3PL retrofits lighting and thermostats

OHL (Ozburn Hessey Logistics) is one of the largest third-party logistics companies in the world, with more than 36 million square feet of warehouse space. At its 300,000-square-foot facility in Granite City, Ill., two-thirds is laid out as rack aisles and one-third is open warehouse. By retrofitting its lighting system with connected LED fixtures, the company realized an 85% energy cost savings.

This facility operates 100 hours per week, 52 weeks a year and its high-pressure sodium lights were a drag on employee comfort and productivity. Managers found the facility’s lights did not provide good color resolution and required an employee to turn them on 15 minutes prior to opening the warehouse so they could warm to full intensity. The lighting caused eye strain, and the inspection of certain products prior to re-packaging often had to be done outside because the yellow sodium lights prevented employees from spotting damage.

The building thermostats also had to be turned on and off manually, which meant if it was too hot or cold when entering the building it took about an hour to reach a comfortable temperature.

Retrofitting the lights and thermostats with controls Daintree Networks solved OHL’s problems and delivered significant ROI.

“We arranged a site visit to a similar facility, and after seeing their lighting and system capabilities, we knew this was the direction we wanted to go,” says Dana Heflin, vice president of operations at the OHL facility.