Case Study — Logistics / Wireless & Ekahau
Wireless Site Survey for a 45,000 sqm Automated Warehouse
A Tier-1 logistics operator deploying an automated sortation system and WMS required a wireless network that could sustain 400+ IoT scanners, forklift-mounted terminals, and video surveillance — without a single dead zone across a three-storey, steel-frame warehouse.
The Challenge
The warehouse was being retrofitted with a fully automated sortation system. The WMS vendor required -65 dBm minimum RSSI, <5 ms latency, and <1% packet loss for forklift terminals and barcode scanners across all 45,000 sqm of floor space, including a 12-metre-high vertical rack zone and a refrigerated cold store at -18°C.
The existing Wi-Fi deployment (single 2.4 GHz network, consumer-grade APs) was completely insufficient. A greenfield design was needed within 4 weeks before the sortation system installation began.
Our Approach
eNeoteric ECSE-certified engineers conducted a three-phase wireless survey:
- Phase 1 — Predictive survey: Imported structural drawings into Ekahau AI Pro. Modelled 3 floors, steel racking, concrete pillars, and the cold store's insulated panels. Generated a coverage design with AP placement recommendations (47 APs: mix of outdoor-rated and specialised cold-store units).
- Phase 2 — Active survey: Conducted an on-site active survey with Ekahau Sidekick 2 to validate attenuation values and adjust AP placement. Identified two dead zones behind steel conveyors not captured in the structural drawings.
- Phase 3 — Validation survey: Post-installation validation confirming coverage, roaming performance (IEEE 802.11r/k/v), and voice-over-Wi-Fi MOS scores for team communication devices.
Key Findings & Design Decisions
- Steel conveyor belts caused 15 dB additional attenuation — 6 extra APs added to conveyor corridors
- Cold store required IP66-rated, -40°C-rated APs with heated housings — 4 units specified
- Roaming validation confirmed sub-50ms reassociation times across all mobility zones
- Dual-band 5 GHz steering configured to prevent IoT scanner fall-back to congested 2.4 GHz
- Separate SSID architecture: WMS (QoS EF), surveillance (WMM video), and guest — fully isolated VLANs
Outcomes & Impact
Post-deployment measurement confirmed 100% coverage at or above -60 dBm across all floor space, including the cold store and high-rack zones. The WMS went live on schedule. Over the first 3 months, wireless-related WMS downtime was zero — against a pre-project monthly average of 14 hours.
The 99.97% uptime SLA was contractually met in the first quarter post-deployment, with no coverage-related incidents reported.
“We had 4 weeks before the sortation system went in. eNeoteric delivered a predictive design in week 1, completed the active survey in week 2, and we had AP placement confirmed before our contractor arrived. That's the kind of execution we needed.”Head of TechnologyLeading Indian 3PL Operator
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