Interior Color: Key to Optimum Warehouse Performance

Most corporations have a central showroom where their work is conducted. It’s where you invite in customers, and it’s where you conduct most of your business. But a lot of companies do their actual production and storage in large warehouses.

When part of your business is conducted in a warehouse, whether it’s where you manufacture your product or where you store what you sell, the space tends to get overlooked in terms of aesthetics. A typical warehouse is seldom seen by customers, so some company owners might prefer to skimp on the expense and the time it takes to employ interior warehouse painting services. So if you’re a business owner with a large warehouse, why should you consider painting it?

First and foremost, taking care of a warehouse shows your employees you care about their well-being and are interested in more than just the bottom line. Since some of your staff spends most of their day in the warehouse, it’s nice to provide them with a visually entertaining environment, instead of a drab, worn-down atmosphere.

Just as you put a lot of thought and effort into designing your company logo, corporate showroom and marketing materials, the colors of your warehouse are an extension of your brand and should not be overlooked. Hiring a company that provides interior painting warehouse services, such as Specialty Coatings Paintings Contractors, Inc…, in the central Pennsylvania towns of Harrisburg, Williamsport and State College, is a great way improve the look and quality of your factory or storage facility.

Your warehouse is probably one of the most-used facilities for your corporation. Painting it can help extend its life and improve your company’s aesthetics and, surprisingly, the overall well-being of your employees.

Benefits of Painting the Interior of a Warehouse

The number one reason for painting a warehouse is preservation. Warehouses are often subjected to hard physical work – trucks and equipment go in and out regularly, banging into walls and doors. This causes prior paint to get dinged and knocked off, leaving the walls looking worn and unkept. If you bought the warehouse from another company or if it’s been used for several decades, it’s probably showing years of wear and tear.

When it comes to dedicating resources to aesthetics, warehouses are often overlooked. Years or even decades pass between paint jobs, or it might never have been painted before and is simply the colors of the concrete and metal that were used to build it. A good interior warehouse paint job will help it withstand the daily conditions it’s subjected to and help your company put a fresh face on one of your most valuable assets.

Another reason for painting your warehouse is simply for good looks. If customers, business partners, or shareholders stop by, you’ll want the warehouse to look nice and professional. Rusty walls and peeling paint can give an unprofessional impression.

Potential partners who see an unkempt and ugly warehouse might wonder about the quality of your product and whether you pay close attention to detail. Having a freshly painted and well-appointed warehouse tells people you care about the little things and value good quality and a pleasing visual environment.

Improving the Warehouse Work Environment

Having a professionally painted warehouse is an investment in your employees. You want your staff to come to work in a pleasant, welcoming environment they can be proud of. Putting time and money into painting the walls of your warehouse, instead of leaving the drab and boring, or even ugly and outdated, shows your staff you care about their work environment. Plus, research indicates employee productivity and mood can be influenced by certain wall colors.

Another reason for using paint as a means of improving your warehouse work environment is to protect your employees from lead-based paint that might be present:

Although current paint on the market is lead-free, any building that was painted before 1978 or that has parts in it from before that year may contain lead.
Lead can be absorbed into the body, causing major health problems such as brain damage and kidney problems.
Lead is most likely to cause problems in small children, but it’s still a good idea to protect your staff by eliminating the problem, especially if your warehouse uses chemicals or if your staff is working with high-temperature materials.

Professional painters such as Specialty Coatings Painting Contractors, Inc…, in Central Pennsylvania can remove the threat of lead paint by using a specially-made coating to seal in the lead or remove the lead paint altogether, replacing it with newer, safer paint. Checking your walls for lead is easy and inexpensive and can be done with a lead-testing kit available at most hardware stores, or your painter can perform a test for you.

Interior Paint Colors’ Effect on Warehouse Work Performance

Corporations have been basing logo decisions on the psychology of color for decades. Red, for example, has been shown to bring about feelings of excitement and activity. That’s why companies such as Target and McDonald’s use red in their logos – it makes it easy to stand out from competitors and it subconsciously promotes positive feelings toward a particular brand.

But colors can also be used in corporate settings to affect employees’ performance levels and productivity. Appropriate wall colorings can help employees feel more comfortable in their work environment and create an overall pleasant atmosphere in which to work.

In fact, a study by the University of Texas showed that many of the standard colors found in large warehouses, such as gray, white and beige, actually caused an increase in depressive feelings among a company’s employees. If your warehouse is awash in these colors, it’s probably time to rethink your decorating choices and pick something that is more likely to motivate your employees. Learning how interior colors improve warehouse performance could help you increase your company’s productivity and bottom line.

