Air quality challenges | Logistics & warehouses

Material handling creates more than movement.

Material handling is at the heart of every logistics operation. Forklifts, pallets, packaging and everyday activity can generate or disturb fine dust, putting particles back into circulation across warehouses and distribution centres.

Forklift traffic

Every forklift journey can disturb settled dust while generating tyre wear and brake dust, putting fine particles back into the air.

Loading bays

Every open loading door creates another route for contamination. Outdoor dust, vehicle emissions and airborne particles can enter directly into warehouse operations.

Pallet handling

Moving and stacking wooden pallets releases wood dust, fibres and debris that can become airborne during everyday material handling.

Packaging operations

Opening cartons, handling cardboard, wrapping pallets and processing packaging materials generate paper fibres, cardboard dust and plastic particles that remain suspended in the air.

Constant material handling

Picking, conveying and transferring goods continually disturb settled dust, putting fine particles back into circulation across storage and operational areas.

Beyond the source

Fine dust doesn't stop where it's generated. Airflow, ventilation and everyday activity can carry particles into pedestrian routes, offices, break rooms and neighbouring workspaces.

When airborne particles put your logistics operation at risk.

What keeps your operation moving can also affect the people, products and equipment that keep it running. Fine dust creates air quality challenges that can be easy to overlook, but increasingly difficult to ignore.

Employee health

Warehouse teams spend entire shifts in the same environment, constantly breathing in the air around them. Repeated exposure to fine dust and airborne particles can irritate the respiratory system and contribute to longer-term health risks.

Operational efficiency

More dust means more time spent cleaning and managing contamination. Across busy logistics operations, those interruptions can quickly eat into productive time.

Product quality

Airborne particles can settle on stored goods, packaging materials and finished products, affecting cleanliness and increasing contamination risks in sensitive environments.

Equipment reliability

Fine dust can build up inside material handling equipment, automation systems and electrical cabinets, increasing wear, maintenance requirements and the risk of unexpected downtime.

Workplace cleanliness

What settles doesn't always stay settled. Everyday warehouse activity can put fine dust back into the air, turning housekeeping into a continuous task.

Employee health

Warehouse teams spend entire shifts in the same environment, constantly breathing in the air around them. Repeated exposure to fine dust and airborne particles can irritate the respiratory system and contribute to longer-term health risks.

Operational efficiency

More dust means more time spent cleaning and managing contamination. Across busy logistics operations, those interruptions can quickly eat into productive time.

Product quality

Airborne particles can settle on stored goods, packaging materials and finished products, affecting cleanliness and increasing contamination risks in sensitive environments.

Equipment reliability

Fine dust can build up inside material handling equipment, automation systems and electrical cabinets, increasing wear, maintenance requirements and the risk of unexpected downtime.

Workplace cleanliness

What settles doesn't always stay settled. Everyday warehouse activity can put fine dust back into the air, turning housekeeping into a continuous task.

Worker in a hard hat standing amid dust and haze in a logistics facility

Worker in a hard hat standing in a dimly lit warehouse corridor lit by a distant doorway

Your operation keeps products moving. Make sure it protects the people moving them.

Airborne particles don't stay where they're generated.

Forklifts, pallet movements and everyday activity can carry fine dust throughout warehouses and storage areas, reaching people far beyond the original source.

Keeping products moving shouldn't come at the expense of the air your people breathe.

Discuss your air quality challenges

Choose the area you'd like to discuss*

Industrial air cleaning

Air quality monitoring

Please select at least one option

Tell us about your workplace challanges or air quality issues.

Company*

First Name

Last Name

Work phone number*

Please enter numbers only

Work e-mail address*

Select state*

Post code*

Please select country*

Please fill in all required fields!

Fields marked with * must be filled in. We collect these data in order to correctly enter and process your request in the system. We take the security of your data seriously. You can find our privacy policy here.

We’ll be in contact soon to help you breathe easier.
In the meantime, feel free to explore more clean air insights over on our blog.

