6.12 Warehouse handling material and equipment

To perform adequate storage and safe handling some equipment is needed. Requirements depend on the volume of movements, availability and practices in the country of operation, but may include:

• pallets or wooden platforms, shelves
• trailer or wheelbarrows, hydraulic loading and moving equipment (trans-pallet, forklift)
• manual and precision scale, measuring tape, empty bags and boxes, ladder (to access the top of piles).

For correct stock management, some simple equipment is necessary, such as:

• stock management procedures (stock cards, delivery notes and other forms as described in section 6.10.1)
• basic stationery, adhesive tape, calculators and office supplies (such as an archiving cupboard with a lock)
• conversion tables (weights, measures and volume)
• safety equipment including a first aid kit, sand, buckets, axes and appropriate fire extinguishers
• equipment to repair damaged packaging
• tools for opening and closing crates
• cleaning materials
• traps for rodents
• a computer for the central warehouse.