Packing and Shipping Warehouse Infrastructure Project (Part 2) | Electrical and ELV Integration

This project record is being developed in stages. The current version establishes the delivery structure for the packing and shipping warehouse. Verified project data, sanitized drawings, photographs, schedules, and final results can be added later.

Project Overview

The second warehouse in this Poland infrastructure program was used for packing and shipping operations. Its operational focus was different from the manual picking warehouse described in Part 1. The manual warehouse supported people locating and picking goods from storage positions, while this warehouse supported packing, outbound staging, shipment processing, and the movement of completed orders toward dispatch.

The project still combined electrical power, network infrastructure, video surveillance, access control, equipment connectivity, and building-related construction. However, the point distribution, traffic flow, system interfaces, power demand, and delivery priorities had to follow the outbound operating process rather than the picking process.

My Role: Project Manager

I served as the Project Manager for the packing and shipping warehouse. I managed the coordination between the customer, landlord, designers, equipment suppliers, electrical contractor, ELV contractor, security vendors, and other site teams.

My responsibilities included:

• Establishing the drawing and scope baseline for the packing and shipping areas;

• Coordinating point locations with workstations, packing lines, staging zones, doors, and dispatch routes;

• Managing the integrated BOM, quotation assumptions, scope boundaries, and project changes;

• Coordinating the landlord submission for cable routes, supports, openings, loading, and fire stopping;

• Confirming the power source, distribution interfaces, UPS requirements, and equipment connection responsibilities;

• Tracking the availability of network, electrical, surveillance, access-control, and installation materials;

• Managing dependencies between suppliers, contractors, permits, site readiness, and operational milestones;

• Developing and maintaining the CPS for construction, commissioning, acceptance, and handover.

Difference Between the Two Warehouses

Topic	Part 1: Manual Picking Warehouse	Part 2: Packing and Shipping Warehouse
Main operation	Picking goods from storage locations	Packing completed orders and preparing them for dispatch
Point-planning focus	Rack aisles, picking routes, handheld operations, coverage between storage areas	Packing stations, outbound processing, staging areas, shipment routes, and dispatch interfaces
Traffic pattern	Personnel movement within storage and picking zones	Concentrated workstation activity plus movement toward outbound and loading areas
Integration focus	Connectivity and visibility throughout rack and picking areas	Coordination between packing workstations, operational equipment, security, access, and shipping flow
Delivery priority	Reliable access across a distributed working area	Reliable operation around packing and outbound milestones

The table describes the functional distinction used to organize the two articles. Actual layouts, equipment interfaces, and operational details will be added only after they have been verified and sanitized.

Integrated Infrastructure Scope

The packing and shipping warehouse had to be treated as one integrated infrastructure environment rather than a collection of independent systems.

Electrical infrastructure

• Upstream distribution board and available circuits;

• Local distribution boards and final circuits;

• Normal and UPS-backed power requirements;

• Power outlets for packing workstations and related operational equipment;

• Power supplies for network, surveillance, access control, doors, and gates;

• Earthing, protection, isolation, testing, labeling, and handover records.

Network and ELV infrastructure

• Network cabinets, switches, fiber uplinks, patch panels, and structured cabling;

• Wireless coverage for operational terminals and handheld devices where required;

• Data connections for packing stations, printers, scanners, and other confirmed endpoints;

• NVR, camera, and video-retention requirements;

• Access-control panels, readers, door contacts, locks, buttons, turnstiles, and metal doors;

• Cable trays, ladders, conduits, supports, penetrations, labels, and fire stopping.

Project integration

• Interfaces with packing equipment and workstation suppliers;

• Coordination with warehouse operations and the required launch sequence;

• Landlord requirements and building restrictions;

• Construction access, safety permits, and high-level work;

• Delivery dates, temporary storage, installation readiness, and testing dependencies;

• Acceptance responsibilities across multiple systems and suppliers.

Phase 1: Drawings, Operational Flow, and Point Planning

The design review began with the architectural layout, packing-area arrangement, outbound staging plan, electrical drawings, ELV drawings, door schedule, and relevant equipment information. I first established the current drawing revision and then coordinated the point plan around the operational process.

The review had to determine:

• Where packing workstations and confirmed operational devices would be located;

• Which points moved when workstation or equipment layouts changed;

• Which network and power services were required at each workstation or operational position;

• Where cameras were required to observe packing, staging, doors, and dispatch-related areas;

• Which doors, gates, or controlled areas required access-control integration;

• How cable routes could reach the points without obstructing people, goods, equipment, or emergency routes;

• Which positions required protection from impact, dust, cleaning, or frequent operational movement;

• Which point IDs would be used consistently across drawings, BOMs, installation, testing, and handover.

