KENYA STANDARD             DKS 2936:202 1 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ware housing building —Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© KEBS 20 21                        First Edition  2021 
 
  
   © KEBS 2021  —  All rights reserved  ii TECHNICAL COMMITTEE REPRESENTATION  
The following organizations were represented on the Technical Committee:  
 
Kenya Industr ial Research and Development Institute  
Space and Style Ltd  
Blackberry House LTD  
Consumer Information Network  
Edge& Atelier Limited  
Kangemi Jua Kali Association  
Edge& Atelier Limited  
Kepsa/Kenya National Federation of Jua Kali  
Sub county Health Services, Ka mukunji  
Kenya Bureau of standards - secretariat  
 
 
REVISION OF KENYA STANDARDS  
 
In order to keep abreast of progress in industry, Kenya Standards shall be regularly reviewed. Suggestions 
for improvements to published standards, addressed to the Managing Dire ctor, Kenya Bureau of Standards, 
are welcome.  
 
 
 
 
 
© Kenya Bureau of Standards, 20 15 
Copyright. Users are reminded that by virtue of Section 25 of the Copyright Act, Cap. 12 of 2001  of the Laws of Kenya, copyr ight 
subsists in all Kenya Standards and excep t as provided under Section 26 of this Act, no Kenya Standard produced by Kenya Bureau of 
Standards may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form or transmitted by any means without prior permission in  writing 
from the Managing Director . 
 
 
 
  KENYA STANDARD                CD/ENG X2: 2019  
© KEBS 201 8 — All rights reserved  iii  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ware housing building —Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
KENYA BUREAU OF STANDARDS (KEBS)  
 
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Coast Region           Lake Region           Rift Valley Region  
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   © KEBS 2021  —  All rights reserved  iv Foreword  
 
This Kenya Standard was prepared by the construction technology  committee and  under the guidance of the 
Standards Projects Committee, and it is in accordance with the proc edures of the Bureau.  
 
In the preparation of this standard, reference was ma de to the following publication : 
The building code  
 DKS 2936:2021  
 
© KEBS 201 9 — All rights reserved  1 Ware housing building —Specification  
 
1 Scope   
This Kenya Standard specifies requirements for warehouses building used for storage.  
 
2 Normative references    
No reference standard was used in development of this standard  
 
3 Terms and definitions  
For the purpose of this document the following terms and definitions apply  
3.1 Warehouse  
a large building where raw materials or manufactured goods may be stored prior to their distribution for 
sale.  
3.2 Free Movement Floors (FM)  
refer to areas where materials handling equipm ent operates in random, non -defined directions and have 
an infinite number of travel paths. Floors in manufacturing, retail and distribution, where materials handling 
equipment is free to move in any direction  
 
4  Warehouse floor  
The warehouse floor level shall: - 
i. Balanced or optimized of bulk earthwork operations.  
ii. Avoid the risk of flooding in major storms.  
iii. allow vehicle access from municipal roads and entrance gates.  
iv. The materials used for construction shall meet Kenya standards.  
4.1 Floor Hardness & Concrete S ealers  
The floor shall be h ardened surface finished smooth and even  
4.2 Floor Joints  
All floor joints shall meet the requirement in the building code.  
4.3 Floor Strength  
The floor shall be power floated and a specialist floor hardener shall be applied to provide a  dust free 
surface for increased durability.     
4.4 Floor Flatness  
The internal warehouse floor shall be constructed to a FM2 floor.  
4.5 Corners  
All exposed structural concrete corners shall be protected by suitably sized steel angles.  
4.6 Damp Proofing  
All floors an d walls shall  be damp proofed and as required for good building practice in the particular local 
area.  Place surface bed directly in damp proof heavy duty polythene sheeting over compacted sub grade 
laterite fill.  
4.7 Anti-Poisoning & Termite Proofing  
The ware  house shall be termite proof.  
 
 
   © KEBS 2021  —  All rights reserved  2 5 Warehouse structure  
5.1 Internal columns  
An optimal structural grid shall be determined in conjunction with the structural and logistics engineers in 
order to optimize the benefits a cost effective yet functional warehouse layou t. 
 
Where required in open storage areas, internal columns shall be painted  2m high (chevron style black and 
yellow) to improve their visibility to truck and forklift operations.  Protective barriers shall be placed around 
columns to protect the structure from damage incurred by impact. Columns requiring protection will be 
specified by registered industrial consultants.  
6 Air conditioning  
6.1 Refrigeration Requirements  
For storage of perishable goods, warehouse shall have refrigeration facilities.  
6.2 Electrical  
The main power supp ly to chiller pane l shall  be a dedicated supp ly from the gene rator pane l. 
Complete air cond itioned warehous e power supp ly shall be supp lied with an isolator rated acco rding 
to Electrical Engineers spec ification. 
Individual compresso r unit’s circuit shall  be supp lied with individual circuit breake rs acco rding to 
spec ification. 
Compresso r sh a ll  be fitted  with  an overload  of correct  value  to indicate  compresso r trip. 
Compresso r trip indicator light  shall  be installed in same position as the Carel controller. 
Power for the chiller lights shall be supp lied form warehous e light circuit. 
Compresso r unit shall  supp ly power to its own controlling Carel controller. 
7 Warehouse height  
An optimal height shall be  selected to suit warehouse operations based o n the storage of optimum 
modules of pallets.  
 
