#94 DESIGNING THE STORE * (revised 6/3) semi unloading, bulk storage and display area

The unloading of large trucks carrying nursery stock and large bulk orders is always difficult when the high traffic season begins. Often, owners of garden stores forbid these deliveries on big volume days and weekends because there simply is not room to get them unloaded without major customer disruption.

We believe that products need to arrive and get sold quickly and we have designed an area to address the congestion issues to get those trucks unloaded.

Adjacent to the main parking area is a large open area #I which has several uses. It is a flat and entirely covered with compacted gravel.

This is the unloading area for large tractor trailer semis that bring nursery stock to the store. The trucks enter through the main gate and move through another set of automatic gates out of the customer parking and traffic flow. The nursery stock is unloaded, tagged, prepared for sale, and stored here until it can be moved into displays. This area is also the main storage area for pallets of bark, soils and peat moss as well as decorative rock and pavers. Customers can access this area through a small gate #T from the main parking area.

Trucks exit from the area following the perimeter of the site passed the bark sales section, out a gate and on to the public street.

All the supplies for this preparation are stored and immediately available in this location and in the portable office #M. Forklifts, Bobcats and trailers are also stored here. The moving of the plant material into the main site is easily accomplished as there is minimal interaction and confusion. The trucks are out of the way of traffic on busy gardening days. The bark and soils are nearby for easy transport from this site.

Once the season peak is over, the remaining plants are compacted into a smaller part of the lot and the vacant gravel areas in both areas #I and #U are rented to owners of boats and recreational vehicles for a very reasonable fee for winter storage.

This area is also a place for "winter healing" of plants held over from the season. Plants are generally loaded onto pallets and placed tightly. The pallets stay in position and a heavy layer of mulch is applied. In the early spring, the pallets are picked up, the mulch removed and the plants re-processed.

The area is lighted with street lamp lights. Drivers of these trucks are able to unhook and leave their trailers securely in the lot until they are unloaded by the green garden gates employees. Occasionally, when the product is really needed, a night unload is necessary with proper lighting to get this accomplished.

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Checklist For Semi Unloading And Storage Area

Physical plan and procedures

Physical Plan

Is the area designated and signed properly?

The area is designated. There is large signing at the entrance and directional signing for the drivers as they enter the store. The signing continues to inform them of the procedures and the route to exit the site.

Is there a loading dock?

No, we do not have a loading dock. We have developed a procedure for efficiently unloading the trucks. A dock is not necessary.

Is the site easily accessible?

Yes, it is very easy and simple to maneuver, free from congestion

Is there equipment readily available for this process?

Yes

Can discarded or damaged plants be easily moved for disposal or re-potting?

Yes, all the facilities are very close to the area

Can the price and descriptive tags be produced at the site during unloading?

Yes, we are connected to all the programs and have the printers on site in the processing shack to accomplish this. There is no need to leave the site for this work..

Is the area adequate for unloading?

Yes, we have the space to turn, move and unload as many as three large trucks in this area

Is there power and lighting on this site?

Yes, street lighting type lamps are positioned for evening loading which can be turned off and on at the retail store or by remote commands from the employee at the shack. Power and water is also available

Is there a toilet available nearby?

Yes, there are portable toilets positioned near the site.

Is there sufficient regulated irrigation for the storage of plants?

Yes, this area is capable of running a number of removable lateral irrigation lines from the main source irrigation loop to insure complete coverage all connected to a simple timer system for automatic watering.

Can these plants in storage be easily moved to the main retail customer areas?

Yes, there are several entrance points into the retail area. Bobcats, forklifts, golf carts with trailers can all move in and out of the retail area with ease a short distance from this storage area.

Are the plants moved off and stored by hand?

Almost never. We use pallets for nearly every move. They are inexpensive or no cost to us we get a good supply dropped to us each spring. Employees are trained to use pallets with every motion possible with these moderate to heavy plants and large quantities of plants.

Procedures

What is the procedure in for instance unloading a semi truck of balled and burlapped evergreens?

