A seemingly endless list of consumer goods moves through warehouses regularly. To ensure these goods reach their destination efficiently, warehouses use a wide range of practices. As a result, products get where they need to quickly, keeping clients and consumers happy. When prioritizing warehouse productivity, business owners take safety into account every step of the way. It can be a challenging balancing act but focusing on safety and productivity is vital to any facility’s success. The list below breaks down the best ways to keep your warehouse productive and efficient. Use these practices to keep your output smooth, sufficient, and consistent.
Lean Warehouse Methods
One of the first steps worth taking is utilizing lean manufacturing methods. The idea behind lean practices is analyzing workplace processes for waste. In this context, “waste” doesn’t refer to literal trash in the facility. Instead, this term refers to time wasters within your warehouse. If a certain machine or practice within daily operations doesn’t need to be there, it shouldn’t be. The idea is fairly straightforward and beneficial to anyone trying to simplify workflow.
Manufacturing facilities frequently use lean workflow design to achieve similar effects. In warehouses, the best place to implement a lean mindset is storage. Keeping your storage clean and concise is essential for ensuring workflow efficiency.
Concise Training Courses
Neglecting thorough training can be a major blow to any warehouse’s pace. Even straightforward jobs in the warehouse should come with thorough training. Focusing on better training means by the time new hires actually join your workforce, they’ll have a firm grasp of what to do and how to do it right. Training is an easy way to improve efficiency, though not everyone takes full advantage of the process. However, you prioritize good training as well as refresher courses.
By periodically providing refresher training courses, businesses give current employees a chance to hone their skills and ensure they’re following the right procedures. Even after good training, retaining everything there is to know about any given company, warehouse, and employee role is easier said than done. Concise training and refresher opportunities are simple, effective ways to minimize novice mistakes in the field.
Thorough training is crucial for all employees, but heavy machine operators require a special level of care. For instance, forklift training should abide by OSHA guidelines every step of the way. Forklifts might look simple from afar, but they are dangerous in the wrong hands. If a forklift operator doesn’t have proper training or certification, they make the workplace more dangerous instead of more productive.
Machine Maintenance & Handling
Speaking of heavy machinery, taking care of workplace equipment is essential to efficiency. To keep your gear firing on all cylinders, make sure they all undergo routine maintenance—from the conveyor systems to the forklifts. For example, forklift forks wear down over time; it’s an inevitable process that happens after enough time in the warehouse.
Likewise, conveyor belts can wear down periodically. These are only two of the many maintenance tasks any given warehouse needs to invest in. Staying on top of upkeep helps workplaces prevent avoidable accidents and catch equipment issues early enough to minimize damage.
As mentioned above, forklift forks wear down over time. However, the forks will wear down sooner if the operator bumps into walls or improperly picks up materials. Improper equipment handling is a common mistake resulting in a lower lifespan for machinery. Plus, before hitting the end of its lifespan, the mishandled equipment’s performance won’t be at peak productivity. In other words, if employees are reckless with equipment, that equipment won’t work as well as it should. Mishandling equipment is also very dangerous.
If forklift operators don’t abide by work zone speed limits, they can collide with a fellow employee or nearby equipment. Likewise, if a dust collector malfunction results in dust accumulating in the environment, it creates a fire or combustion hazard. The exact hazard dust poses varies from workplace to workplace and depends on the materials and machines in the building.
Workplace Layout
Even if employees are great and machines are in top-tier condition, a poor warehouse layout will slow down the workflow. Ideally, all companies should consider such factors in the early stages of building any warehouse. However, analyzing the building layout and seeking chances to make trips from point A to point B quicker is a worthwhile project.
In fact, layout consideration fits neatly within a lean warehouse design. Unnecessary space in which employees travel to complete tasks absolutely falls under the “waste” banner. In some cases, regulations or logistics will get in the way of the most efficient path. Still, if you can safely shorten the path a forklift travels from pick-up to drop-off, the task’s efficiency will improve successfully.
Client & Employee Feedback
Analyzing warehouse practices is essential for improving efficiency, but great feedback commonly comes from other sources. For instance, maintaining a workplace where employees feel comfortable reaching out with questions and concerns creates a welcoming atmosphere. Additionally, employee feedback can directly improve certain processes in the warehouse. In fact, don’t wait for feedback. Instead, directly ask employees, whether at a meeting or via email, to share any feedback regarding your warehouse. To incentivize employees further, offer a way to pose questions and concerns anonymously. Even in welcoming work environments, some employees might prefer an anonymous approach. Employees work directly with your machines, so their feedback can be incredibly meaningful.
Furthermore, reach out to clients for feedback. Are they happy with your services? Do they have suggestions for improvements? Taking this kind of feedback seriously can improve your business and your relationship with the client. Not every suggestion will be the right move, but being open to new ideas and making changes when necessary is a principle any reputable warehouse should follow.
Now that you know the best ways to keep your warehouse productive and efficient, you can take action immediately. As you can see, boosting productivity is easier than some business owners expect. Even something as straightforward as lean business practices pay off in the long run. We manufacture bulk handling equipment and systems to meet specific workplace needs and specifications, so be sure to consider all the factors affecting your efficiency. Adopting a productive mindset is certainly best done sooner than later. That said, it’s never too late to evaluate and improve your warehouse.
