The January warehouse walkthrough
Machinery sits idle and shipments slow down — there is no better time to inspect the premises.
January is usually quieter than December in a warehouse. Shipments are less frequent, some areas are free, and there is an opportunity unavailable during the busy season: the chance to inspect everything without rushing.
The logical place to start is the perimeter. Entry points rarely look dramatic: a gap of a centimeter and a half beneath a gate, an unsealed pipe entry, a missing screen on an exhaust vent, or a back door propped open with a brick for convenience. A mouse can pass through an opening barely more than a centimeter across; a rat needs two and a half.
Next come the interior areas. Pallets pushed flush against the walls prevent you from seeing what is happening along the perimeter. A clearance of twenty or thirty centimeters pays for itself in a single inspection. Pallets, boxes, and packaging materials stacked away "until spring" provide ready-made shelter.
Staff areas also deserve attention. The lunch room, staff lockers, and kitchen bin provide a more reliable food source than all the goods on the racks, because the goods are usually packaged and lunch is not.
Finally, if the bait stations have been in place since autumn, January is the time to check all of them, not just a sample. A station that has not been checked for three months provides no information; it merely creates the impression that controls are in place.