Before the truck arrives, a lot is happening to prepare for it. First the trucking company or vendor is obligated to notify the store of the day of arrival and approximant time. The loading document has already been electronically transferred to the receiving and processing section leader. The section leader begins to schedule the employees needed for the unload and placement of the plants and prints the descriptive and price stickers for each item that will coming off the truck. The trucker is directed in person or by telephone where to place the truck upon arrival. The section leader is notified when it arrives and the truck is directed into the site.

(We saw this unloading system work at a small Montana garden store. The owner was pretty much a one man band and he needed to find a way to avoid the heavy back breaking work of unloading these heavy mothers. It also works well for canned nursery plants. They come off the truck in an orderly fashion and there is no need for endless picking up and laying down plants, walking back and forth in a truck carrying plant and then picking them up more times to position them)

The equipment is moved into position near the rear doors. In this case, it will be a forklift, a bobcat with a bucket, a pallet jack and many stacks of pallets and lots of bungee cords. For this unload, it will take three employees in the truck and one employee operating the forklift. The evergreens are loaded onto pallets and the tops bungeed together to prevent dropping as they are being lowered and moved from the truck into a holding area right next to the truck. Once an aisle is cleared in the truck, a forklift is brought into the truck and three empty pallets on the pallet jack. The pallet jack then acts like a moving carriage. The evergreens are loaded onto the top pallet and bungeed. The pallet jack turns and rolls to the truck opening. The forklift picks off the loaded pallet and places the evergreens in the holding area. The pallet jack is then rolled back to the evergreens where they are stacked and bungeed on the next empty pallet and the process continues, adding empty pallets to the pallet jack carriage

Once the semi is empty, the section leader makes the count of the evergreens. (We only require that the total count be verified, not individual pieces. If there is a large shortage more counting will need to be done) After the count is verified, and any damaged or unacceptable plants are noted on the truck manifest, the trucker is released and given directions to exit. (As in the case of the bulk sales section, truck drivers are not allowed to clean their trucks on the site, with the exception of lumber material)

The section leader then directs the pricing of the individual evergreens. Following the pricing and tagging, the evergreens are moved into a more orderly position on the site, the plants are taken off the pallets and the bungees released. The plants are then checked for moisture and with a bobcat, covered with a mulch to prevent drying out. Any of the evergreens that will be potted are moved to the potting area for processing.

After the plants are in position, a detailed inspection is made of the plants to identify any problems that were missed in the unloading process and to insure all pricing and tagging is complete. (Some plants by inspection may need to be priced higher or lower depending on their quality. (Those plants are tagged for a change in the pricing stickers)

The plants are then ready for sale to our customers. Some will be moved into a retail space in the next several days with the remaining held in this section for re-stock and customer sales in this area.

Here is a word about counting and verifying the amount and varieties of plants on the truck. We strive always to be accurate but the care of the customer is the most important task that we do. A few plants will sometimes go missing and the vendor will be more than happy to replace. Don’t cut off your head to spite your face.

“I worked in this garden store in New Jersey. The owner was absolutely anal about these counts. One afternoon, on a very busy day with hundreds of customers needing attention in the store, we had 1500 two gallon assorted perennials delivered to the place. He made three people of a total workforce that day of six people sort all of the plants by variety. It took us three hours to do this and we were missing two plants! All I could think of was all those customers walking out because they could not get any service and the wages it took to find to missing plants. It was ridiculous.”

Garden center employee

New Jersey

Is there a set procedure for counting and verifying delivered plants?

Who signs for the receiving and verifying?

Yes, there is a procedure. The plants are first counted as to total number. If the count equals the number on the plant manifest, then a sign off can occur. If the count is noticeably different from the manifest, a more thorough count must occur. We strive to bring the plants onto the pallets in like kind with like sizes for simplify a more accurate count. The section leader or his or her designee is responsible for the signing.

Is the counting and unloading as efficient as possible?

We continue to look for other time saving methods in this process. For now, this is the most efficient way to handle the unloading and counting

Is there a policy for driver helping with the unloading?

