Page 15 - Logistics News April 2021

Warehouse Operation
that you can rearrange or change, which does not
need to cost much. Look at areas where people
have to move up and down between tasks that do
not add directly to stock flowing out. Examples of
things to focus on are computer stations, printer
locations, dustbins and consumables areas.
7. Improve communication and ef ciency
with two-way radios
If you do not have a two-way radio for every
supervisor and manager, you should consider
getting one immediately. Without radios, a simple
message that could be delivered quickly can take
a long time because individuals have to walk long
distances and spend time finding people.
Apart from the day-to-day benefits, radios can
also play a huge role during emergencies.
8. Stagger shifts per activity area to reduce
dead time and avoid overtime
A common problem I have often seen is that
a warehouse has one starting time for all
employees, even across di erent functions. While
this makes managing time and attendance easier,
it does create other problems, especially dead
time and then overtime.
Let’s look at a real-world example that I came
across: All the employees’ standard hours were
7am to 5pm. The outbound packing team had no
productive work to do for the first hour or so until
the pickers start dropping orders in the dispatch
area. Then, later in the shift, the packing team
couldn’t complete the work on time and there was
one hour of overtime on average each day. The
simple change of letting the packers start at 8am
to 6pm eliminated the dead time and overtime
completely.
9. Implement a rewards and recognition
programme
Sadly, it is common for the warehousing
industry to be quick and e’cient to punish poor
performance with disciplinary action, but it is
April 2021 | Logistics News
not so good at rewarding or recognising good
performance. The positive e ects of an o’cial
reward and recognition programme are immense.
If used correctly, it will improve the quality of
work, productivity, sta morale, build a positive
performance culture, reduce absenteeism and
more.
First decide what categories to reward
(productivity, least number of errors, MHE
operator, etc.), then announce it to the team and
follow through each month with a small ceremony.
10. Improve the environment to improve the
quality of work
I have seen operations that are fraught with low
quality output, high error rates and low sta
morale. Our instincts, as warehouse managers, are
to constantly focus on the employees and punish
any mistakes harshly.
On closer inspection, I often find that the
environment, and not the employees, is the
problem. Employees wear old and damaged
uniforms, or none at all. PPE, such as reflector
vests and safety shoes, is worn out and damaged.
If you go to the employee’s change room, it is
a horrible mess and a poorly maintained area.
Workstations are equally chaotic, dysfunctional
and neglected.
If you truly want to change the quality output
of your operation and reduce the error rate, you
will need to change the environment. You cannot
expect employees to perform high quality work
and be proud of their output if the environment
they are asked to operate in is exactly the opposite.
Finally, each warehouse is unique and faces
specific challenges. Take some time to look for
these types of small yet practical improvements
that you can make. Focus on the basic
fundamentals of structure, order and discipline.
Don’t underestimate the impact and positive
e ects a small change can make. And a series
of small improvements can add up to make a
massive di erence. •
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