CHAPTER 2
STORAGE AND MATERIAL HANDLING
The supply system constantly performs material
receipts, storage, and expenditures. These functions are
essential elements of providing supply support to
aviation maintenance and other organizations.
Aviation Storekeepers should know the basic elements
that make these tasks easier to accomplish.
Afloat, the supervisor is responsible for ensuring
that materials are safely brought on board. The
supervisor is also responsible for making sure incoming
material is processed properly. Material must be
properly identified, inspected or verified (as needed),
sorted, distributed, and documented.
Ashore, you may not be involved with the actual
receiving and storing of material during normal
operating hours.
The civilian personnel workforce
usually perform these functions; however, you must
know the functions to make transactions during
emergencies. After normal operating hours, the duty
section may be involved in peforming these functions.
As the supervisor, you are responsible for making sure
the job is properly done. Other tasks the supervisor may
get involved with is planning the storage and office
layout. The plan may be required for constructing new
or additional buildings or rearranging stock to
accommodate new procedures.
The efficiency of supply operations depends largely
on the smooth flow of material and paperwork. As the
supervisor, you should be able to identify storage and
support areas that need improvements.
DEFINITIONS OF TERMS
Several terms are used relating to storage and
material handling in the Navy. These terms include the
following:
AISLE— Any passageway within a storage area.
ALLOCATED SPACE— A definite number of net
square feet of a specified type of storage space formal] y
apportioned for use.
BAY— Designated area within a section of a
warehouse, normally outlined or bounded by posts,
pillars, columns, or painted lines.
BIN AREA— An area for the storage of small items.
BINNABLE ORDER PICKING— Order picking
system in which small quantities of material are picked
from open cases or shelf boxes.
BIN STORAGE SPACE— Area in which bins have
been erected, including aisles and working space
between bins.
BLOCK STORAGE— Storage of similar containers
or material in blocks of two or more units wide, two or
more deep, and two or more high.
BRIDGE PLATE— Plate usually made of metal,
used to span the space between the truck and the loading
platform.
BULK STORAGE— Storage in warehouses of any
large quantity of supplies usually in original containers,
or storage of liquids, lumber, or petroleum products.
CAROUSEL STORAGE SYSTEM— Endless loop
monorail-supported storage system, which moves
storage carriers past an operator station.
CUBE— The product of length x width x depth.
DRIVE-INRACK— Pallet rack system in which the
pallets are supported on the sides permitting a forklift
truck to drive into the rack structure to store or retrieve
loads.
FLOOR LOAD— Weight that can be supported
safely by a floor, expressed in pounds per square foot
of floor space.
FLOOR PLAN— A scale drawing of the floor area
of a building showing columns, stairwells, elevator
shafts, offices, heads/washrooms, doors, and other
structural features.
GROSS STORAGESPACE— Gross area, regardless
of its location or designated purpose, used for any
operation concerning storage or the support of storage
functions.
HAZARDOUS COMMODITIES— Materials
consisting of explosives, flammable material,
corrosives, combustibles, oxidizers, poisons, toxics,
sources of ionizing radiation or radiant energy,
biological and radiological, magnetics, and
compressed gases that, because of their nature, are
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