A 7 meters’  clearance to the underside of trusses (eave height) shall be allowed. This is a global maximum 
working height be used allowing forklift reach limitation, eliminating facility/forklift damage . (Floor  should 
be as per the use of the use of the structure)  
8 Roof Structure  
As a gene ralization, it is envisage d that the warehous e structure shall  cons ist of hot rolled 
structural steel rafters or trusse s depend ing on the final design optimization. The design shall 
minimize the presenc e of dust collection surfaces . The roof shall  be designed for self-weight, 
maintenanc e loads with insulation, lighting and the installation of solar pane ls by the client that 
requires a design weight of 20kg /m2. 
All structural stee lwork shall be in  acco rdanc e with local and international standa rds. 
9 Roof sheeting  
The warehouse  shall  be t h o r o u g h l y  weather -tight facility .   
Note: All  cavities etc., which might induc e the  nesting of birds or ingress of vermin shall  be 
closed . Anti-bird perch material shall  be fixed to all expose d trusses . 
10 Thermal insulation to roofs and side walls  
Thermal insulation to roofs shall be in accordance to approved standards.  DKS 2936:2021  
 
© KEBS 201 9 — All rights reserved  3 11 Rainwater disposal  
The ware house shall have rain water disposal e.g r oof gutters pi ped to rain water storage tanks, Over -
flow drains etc.  
12 Brickwork  
All brickwork shall be according to relevant standards and building code . 
13 Vertical cladding  
Vertical cladding shall be I.B.R. sheeting to same material specification as the roof sheeting fixed  vertically 
to steel girt rails with all trims, sills and closure pieces.  
14 Balustrades  
Balustrades shall meet minimum KS specifications.  
15 Electrical specifications  
Electrical installation and specification shall be in accordance with Local and International Standards . 
15.1 External Lighting  
External l i g h t i n g  s h a l l  c o m p r i s e    of s u i t a b l e  f l o o d l i g h t s    and w a l l  p a c k  
bulkhead s mounted on poles and on the building façad e respec tively to suit the final layou t, 
distribution warehous e and site facilities. External lighting to be controlled by photocell 
switches with manua l override. 
External light system shall ca ter for a 24-hour operation to achieve the stated  lux levels  in the 
outdoor  areas .  Minimum lux levels  measu red at bounda ry fence to be 20 lux. 
15.2 Emergency Lighting  
Emergency /escap e lighting  system shall conform to the requirements of the 
Loca l Authority’s Fire Officer. 
The emergenc y lighting systems shall comprise a 1-hour self-contained non- maintained system 
conve rting designated gene ral purpose luminaries within office areas or utilizing devo ted fittings. 
Emergenc y lighting  shall  be provided as a minimum to each external  exit door, each internal 
emergenc y exit door, change s in direction or level along emergenc y acces s routes and as 
appropriate to open plan and other areas. 
Emergenc y lighting is to be provided to all essen tial rooms and areas on a 50 % basis 
Emergenc y lighting is to be provided at all electrical pane ls. 
16 Warehouse Ventilation  
Warehouse shall be  ventilated to prevent degradation of stock stored at hig h levels.  
17 Smoke and warehouse ventilation  
Fire protection codes and the classification of the building will meet  smoke ventilation requirements .  
The warehouse shall have a fire alarm system . 
18 Fire Protection  
As a generalization hose reels and portable fir e extinguishers shall be required as a norm.  External 
hydrants shall also be a requirement.   An 800mm border shall be left as fire access around the internal 
perimeter of the warehouse;  800mm access gaps shall be left between bins to access fire exits an d 
firefighting equipment .  
   © KEBS 2021  —  All rights reserved  4 18.1 Fire Extinguishers  
Hand held fire extinguishers shall be required within the warehouse.  
18.2 Fire Hose Reels  
hose reel system will be required within the building; reels shall be located in such a way as to ensure 
coverage of entire s pace. It is anticipated that the water serving this system will be taken from the rising 
fire mains serving the sprinkler zone valves. Hose reels shall be positioned at a suitable height (1.5m 
recommended) to prevent damage by forklift trucks. Forklift bar riers shall be strategically placed to reduce 
damage.  
18.3 Smoke Detection  
Sufficient Smoke detection connected to the alarm shall be installed throughout buildings.  
18.4 Parking Areas  
Ware house shall be provided with parking area, loading and offloading which shou ld be near the entrance 
or the exit of structure.