Compared with a rack-based picking area, the packing and shipping area could contain a denser concentration of operational points. Changes to the working layout could therefore affect multiple systems at the same time. A moved workstation might change data, power, camera coverage, containment, and testing requirements together.

Phase 2: BOM, Quotation, and Interface Boundaries

The integrated BOM had to reflect both the technical design and the responsibility split between the different suppliers and contractors.

The quotation basis needed to clarify:

• Which equipment was supplied by the customer and which was supplied by the project;

• Whether workstation equipment included power leads, network interfaces, brackets, or local accessories;

• Who supplied and installed cable trays, ladders, conduits, and supports;

• Who provided the final connection to each operational device;

• Whether network configuration, security configuration, testing, and training were included;

• Who completed builder's work, penetrations, reinstatement, and fire stopping;

• Which temporary works, lifting equipment, and site-protection measures were required;

• How changes to workstation or outbound layouts would be priced and approved.

I maintained the BOM, scope matrix, assumptions, exclusions, and open items as controlled project records. This allowed changes to be evaluated against cost, procurement, construction, testing, and schedule impact.

Phase 3: Landlord Review and Building Coordination

The landlord submission followed the same core approval principles as the manual picking warehouse, but the routes and service density had to match the packing and shipping layout.

The submission package needed to show:

• Main and branch cable-tray or cable-ladder routes;

• Tray dimensions, elevations, support methods, loading, and cable fill;

• Drops from high-level containment to packing stations or operational equipment;

• Wall, slab, and other permitted penetrations;

• Relationship with existing electrical, mechanical, fire, and structural services;

• Required separation between electrical and ELV routes;

• Fire-stopping and reinstatement details;

• Access for maintenance without disrupting warehouse operations;

• Any structural review required before drilling or fixing.

The review comments had to be converted into controlled drawing revisions and communicated to the contractors. Approval status also had to be connected to the CPS so that unapproved work did not appear as an executable activity.

Phase 4: Power Distribution and Equipment Connections

The power plan had to cover the combined demand of packing workstations, operational equipment, network devices, security equipment, doors, gates, and supporting systems.

The required checks included:

• Confirmed equipment load and connection type;

• Normal-power and UPS-backed-power classification;

• Upstream board, outgoing circuit, protection, and spare capacity;

• Local distribution requirements and final outlet locations;

• Cable size, voltage drop, route, and installation method;

• Isolation requirements for maintenance and emergency conditions;

• Earthing and equipotential bonding;

• Responsibility for final connection and equipment start-up;

• Electrical inspection, test records, circuit schedules, and labels.

Where equipment details were not yet final, I treated them as schedule and design dependencies rather than making undocumented assumptions. The equipment supplier's technical data had to be aligned with the electrical design before final connection.

Phase 5: Procurement, Site Readiness, and CPS

The construction schedule depended on more than the arrival of electrical and network materials. Packing equipment, workstations, doors, gates, operational layouts, permits, and access to the work area could all control the installation sequence.

The CPS therefore needed to connect:

• Design freeze and issue of approved construction drawings;

• Landlord approval and required permits;

• Delivery of trays, cables, cabinets, distribution equipment, UPS systems, and ELV devices;

• Availability of packing stations and operational equipment information;

• Completion of main containment before branch cabling;

• Completion of power and network cabling before equipment commissioning;

• Availability of network configuration and security-system integration;

• Inspection, testing, defect correction, retesting, training, and handover;

• Customer operational launch and any phased-use requirements.

I coordinated the customer expectation with supplier dates and construction-team capacity. When one dependency moved, the impact had to be assessed across all affected systems and reflected in the working CPS.

Information Still Required

Topic	Details to add
Warehouse context	Region, approximate area, delivery year, and operating objective
Packing operation	Actual packing process, workstation types, and relevant equipment interfaces
Shipping operation	Staging, dispatch, loading-area, door, gate, and access requirements
System quantities	Network, power, camera, access-control, cabinet, and distribution quantities
Technical solution	Publishable brands, models, topology, UPS design, and recording requirements
Landlord approval	Actual review comments, revisions, approval dates, and difficult points
Project schedule	Baseline CPS, key milestones, delays, recovery actions, and actual completion
Site delivery	Important changes, coordination issues, tests, defects, and acceptance evidence
Project outcome	Customer result, handover status, project value, and lessons learned

Project Management Perspective

The difference between the two warehouses was not simply the name of the working area. The operational process changed the infrastructure priorities. The manual picking warehouse required distributed coverage throughout storage and picking routes. The packing and shipping warehouse required concentrated support around packing workstations, outbound staging, controlled movement, and dispatch interfaces.

As Project Manager, I had to keep the operational design, electrical capacity, network availability, security coverage, landlord approval, procurement status, contractor sequence, and customer launch plan aligned. The project could only be delivered successfully when these individual systems were managed as one integrated infrastructure program.

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