A study on the fire safety of automated rack supported warehouses

Along with the social advancement and development of various types of economic activities, both small retailers and large-scale wholesale suppliers require the use of storage sites in different sizes to meet their needs in regard to distribution, sales, transportation, and warehousing. Thus, different types of storage warehouses are being established and due to their higher storage efficiency, better returns on investment, and lower human capital input required, automated warehouses, at present, have gradually become the main-stream systems used by the warehouse industry. In these systems, the "rack supported warehouse," as part of the building structure, has been widely accepted by the industry because of its ability to ensure smooth transportation and circulation as well as provide additional storage space. However, fire resistive materials (FRMs) and fire retardant coating cannot effectively be used to protect automated "rack supported warehouses" and in lieu of this failure to meet the respective requirement of Articles 69 and 70 of the building technical regulations on "Fire Protection Construction" and "Fire Rating," use permits for rack supported warehouses cannot be granted. This has resulted in a continuous industrial outbound transfer and challenges in regard to industrial upgrading and the enhancement of international competitiveness promoted by the government. Based on the premise of fire performance, this study examines the inspection and monitoring of fire performance of various types of automated "rack supported warehouses" as well as suggests feasible specifications or alternative fire protection principles to resolve the issue for the industry and relevant authorities.