Page 14 - Logistics News April 2021

Warehouse Operation
10 practical ways to improve
warehouse operation
Discover practical tips for day-to-day warehouse managers that can make a big impact.
I HAVE personally seen these tips make a positive
impact in the past. You might think they are
common practice, but, surprisingly, many are
not in place in some operations. Even if these
examples do not directly apply to you, I hope they
will give you some ideas on where to start looking
for and making improvements.
1. Start each shift with a team talk/roll call
A physical meeting at the start of each shift is
the critical foundation to building a culture of
order and structure. Even though this is standard
practice in most warehouses, sometimes it isn’t in
place and the e ects can be seen.
I suspect this was common practice decades
ago, but since most companies have biometric
systems, they rely on these to manage time and
attendance. Often employees clock in on time,
only to spend time getting ready for work and
only actually commence productive work 15 to
45 minutes after they’ve clocked in. Make sure the
meeting starts exactly on time every day.
2. Proactively manage break times
One area where most (even well-run) operations
lose critical productivity is before and after
break times. A 15-minute tea break commonly
results in a 30- to 40-minute loss of productivity.
Employees go to break too early and are not
immediately back at their workstations when the
break time is over. Those minutes for each person
add up to huge productivity loss.
Supervisors must manage this proactively by
being present at the right locations to monitor
employees’ movement. Employees should work
productively until the break time and return to
work and resume production as soon as the break
is over.
3. Make sure employees have the right tools
Even if you have excellent processes and
technology, if your employees do not have the
right practical tools to do the work e’ciently, you
will get a poor output.
Tools like Stanley knives, tape guns and gloves
for packing employees who work with boxes
are critical. Without them, employees are left to
improvise and the results are poor quality and low
productivity.
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By Christo Pieterse
Talk to your people to find out what they
need to make their work faster, better and safer.
Another great way to identify the shortfalls
is to spend time doing the functions yourself,
like picking, receiving or packing. You will gain
valuable insight and also new respect from your
team.
4. Ensure material handling equipment
(MHE) is in good working condition
If your MHE is not in good working condition, it
is not only unsafe but will cause reduced output.
Don’t delay any repair or maintenance work on
machines as this will only create massive bills later
on.
If not already in place, make sure that every
machine operator fills in a checklist at the start
of each shift. This list should be handed in to a
central point where you can check for any issues
with the machines.
5. Improve housekeeping
Housekeeping in the warehouse is one function
that is always di’cult to get right. Good, e ective
housekeeping programmes have huge benefits
like improved safety, productivity improvements
and reduced error rates.
Assign a specific person to be responsible per
aisle or area to improve housekeeping. Divide the
number of aisles by the number of employees
and assign each section accordingly to a specific
individual. Make clear signage boards for each
aisle with the name of the responsible person.
You can include a photo of the employee and a
list of duties and standards that are expected.
By assigning individual ownership to each
area, you will create a sense of accountability.
Employees will start influencing each other
positively to keep the aisles in good condition,
otherwise they will have to correct it later on.
6. Look at your ow
Changing the major layout and design of a facility
will be prohibitively expensive and normally
not feasible. After the initial design is done,
warehouse management is normally left to make
do with what there is even though there might be
some challenges.
But, often there are specific areas or items
April 2021 | Logistics News