What Color to Paint the Interior of Your Warehouse?

So what interior paint colors have an effect on warehouse work performance? Here are some suggestions, but it’s up to you to determine what your overall goal is. Reputable and knowledgeable warehouse interior painting companies will work with you to find the best colors for your warehouse while working with you to ensure these colors best reflect your brand.

Reds: Known to increase heart rate and stimulate activity, red is a good color to use as an accent to other colors. A study by the University of British Columbia suggests red is a good color to use in atmospheres that require a high attention to detail, but it can also backfire and cause employees to become overly stimulated. This is why it’s usually best to reserve red paint for areas you want to draw extra attention to, such as emergency equipment or wiring, rather than using it for an entire wall.
Blues: No matter what background an employee comes from, blue is almost always a calming color that encourages relief and efficiency. Light blue is an excellent choice as an overall base color that can be accented with other colors to create an environment that is both peaceful and welcoming.
Greens: Another restful color that is abundant in nature, green helps employees stay focused over long periods of time. Like blues, greens also help eliminate stress and promote tranquility. If your warehouse employees work under tight deadlines and find themselves stressed in their environment, subtle greens will help them be more efficient while decreasing their anxiety levels.
Yellows and oranges: These shades are tricky to use because they evoke different feelings based on how they are used. While yellow is seen as a happy color that can evoke creativity and enthusiasm, it can also cause some people to feel angry and frustrated. In most cases, employers should use yellow and orange sparingly, perhaps as just one wall color or in a specific area such as a lunchroom. Yellow can also be used as an accent color in warehouses, such as on support poles or as wall trim.
Browns: An earthy color that evokes feelings of reliability, brown is another color on the spectrum that is best used as accent. While some people have feelings of sadness when seeing brown, others view it as a comfort and feel security when seeing it. Brown is usually best used as a complement to other colors.
Whites: When used in conjunction with other colors, white and associated lighter colors such as beige and tan can promote optimism. But in a large warehouse setting, white is barely noticed if it’s the main color scheme. White is best used as a subtle accent color that serves as a counterpoint to some of the other, bolder colors mentioned above.

For most situations, larger wall sections are best painted in subtle blues and greens, with bolder colors such as red providing accents to your larger color scheme.

Painting Your Warehouse Floor

Although it can easily be overlooked, painting the floor of your warehouse is a must. You will need to work closely with your painter to ensure they have a good idea of where different pieces of equipment go, which areas have the most traffic, and whether chemicals are used in specific areas. Different shades of paint or safety lines can be used throughout the warehouse to indicate hazard areas. Anti-slip paint will also make your warehouse safer for employees. Other things to consider for painting your warehouse floor:

Traffic lanes, such as aisles that are used for forklifts and other moving machinery, should be marked with yellow lines.
Red and white are typically used to show where chemicals and electric panels are stored. The colors remind staff members that these are hazardous areas.
Space that is dedicated to storing first aid kits and safety equipment are designated with green and white stripes.

Although you can choose the colors for the rest of your warehouse on your own, painting experts will help guide you on industry standards for warehouse floor painting. Using the wrong colors can confuse your employees and visitors and create safety problems.

The Process of Painting the Interior of Your Warehouse

Although painting a warehouse may seem like an easy task where you just need to apply paint to the walls, it’s actually a multi-step project that requires a lot of know-how. Prior to having a large warehouse painted, the walls should be washed to ensure a flawless finish of the new paint. Industrial-strength paint with special additives also need to be chosen to withstand weather and the unique elements inside your warehouse.

Before painting is started, your equipment and any supplies that can be moved will need to be placed in the center of the warehouse and covered with large drop cloths or plastic sheeting. This is one more step a painter can provide that is difficult for non-professionals, since they often do not have access to these coverings. These coverings aren’t terribly expensive, but they can be cost-prohibitive for a one-time job of painting a warehouse by yourself.

While you might be able to paint some of the smaller sections of a warehouse yourself or change accent colors on doors and trim, the biggest part of the job is best left to a professional.

Hiring a Professional

Like with any big job, it’s usually best to turn to a professional who’s qualified to paint a warehouse. Especially if your warehouse is large, you’ll need a company that is equipped with ladders, scaffolding and safety equipment such as harnesses. Professional warehouse painters such as Central Pennsylvania’s Specialty Coatings Painting Contractors, Inc…, will come prepared with the necessary tools and equipment to take on large jobs.

If your company is located in the South Central and Central Pennsylvania areas of Harrisburg, Lancaster, York, Hershey, Camp Hill, Chambersburg, State College and Williamsport, contact us at 717-319-4213 or fill out our online form for a free quote about our warehouse interior painting services.