The floor is the first thing measured seriously in a survey, before height and well before equipment. The reason is geometric: any equipment working at height amplifies the unevenness below it. This page explains what exactly gets surveyed, with what instruments, at which stage of the project, who signs off on what, and which alternatives appear when the floor is not in condition. What you will not find here is a tolerance figure, and there is a reason: that number is not ours, it is set by the manufacturer of whichever equipment gets chosen.
Why height amplifies whatever happens at floor level
Picture a vertical mast standing on a base that is not perfectly horizontal. The taller the mast, the further its tip drifts for the same error below. It is the same reason a badly levelled tripod ruins a distant shot and not a close one. Automated pallet systems work in a range of 7 to 40 metres, so unevenness that is imperceptible a metre off the ground becomes, at the top, a deviation the equipment has to compensate for on every cycle. That compensation is paid for in three ways: lower speed, higher wear, and poorer positioning accuracy exactly where it matters, which is when depositing or retrieving a load. That is why the floor is not a civil works detail: it is an operating condition for the entire system.
What exactly gets surveyed
Five things get surveyed and they are worth keeping distinct. Flatness is how wavy the surface is over short distances: the dips and ridges you cannot see by eye. Levelness is the overall slope across the sector, which may be intentional for drainage and still be a problem for a long aisle. Joint condition is the state of the edges where one slab panel ends and the next begins, because spalled joints hit the wheels on every pass. Cracking is where cracks are, whether they are surface or through-slab, and whether they are still opening. Apparent load capacity is what a trained eye observes: depressions, settlement marks, floors that sound hollow. That last observation does not replace the calculation; it only says where to look properly.
What it is measured with and who does it
The initial survey is done by the technical team during the visit, with an optical or laser level and a grid of points along the planned aisle layout rather than across the whole floor. A level drawing is produced and the out-of-range zones are marked. When the project advances and the system is defined, a specific topographic survey is commissioned along the exact lines where rails will bear or equipment will travel, because the requirement there is far stricter than across the rest of the surface. That fine measurement happens with the layout closed and before the purchase order, never after. Structural verification, which is a different matter, is signed off by a licensed engineer. An equipment supplier surveys and anticipates, but does not sign for the structure of a building it did not design.
What flatness tolerance does my warehouse need?
The honest answer is that STOKA does not define it and neither does the warehouse: the manufacturer of the chosen equipment defines it, and it is in the technical data sheet. Every system has its own requirement, and they are nothing like each other: rail-guided equipment working at height asks for far more than conventional racking operated with a forklift. Publishing a universal figure would be inventing a requirement. The real procedure runs the other way: first the floor you have is surveyed, then it is established which systems live with that measurement, and only then is it checked against the candidate system data sheet. If someone gives you a tolerance figure before knowing which equipment you will install, they are giving you a number without a subject. Ask which data sheet it is verified against and you will see how serious the conversation is.
What to do if the floor is not in condition
There are three routes, evaluated in order of increasing cost. The first is localised levelling: correcting only the strips where rails will bear or equipment will travel, usually a small fraction of the total area. The second is an overlay, a new layer over the existing floor, which resolves flatness and joint condition in one go but eats clear height, so it has to be subtracted from the density calculation before deciding. The third is choosing a less demanding system: stepping down from rail-guided equipment at height to a compact alternative that tolerates more deviation, accepting less density in exchange for not touching the floor. None of the three is a rejection. They are three different quotes for the same goal, compared with numbers in hand.
When this is not what you need
Value space using your own rent or property opportunity cost. Released space can support growth or reorganization; it only saves rent when an actual payment obligation is reduced.
What to take away
The floor is measured first because height amplifies whatever happens below. Flatness, levelness, joints, cracking and the visible signs of load capacity are surveyed with an optical or laser level along the aisle layout, and later with fine topography along the exact system lines. The tolerance is not a universal number: it comes from the technical data sheet of the chosen equipment. And if the floor falls short, there are three routes with three different costs, none of which is leaving the project out.
Frequently asked questions
There is no single one. The tolerance is set by the manufacturer of the chosen equipment and appears in its technical data sheet, and it varies enormously between a rail-guided system working at height and conventional racking operated with a forklift. The correct procedure is to survey the existing floor first and check it against the candidate system data sheet afterwards, not the other way round.
Precisely because of that. A vertical mast amplifies any unevenness in its base: the higher it reaches, the further the tip drifts for the same error below. Since automated pallet systems work between 7 and 40 metres, a deviation that is imperceptible at ground level becomes, at the top, lost speed, higher wear and reduced accuracy when depositing or retrieving a load.
There are two distinct verifications and they are worth not mixing. Flatness is surveyed technically and checked against the data sheet of the chosen equipment. Structural capacity of the floor, by contrast, is signed off by a licensed engineer based on the building documentation. An equipment supplier surveys, anticipates problems and coordinates, but does not sign for the structure of a building it did not design.
Yes, and it has to be subtracted from the calculation before deciding. An overlay is a new layer over the existing floor: it resolves flatness and joint condition in one go, but it consumes clear height, which is exactly the resource density is calculated on. That is why it is worth comparing against localised levelling, which corrects only the working strips and leaves the rest untouched.
Twice. The initial survey happens on the first visit, with an optical or laser level along the planned aisle layout, and it tells you whether there is a problem. The fine measurement, topographic and along the exact lines where rails bear, happens with the layout already closed and before the purchase order. Never after: correcting with equipment already on site multiplies the cost.