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Warehouses and Cold Storage: Devices That Survive the Environment
A standard office handset placed in a cold store fails in a predictable sequence. The display dims in the cold, the keypad stiffens, condensation forms when the door opens and closes, and within a season the device is unreliable. The people working there need voice more than most office staff, because they are often alone and away from a desk. Choosing devices for the environment rather than the catalogue is the whole design.
Temperature and Moisture Dominate
Freezer and chiller environments subject equipment to temperature cycling, which is harder on a device than a constant low temperature. Every door opening brings warm moist air that condenses on cold surfaces. Devices specified for the operating range, with sealed enclosures, survive; devices designed for a desk do not, regardless of how they are mounted. Where equipment must be used in and out of cold areas, the specification should cover the transition.
| Environment | Hazard | Device requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Freezer, below minus 18 | Temperature, condensation on exit | Rated for the range, sealed, gloved operation |
| Chiller, zero to eight | Moisture, frequent cycling | Sealed handset, robust keypad |
| Ambient warehouse | Dust, impacts, forklift traffic | Impact resistant, mounted clear of traffic |
| Loading dock | Weather, noise, vibration | Sealed, loud ringer or visual alert |
| Racking aisles | Signal shadowing, height | Coverage survey in the aisles, not the open floor |
Gloved Hands Change Everything
A keypad designed for fingertips does not work with gloves, and a worker will not remove a glove in a freezer to answer a call. Devices with large keys, physical buttons, or voice-operated answering are functional requirements. Where a rugged handheld is used, belt clips and lanyards matter because a dropped device in a cold store is often a broken device and a lost shift.
- Specify operating temperature, not just ruggedness claims
- Require operation with gloves where the environment demands it
- Survey wireless coverage inside racking, not on the open floor
- Provide visual or vibrating alerts in noisy areas
- Keep spares rated for the environment, not office spares
Coverage in Racking Is a Different Problem
A radio survey of an empty warehouse floor predicts nothing about coverage between racking bays, where metal stock absorbs and reflects signal. Coverage should be measured in the aisles at working height, with the racking full if possible. Where coverage cannot be achieved with the existing infrastructure, additional access points or DECT base stations are a design decision, not an afterthought once staff report dead spots.
Maintenance Must Match the Site
Devices in a cold store need a routine that recognises the environment: inspection for seal damage, checks after a defrost cycle, and a replacement schedule based on observed failure rather than warranty. A maintenance contract written for office equipment will not cover the failures that occur here, so the terms should be agreed with the environment in mind.
Redstone Approach
Redstone supplies IP and DECT handsets suited to industrial environments alongside IP-PBX platforms, and our deployment process includes a coverage survey inside racking and cold areas. We agree the device specification against the site conditions rather than the office standard.
Redstone Systems, Inc. founded in Delaware, USA in December 2002, has been the ODM vendor for many well-known communications companies, serving the Southeast Asian market. In 2020, Redstone Systems will begin to return to the North America market with its self-developed brand.
Redstone has a complete product line of intelligent voice gateways, providing IP-PBXs, analog VoIP gateways (FXS/FXO), digital VoIP gateways (E1/T1), border appliances, and session boundary controllers (SBCs).
With advanced technology in digital signal processor (DSP), speech coding and speech processing, as well as efficient operational tools such as cloud remote management, auto provisioning, Redstone gateways are widely used in markets of enterprise communications, cloud communications, call centers, operators’ IMS/SIP trunks, bringing users friendly, efficient and reliable communication experience.
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