measurement point, time and known event duration; the specification and written procedure decide.
