AND POSSIBLE DEATH! It is particularly important to make sure that containers of poisonous liquids, such as industrial alcohol, are clearly identified and labeled to prevent human assumption, which can be fatal. The most commonly used toxic substances on board ships are pesticides. HAZARDOUS MATERIAL SPILLS AND EMERGENCIES When using MHE or moving quantities of hazardous materials between receiving, storage, and issue, the possibility exists for spills and mishaps. Some hazardous materials can cause severe health hazards, burns to the skin and eyes, or give off toxic gases. Spilled material can endanger the facility, the ship, personnel, and the environment. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) provide emergency spill procedures, and every base or ship has spill contingency plans and a spill response team in place should a mishap occur. Supply personnel should be trained on emergency procedures should shipping containers fall or break open, if material contacts personnel, or if a fire occurs in a hazardous material area. Supply personnel should also be trained in the use of safety equipment, such as extinguishing systems, ventilation units, personal protective equipment, and alarms. MEASUREMENT OF STORAGE SPACE Measurement of a storage space is an important part of planning the space layout for storage or office areas. You will also use the standard measurements of bins, pallet racks, pallets, and other storage items. Shore activities are required to prepare and submit the Storage Unit Report, NAVSUP Form 605. The Supply Ashore, NAVSUP Publication 1, Volume 2, describes the procedures for preparing the report. Although every AK may not be involved in the actual preparation of the report, you may be asked to provide some of the information. The following information will help you learn some of the terms and computations used in storage operations. TOTAL GROSS STORAGE AREA Measure the total gross area by multiplying the length by the width, in feet, of the inside dimensions of the building. Measure from wall to wall and disregard the inside structures such as fire walls, passageways, ramps, stairwells, and so forth. The result will be the square-foot area or total-gross area. The measurement will be less than the outside dimensions by the thickness’ of the walls. Some storage buildings may have a cutback in the walls or areas not designed for storage. The measurement of the cutback is excluded from the total gross area. Open storage may be either improved or unimproved. The total gross storage area must include the entire own improved area. For an open unimproved area, report only the area actually occupied by stores or used in support of storage operations. GROSS SPACE FOR STORAGE OPERATIONS To calculate the gross space for storage operations, take the gross storage area minus the unusable space, standby spare, and space outgranted to other DOD or non-DOD activities. NET STORAGE SPACE To get the NET STORAGE SPACE (in feet), take the total gross space for storage operations minus gross space used for aisles, structural loss, and support spaces. The result will be in square feet. The aisles include the fire aisles, personnel access aisles, main aisles, and cross aisles. The structural losses are those areas not usable for storage because of obstructions caused by their characteristics. These include the pillars, posts, ramps, door clearances, and fire walls. These also include the spaces occupied by equipment such as electrical panels, dehumidifiers, and so on. In open storage, structural loss includes fire breaks and clearances for utility lines. The support space is the gross space used in support of storage operations. These spaces include shipping, receiving, packing and preservation, and offices. Other areas include MHE parking areas, battery charging stations, rest rooms, locker rooms, and the time clock area. TOTAL CUBIC FEET CAPACITY For covered storage, the total cubic feet is computed by multiplying the net storage space (SQ FT) by the stacking height. The stacking height is the distance from floor to the unobstructed stacking height that is permitted by safety regulations. See figure 2-8 for an example of determining the cubic space capacity. 2-18