To our blog articles

In a busy logistics operation, dust is constantly being generated, disturbed and redistributed. What matters is knowing where exposure is highest and who is affected throughout the working day.

That's why measuring workplace air quality is the first step towards tackling your air quality challenges.

Understand what’s really in your air.

Air quality monitoring shows where fine dust is concentrated and where exposure is highest across your logistics operation, giving you objective data to make informed decisions.

It helps you:

Identify airborne particle hotspots across your logistics operation
Understand exposure during different logistics activities
Compare loading bays, storage areas, picking zones and offices
Validate improvement measures with objective air quality data

Explore our industrial air quality monitors

Understand what’s really in your air.

Industrial air cleaning protects your people and your operations.

Zehnder CleanAir and CleanAir Max air purifiers compared

Industrial air cleaning protects your people and your operations.

Once you understand your exposure, you can take targeted action.

Industrial air cleaning continuously removes fine dust and airborne particles throughout your facility, helping protect the people behind your logistics operation while reducing dust across the wider workplace.

Discover our industrial air purifiers

See how cleaner air helps logistics operations perform at their best.

Since 2016, we have been enjoying clean air at our location in Sennwald. The air purifiers from Zehnder Clean Air Solutions have exceeded our expectations. We were so impressed that we have in the meantime equipped our headquarters in Austria and two new drying halls in Sennwald with them. Our employees are also satisfied. Because they say: The difference can be clearly felt!

Almost 70 kg of dust was removed during the maintenance of the equipment – 70 kg that no longer ends up in the lungs of the employees.

Our mission is to use innovative technologies to avoid losses and waste. Zehnder supports us in this and gives us an enormous competitive advantage.

Questions we hear from logistics and warehouse operators every day.

What generates dust in logistics operations and warehouses?

Forklift traffic, pallet handling, loading bays, packaging, conveyors and everyday material handling can all generate or resuspend fine dust across warehouses and distribution centres.

Why is workplace air quality important in logistics?

Flour dust is released during ingredient receiving, weighing, tipping, sifting, mixing, transferring ingredients and cleaning activities.

Does forklift traffic generate airborne particles?

Yes. Forklifts contribute to airborne particle generation through tyre wear, brake wear and the continuous resuspension of settled dust from warehouse floors. In busy logistics operations, this becomes one of the most consistent sources of airborne particles.

Why do airborne particles spread throughout logistics facilities?

Airborne particles rarely stay where they are generated. Forklift movement, conveyor systems, ventilation, open loading doors and everyday activity carry fine dust throughout warehouses, distribution centres and adjacent workspaces.

Can airborne dust affect stored products?

Yes. Depending on the products being handled, airborne particles can settle on packaging materials, stored goods and equipment. Managing workplace air quality helps reduce unnecessary contamination and supports cleaner logistics environments.

Ready to improve air quality across your logistics operation?

Every logistics operation has its own air quality challenges. I’d be delighted to learn more about your warehouse or distribution centre, answer your questions and help you identify the best way to reduce fine dust and improve workplace air quality.

MCNCUVDDHYDJCHVATRHZEIOHXYYI?oid=00D24000000ef4qEAA&channelId=0ap08000000XZz7AAG

Ben Simons Country ManagerUnited Kingdom

+44 7909 533878 Mail to Book a meeting

Air quality challenges in logistics and warehouses

Material handling creates more than movement.

When airborne particles put your logistics operation at risk.

Employee health

Operational efficiency

Product quality

Equipment reliability

Workplace cleanliness

Your operation keeps products moving. Make sure it protects the people moving them.

In a busy logistics operation, dust is constantly being generated, disturbed and redistributed. What matters is knowing where exposure is highest and who is affected throughout the working day.

That's why measuring workplace air quality is the first step towards tackling your air quality challenges.

Understand what’s really in your air.

Understand what’s really in your air.

Industrial air cleaning protects your people and your operations.

Industrial air cleaning protects your people and your operations.

See how cleaner air helps logistics operations perform at their best.

Questions we hear from logistics and warehouse operators every day.

Ready to improve air quality across your logistics operation?