Drivers and companies are very different on this issue. Some drivers are instructed to bring the products to the door of the truck. Some drivers will not unload at all. We encourage drivers to help with the unloading process. Their help gets them on the road faster and we get an extra hand in this work.

“I once had two drivers who delivered a semi load of large bales of peat moss to my store in the late winter. All the bales were on the floor, without pallets and they were frozen solid. These two old boys said that they were hung over and had bad backs and they headed for the sleeper. As they left, they told me that they had another load and they needed to get out of here fast for another pick-up. I told them that if they helped, we could get them on the road in about four hours. If they did not help, it may be a couple of days. They jumped right in that truck and pitched in!

Garden store owner

North Dakota

Do plant and large product deliveries at green garden gates have limits to certain hours?

It depends on the time of season. Generally, during the season we will accept trucks starting about 7am to 4pm, when the receiving crew leaves work. each day depending on the schedule of the. We have a policy that plants and large products orders are to be delivered Monday through Friday between the mentioned hours. We will however accept them on Saturday and Sunday if we need them bad enough. We will also unload at night if we want those plants fast for the next day at the store.

Can drivers leave the trailer at the receiving site and pick it up later?

We encourage this if possible and leaving it overnight is possible as long as the trucker knows that the gates are closed and the trucker cannot get into the site until the opening the next day. We do have a 24 hour limit to this parking of trailers and will charge the trucking company a huge day fee if it is violated.

Are customers allowed in this storage and unloading area?

Yes, but it is limited. An employee must accompany the customer and there must be a specific purpose (plants that are not available in the retail area at sometime during the working day). Children are not allowed in the area at all because of the unloading of trucks and congestion.

What happens to the damaged plants?

A note is made of the plants and a call is placed to the grower or vendor. They may be held for pickup and credit by the vendor or the shipping company. Most often, a credit is issued on a verbal agreement and the garden store owner is given the option of destroying it or she is allowed to “get what she can” selling the plant on discount.

What is the authority of the section leader of the receiving and processing area?

A wide range of authority. See the discussion on section leaders authority in an upcoming entry.

Are these employees part time or full time?

As in the case of most employees at green garden gates, their work begins in early spring and ends when the store closes for the season in the fall. They are regarded as part time employees. Some are only hired for the several months of the busy season and some stay longer. The section leader will be the last to go and the first to come back in the early spring. The employees with the longest work record at green garden gates switch jobs and help in other areas to fill in as the season slows.

#93 DESIGNING THE STORE * (revised 6/3) tree and shrub processing

click on images to enlarge

This area, a triangle portion, located at the far corner of the site, is designated for the processing of nursery stock arriving at the store. It is close to the drop and storage points of arriving inventory where all equipment is stored and handy for this process. Bulk soils for potting and re-potting are located here, the empty pot storage is here, as well as the machinery necessary for making bags of potting soil for customers. A portable processing shack is positioned in this area during all the early season. The refuse dumpsters for the store are located in this area for easy cleanup. Pallets are used extensively in this processing. The pallet storage area is located very near this site

The bark shack #M is located at this area for processing signs, holding tools, and other business activities related to this work. It is powered and equipped like all the other similar shacks at the sites.

S1. Storage of new and used pots for in store potting and re-potting

S2. Storage are for broken bags of retail products used for potting and re-potting

S3. Storage for bags of peat moss, vermiculite and perlite etc used for processing

S4. Bin for specially mixed potting soils for processing

S5. Bin for specially mixed potting soils for processing

S6. Mixing bin for producing mixed potting soils

S7. Dumpsters and cardboard recycling bins for the store

S8. Used pots to be transported off site and re-cycled

S9. Storage of re-usable and discarded pallets

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Checklist For Nursery Stock Processing

Physical plan and procedures

Physical Plan

Why is it located in this area of the site?

First, it is the best use of this area, not really handy for customer traffic. We are able to run equipment and make noise and get dirty and not disturb our customers. Second, it is near all the unloading action and all the materials needed for processing.

