Before talking about equipment, we survey the warehouse you already have. Not to decide whether it qualifies, because that is not the question, but to understand what can be gained with what is there and what would have to change if the diagnosis ends up calling for equipment. This page lists, in order, everything that gets checked during a visit: structure, floor, utilities, temperature, access points, and also what never shows up on a drawing, which is how goods move every day. A survey can conclude that no new equipment is needed. That is a valid and frequent outcome.
What this list is for, and what it is not
The list is not an entrance exam. STOKA does not work with minimum thresholds: there is no ceiling height below which a warehouse is ruled out, and no floor that disqualifies an operation. What exists is an order of verification, because each figure conditions the next. Clear height defines how much density can be gained by stacking; the floor defines what equipment can work at that height; the electrical installation defines what can be powered; temperature defines which components survive the environment. If one of those values falls short of what a given system asks for, it does not mean the warehouse is unfit: it means the answer is a different one. There is almost always more than one route to the same goal, and several of those routes require no robotics at all. The survey exists to choose between them with data, not to rule warehouses out.
Structure and clear height
The first thing measured is the space available upward. Clear height is the distance from the finished floor to the lowest thing hanging from the roof, which is rarely the structure itself: usually it is a sprinkler pipe, a cable tray or a light fitting. It is not the ridge height, and in a gabled building the gap between the two can be several metres. It is measured at several points, never one, and any localised obstruction is recorded with its position. That figure is the one that governs, because density is calculated on top of it. Under the criteria STOKA uses to size projects, densification reaches up to 3x, depending on clear height and on the configuration of the system. Automated pallet systems work in a range of 7 to 40 metres, which is the equipment range, not an entry requirement.
The floor: flatness and load capacity
The floor is the first thing measured seriously, because equipment working at height amplifies any unevenness: a difference of millimetres at ground level becomes centimetres of deviation at the top. Flatness, overall levelness, joint condition, cracks and any sign of settlement are all surveyed. In parallel, load capacity is verified, meaning how many kilos per square metre the slab supports, which depends on the slab itself, on the ground beneath it and on how the structure bears down on it. Neither value is estimated by eye or settled with a universal number: the flatness tolerance is set by the manufacturer of the chosen equipment and is checked against its technical data sheet, and the load capacity is signed off by a licensed engineer based on the building documentation. If the floor is not in condition, the usual routes are localised levelling, an overlay, or choosing a less demanding system.
Utilities: power, fire protection and communications
Available power, the main switchboard, the state of the earthing system and the routing of existing circuits are all surveyed. An automated system needs stable supply and dedicated protection, and often the bigger job is not the equipment but the service connection. Fire protection is checked too: stacking higher means protection has to follow, and that constrains the layout as much as the structure does. Wireless coverage is added to the list, because the warehouse management system, or WMS, which is the software that decides what is stored where and in what order each order is picked, needs continuous communication with equipment and with operators. None of this disqualifies a warehouse. All of it turns into tasks, lead times and costs, which is why it is worth having on the table before comparing quotes rather than after.
Temperature, access points and the loading bay
If there is a cold room or a climate-controlled zone, the actual working temperature is surveyed along with how it varies through the year. As an equipment reference, stacker cranes work down to 30 degrees below zero and shuttle systems down to 25 below zero; what can be used in each case depends on that measurement, not on an assumption. Then come the access points: door widths, lintel heights, turning radius for truck entry and, above all, whether the equipment can get in disassembled on installation day. It is a check that gets skipped often and turns expensive later. In the loading bay the survey covers how many docks exist, how many are used simultaneously and in which time bands, because in many operations the bottleneck sits at the door rather than in the racking.
The non-physical half: what the operation moves and how
Half the survey is not done with a tape measure. Movement history is requested: how many lines are picked per day, how they split between full pallet, case and single unit, what seasonality exists and how many distinct items, or SKUs, are handled. Real turnover is examined, because typically a small share of the catalogue explains most of the movement, and that changes the design completely. Existing systems are surveyed too: the ERP, which is the administrative system where purchasing, sales and book stock live, and whether a WMS exists or the warehouse runs on spreadsheets. How goods are received, how they are checked and where time is lost today are all asked about. Without these figures, any equipment proposal is a bet dressed up as a quote.
What if my warehouse is not fit to automate?
It is the most common question and it has an uncomfortable answer for an equipment supplier: in a significant share of cases, the survey ends with no new equipment. If the real problem is that goods are located without criteria, that orders are picked by walking the whole warehouse, or that system stock does not match physical stock, buying robotics on top of that multiplies the disorder instead of fixing it. In those cases what gets proposed is layout rework, a change in slotting criteria, tidying up receiving, or putting a WMS into operation. When the diagnosis does call for equipment, it arrives with a measurable reason and with the list of prior works required. And if a physical value falls short, the way out is a different system, not a rejection: vertical storage towers, high density at lower height, or a reorganisation of the existing layout.
What to take away
What gets checked before automating is always the same: structure and clear height, floor, utilities, temperature, access points and, above all, how goods move today. None of those figures works as an admission filter. They work as inputs for choosing among several possible answers, and one of those answers, fairly often, is that nothing needs to be bought. If you are about to request quotes, request the survey first: it is what makes the numbers you receive afterwards comparable.
Frequently asked questions
We do not work with a minimum height. Clear height defines how much density can be gained, not whether the warehouse qualifies: under the criteria STOKA uses to size projects, densification reaches up to 3x, depending on clear height and configuration. Automated pallet systems cover a range of 7 to 40 metres, and below that there are other answers, such as vertical storage towers or high density at lower height.
The survey visit takes between half a day and a full day depending on warehouse size, and usually needs movement history requested in advance. What it delivers is a diagnosis with the measurements taken, the bottlenecks detected and the alternatives ranked by impact. It may include equipment or it may not. Either way, it also delivers which prior works would be needed and in what order.
The most useful items are the building drawings and the structural calculation report, if they exist, plus twelve months of movement history and the item list with turnover. Knowing the contracted electrical capacity helps, as does having the fire protection drawing at hand. If part of that documentation does not exist, it is surveyed on site and recorded as something that needs to be reconstructed.
The initial survey is done during the visit, but final verification of load-bearing capacity is signed off by a licensed engineer, not by an equipment supplier. Flatness tolerance, by contrast, is set by the manufacturer of the chosen system and checked against its technical data sheet. They are two different things and it is worth not mixing them: one answers for the structure and the other for how the equipment runs.
For an automated system, installation takes 3 to 4 months from the purchase order. On top of that come whatever prior works the survey identified, such as floor levelling, an upgraded electrical service connection or fire protection adaptation, which are scheduled in parallel wherever possible. The prior diagnosis is what keeps that schedule from stretching.