Counting an open yard: profiles, rebar and pallets outdoors

In a covered warehouse, racks and aisles help the count; in an open yard the stacks stand side by side and one on top of another, often under rain, dust or snow. Profiles, pipes, rebar and pallets are both hard to see and hard to count in such conditions. Figures written down as "approximately" widen the gap between the record and the yard. Here is how to make an open yard countable: zoning, bundle tags and kg-to-piece conversion.

Divide the yard into zones

• Divide the ground into numbered areas (A1, A2, B1 and so on) with paint or plates; each area holds one product group.
• Hang a card on every stack: item code, size or thickness, number of bundles, pieces per bundle, date received.
• Keep stack height to a level that can be counted at a glance, and leave a walking gap between rows.
• Use the same cut-off time in the open yard and the covered warehouse, so a product is not counted in two places.

The zone map is given to the count team in advance; a team that goes out without a map spends its first hour finding its way.

Bundle tags and the counting method

Bars, pipes and profiles generally arrive in bundles, and the bundle tag is the basic tool of the count. In the count, bundles are counted and the pieces per bundle are read from the tag; in each stack one or two bundles are opened and the bars counted to verify the tag. Loose bars that have come out of a bundle go on a separate line. On a pallet, rows times layers gives the quantity; but the back and inner rows of the stack must be checked by walking round it, because guessing the unseen part is the commonest error in a count.

Example: rebar held in kg, counted in pieces

The record holds 12 mm rebar in kg and shows 48,000 kg (48 tonnes). Illustrative values: bar length 12 m, theoretical weight 0.888 kg/m. One bar weighs 12 × 0.888 = 10.656 kg; a bundle of 100 bars weighs 1,065.6 kg.

The count finds 44 full bundles and 85 loose bars: 44 × 100 + 85 = 4,485 bars. 4,485 × 10.656 = 47,792.16 kg. Against the record that is 48,000 − 47,792.16 = 207.84 kg short, which is 207.84 ÷ 48,000 = about 0.43 per cent, or roughly 19 to 20 bars.

This is not an exact kg figure. The real weight can deviate from the theoretical weight by the manufacturer's tolerance, so if the difference is small the weighbridge tickets should be consulted. If it is large, a recount by number of bars is made. What matters is to put the number of bars found and the conversion in the report, so that the difference reads not as "metal missing" but as "bar count and weight conversion".

Do the same sum for pipes and profiles: if bar length and unit weight are on the item card, the count and the kg comparison come out together without weighing anything piece by piece.

Weather, visibility and safety

• Schedule the count for dry, light hours; postpone it on a rainy or foggy day.
• Carry count sheets in a clear sleeve on a clipboard so wind and rain do not spoil the writing.
• Do not start close to sunset; a half-counted zone may shift by the next morning. Do not leave a zone unfinished, or mark the part that is.
• Photograph every stack with its card in view; the photo is evidence of the count and a source for a second check.
• Nobody climbs on stacks; on high stacks the count is done with a ladder or suitable equipment, away from forklift routes.
• The team works in a hard hat, a high-visibility vest and proper footwear.

Common mistakes

• Putting newly arrived goods on top of an old stack and mixing the lot.
• Counting stacks set aside for dispatch both in the yard and on the dispatch list.
• Counting rusted or bent goods as sound stock; they belong on a separate line.
• Assuming the unseen inner row of a stack is "the same".
• Leaving out lower rows covered with snow or mud; clear them before the count.

In short

Accuracy in an open-yard count comes from zoning, bundle tags and a written conversion. In building-material counts StockSystem counts the open yard together with the covered warehouse and converts between pallets, cartons, m² and kg according to the item card.