What is located in this section?

The forklifts, pallets, pots, soils, hand tools, and large equipment needed for producing our own soils.

What happens in this section?

All nursery stock that is in need of extra processing comes to this area; damaged plants, plants for re-potting or “dolling up”, all plants slated for discard to see if they can be redeemed in any way and plants that come in bare root and need to be potted. They will also be repriced and re-tagged on this site after they have been processed.

Procedures

Who decides what is to be re-processed and how it is to be done?

The nursery section leader is on the unloading and processing site regularly when plants arrive. He or she is also the “gatekeeper” to determine what needs to be done with all dead and damaged plants. He or she directs what plants need to be potted, the pot sizes, pruning and shaping needed, the kind of soil to be used, what fertilizer to apply or chemicals to be used in the case of insects or diseases and any extra care in handling the plants during the processing.

What kinds of plants are moved here for processing or re-processing?

Generally all woody nursery stock. Trees, shrubs, evergreens, vines, roses, etc. We will process perennials in one gallon containers and larger. The soft plants, bedding plants, for example are not processed in this area.

How are you efficient and labor saving in this section?

We have seen a lot of garden stores that absolutely break the backs of their employees and take tremendous time and effort in this process. We have observed efficient operations and continue to improve upon our procedure.

First, all of this work is done with pallets and equipment. This stuff is just too heavy to be lifting and carrying and lifting again. Roses are a good example. They are potted and placed on pallets and the pallet is placed on a trailer and golf cart for transport to the customer display area. Second, we have observed other garden stores and have copied their practices in the potting of large ball and burlapped evergreens.

When we need to pot large balled and burlapped evergreens and trees, we eliminated the lifting as much as possible. We place several pots on a pallet and used a bobcat and bucket to drop a small load of soil on the bottoms of the pots. Then we either move a load of palletted evergreens even with the pots and slide them off the pallet into the pots. In the case of large trees, we sling and lower the tree into the pot. (see diagram in entry #96). After the evergreen or tree has been positioned, we then use a bobcat and bucket to drop soil into the pots. Any soil that misses the pots is re-scooped and used again. We tamp in the soil and forklift the entire pallet out of the way for re-tagging, watering in, straightened in the pots and grooming. We just do not have back injuries with this system and it works like a charm”

Garden store owner

Wisconsin

Do you use plastic or pulp pots for this operation?

We use both. However, we seek and receive a lot of large re-cycled heavy duty plastic pots. Our goal is to buy no pots. Pulp pots are good but we find that the bottoms rot very fast and they are difficult to reuse. When we buy pots, we buy both inexpensive “blow mold” pots and the the heavy duty plastic kinds. Of course, the huge pots have to be built sturdy to handle the strain of the plants pushing against them. We do not buy pulp pots.

Is water available for this area?

Oh yes, water is critical for this processing.

Who is in charge of this processing section?

The receiving section leader has overall responsibility in consultation with the nursery section leader. He or she is responsible for scheduling, maintaining, and production of this area.

What happens to the plants that are still viable but not saleable at this time?

After the nursery section leader decides they still have value, They are re-processed and groomed and tagged with a first aid designation. They are placed in a first aid section designed in area #U opposite the bark bins. There is adequate metered irrigation in this site. The nursery section leader then makes the call when they should be placed back into customer display or discarded.

I see that you use broken bags of retail products in this processing?

Yes, we do. We use everything that is possible that will benefit the processing of plants, bark bags, peat moss. perlite, vermiculite, sand, gypsum, lime, some kinds of fertilizers and off the shelf chemicals for insects and diseases we have to treat.

We just do not throw any of these products away if they can be of some use. We store and protect these broken or damaged bags near the processing site and mix them into our potting blends as needed.

Are there bathroom facilities in this area?

Yes, we have installed several sani-can portable toilets for the employees in this area a short distance from this processing section.

There is a lot of debris generated from this operation. Are the dumpsters located nearby?

