Discovering a problem inside your warehouse should be considered a good thing — you know what to fix! The tricky part involves figuring out the hidden causes of lost productivity. Once you know what’s wrong, you can take action to make the warehouse more efficient.
Operations expert Dave Piasecki has a helpful checklist of warehouse problem symptoms to look for. Some frequently overlooked problems include:
- Equipment damage
- Worker injuries & declining productivity
- Cleanliness and organization
- Low morale
Some problems, like inventory errors, can be easily spotted in the numbers. But what if workers are slowing down and performing below expectations because of an inherently problematic process? That’s when it’s time to focus on the process itself.
Improving the Process, Implementing New Tools for Warehouses
As Piasecki says, you only need to analyze so much. You need to implement solutions.
Do you need a drastic overhaul? Probably not. Instead of worrying about elaborate changes, streamline the material handling process with better tools for your workers.
Powered industrial tugs improve warehouse efficiency for each individual task, and for the staff as a whole. Replace the tiring, injury-riddled problem of manually pushing carts with motorized tugs, and a worker can accomplish more in less time.
Over the long haul, your workers will maintain a higher level of productivity thanks to fewer injuries and less energy spent over the course of a day’s work.
Then there’s a ripple effect: inventory and equipment get moved more efficiently, so managers, receivers and everyone else can do their job with less back-up and stalling.
Ready to solve the problems plaguing your warehouse? Start with industrial tugs from DJProducts.com.