Yes, the dumpsters are very close and can be moved closer to the section if intensive debris discarding is taking place

Can the employees’ process plants in bad weather, snow and rain?

We have purchased and installed some portable “car port” supports and covers for bad weather and excessive sun. They can be easily moved with a forklift when not needed.

#92 DESIGNING THE STORE * (revised 6/3) main parking area

Click the image to enlarge

So much activity occurs in the parking areas of garden stores on busy springtime days. There is constant movement of people and plant materials; carts of flowers, trunks and tailgates open, trailers extended out into the drive lanes, pots being fitted into back seats, large trees hoisted up and on to trucks, loading of bags of mulch and soils, loaders and forklifts blocking the driveway areas as well as customers, often with children, in and out of vehicles watching, loading, helping, and talking. We are aware of this unusual activity and have designed our parking areas to accommodate these situations.

“I will never shop at that place again. The parking spots are too narrow and someone always dings my car.”

The main parking area is located on the side of the complex. This is the largest of four parking options for our customers during the season. There is a also front parking lot and limited street parking on several sides of the complex.

In addition, we have arranged with a neighboring large church next to the business for overflow parking (excluding Sundays) in those crazy months of high volume.

“We provide several services to the church for this privilege. They receive springtime bedding flowers for their landscaping at our cost, we hire some members of the church to direct traffic in this lot and to shuttle our customers and their goods to and from the store with an extended seated golf cart and trailer, and we support their weekly church program bulletins with our advertising”

Parking lots of businesses can be a tremendous source of pollution in the environment. Our design provides a minimum carbon footprint and still allows for the convenience of our customers. The surface of the lot is a combination of asphalt and compacted gravel. The asphalt, recycled asphalt, is installed on the driving paths of the lot. We have also built collection basins in the drive lane asphalt for gathering runoff. There are large changeable filter shields in the basins that collects any spilled hydrocarbons from the vehicles.

Gravel is the surface for the actual parking stalls. We allow natural grasses to grow from the ground, through the gravel to form a tight uniform mat over the gravel. Any vehicle leakage is filtered through the grasses and gravel before moving into the groundwater. Concrete recycled “curb stops” are positioned and construction "whiskers" are used to indicate the stalls. Mindful of the unusual length and widths of our customer vehicles, we have scaled the parking stalls to be longer and wider than a normal commercial standard. Because the lines marking the stalls cannot be effectively pronounced on a gravel surface, we are mindful that there will be some haphazard parking on the stalls and some dirt and mud in the stalls from time to time. On balance however, this parking area provides an efficient, economical and “green” contribution by green garden gates. We continue to search for other methods to develop permeable stalls and heavy load bearing parking lot drive lanes.

It has been our experience that "swales" and "retention basins" are marginally effective and expensive. Basically these are "ditches" near a parking lot where all the runoff from that lot runs into the ditch. The theory is that if the ditches are planted, all the dirty runoff water from the parking lot will filter through the plants and roots and end up clean when it reaches the groundwater. Bull. What happens is that, no matter what you do to try to correct it, these ditches stop draining and they fill up with water and some will start to stink. You can get a bobcat in there and churn it all up and two weeks later you have standing water again. So what you have it a bunch of ditches filled will water breeding mosquitoes. The tree huggers just love these things but they are a pain in the ass. Another drawback is that these dirty water ditches take up a lot of real estate. They need to be wide and deep so forget any other uses. They are just ditches. These ditches are the accepted method in most cities. In Tulsa, we were able to convince the government that using catch basins with removable changeable filters will do the same thing.

We have also designed in this parking area, an area for large vehicles with long trailers out of the main firing line of activity where they can maneuver and park more easily and safely.

We believe, at green garden gates, that the shopping experience does not end at the cash register. We will be judged whether we succeed or fail with our customers only when the plants and products are carefully placed in the vehicles and the customer is driving out our gates. In our operational chapters discussed later, we talk about how we hire young people to patrol all of the parking areas with golf carts making certain we have happy gardeners right until the end of this experience.