Warehouse Operations Archives

How to Reduce Inventory Loss in Your Warehouse Operation

Are you looking for ways to increase productivity and reduce expenses in your warehouse? Cost-effective warehouse equipment is one solution. Reducing product loss also improves customer service and profitability.

A certain amount of loss from damaged product is unavoidable, but you can proactively manage the primary causes of waste. Here are five expert tips to significantly reduce inventory loss.

1. Commit to Employee Training

Your warehouse workers are on the front line of operations, and they can be your most effective warriors against inventory loss. Damages frequently occur when employees don’t operate warehouse equipment properly. Make training a part of the onboarding process and conduct periodic reviews to find areas that need improvement.

2. Analyze Warehouse Operations

Successful companies in all industries embrace the practice of continuous improvement of process, or CIP. Develop a plan of reviewing order picking, packaging and other warehouse processes with an eye for improving efficiency.

3. Invest in Quality Material Handling Equipment

Purchase price and maintenance costs of material handling equipment are important but they shouldn’t be the main consideration. Inexpensive equipment that breaks down or doesn’t work correctly ends up being far more expensive than high-quality equipment that’s efficient and durable.

4. Cut Down on Manual Touch Points

The more often workers touch products, the greater the chance of damage. Maximize the use of material handling equipment to limit instances of operator error.

5. Move Forward

No matter how much you learn about reduction of inventory loss, none of it means anything unless you put it into action. Create a workable plan and follow through on it.

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Take the first step toward reducing inventory damage with warehouse equipment from DJ Products. Contact us to learn more.

OSHA’s Cold Stress Guide – Considerations for Warehouse Staff

Loading and Unloading Packages In the Winter can Cause Stress on Your Fingers and Other Extremities.

The Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA) maintains a broad directive that employers are required to provide “a workplace free from recognized hazards.” While elements such as quality material handling equipment are easy to control, cold weather presents a more abstract health risk.

OSHA recognizes cold stress as a genuine workplace hazard. Here are tips on how to recognize and prevent cold weather-related injuries and illnesses.

Common Cold Stress Conditions

– Hypothermia is a rapid loss of body heat during which body temperature drops below 95°F. A person suffering from hypothermia will shiver initially, but the shivering actually stops as the condition grows more severe.

– Frostbite results when frigid temperatures cause skin and underlying tissues to freeze. Feet and hands are most susceptible to frostbite, which is characterized by numbness and reddened skin marked with gray and white patches.

– Trench foot, sometimes referred to as immersion foot, occurs when wet feet are exposed to cold temperatures for extended periods of time. As blood vessels constrict to conserve heat, they also cut off oxygen and nutrient supplies to the skin.

Tips to Prevent Cold Stress

– Train employees to recognize and treat common cold stress symptoms.

– Make sure workers are dressed appropriately. Wearing layers of loose-fitting clothes keeps skin dry and well-insulated. Accessories such as hats, gloves and boots should also be worn.

– Cold stress can cause people to become disoriented and lose coordination. Assign workers in pairs so they can monitor each other for symptoms.

– Provide a warm break room and keep warm, sweetened beverages on hand to prevent dehydration.

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Truckers Keep an Eye on Inflation, Chains, Tread for Winter

A Good Set of Wheels Can Take You a Long Way on the Road. Ensure You’re Taking Proper Care of Your Vehicle!

Driving in the winter is stressful, doubly-so for those toting a fully-loaded rig. Luckily, you can take a bit of worry off your shoulders with the help of your electric yard trucks and a properly prepped fleet. The right tire, sufficient, even tread, and proper inflation levels can greatly improve traction and handling on icy, snow-covered roads.

Selecting Tires

Performance is intimately tied to tire selection. Look to tread designs to find your ideal winter tire match. The more open the tread, the better tires perform in snow and slush. In addition, look to skid depth: Full skid-depth tires offer better traction than those with shallow depth.

Ensuring Proper Inflation

Maintaining proper inflation positively impacts a number of factors, including tire wear, casing life, the ability to retread tires, and even gas mileage. In winter driving, it provides an ‘enhanced footprint’ essential to navigating snowy, icy roads. Ambient temperature affects inflation levels, with pressure drops proportional to temperature: 2 psi for every 10° decrease. This makes frequent calibration, at least weekly, essential.

Checking Tread

Tread depth ensures tire ‘grip’ on road surfaces. Use retreads? Choose tread designs with numerous biting edges and ‘sipes’ to boost traction.

Chaining Up

Though this process is considered antiquated by some, ‘chaining up’ tires to improve traction and grip remains an effective way to ensure additional stability in snowy, icy road conditions. When properly chained up, no impact on tire longevity should occur. When selecting tires, opt for styles designed for easy chain application. Be sure to apply chains tightly, removing them as soon as they’re no longer needed.

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Tips for Keeping Your Warehouse and Work Staff Safe in Cold Weather

Tips for Keeping Your Warehouse and Work Staff Safe in Cold Weather.

No matter how advanced and efficient your warehouse equipment is, it means nothing with no workers around to use it. Bad winter weather adds another layer to the everyday risk of workplace injuries.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recognizes “cold stress” as a significant work-related danger during winter months. Here are some valuable tips to keep your workers warm and healthy as temperatures drop.

What Is “Cold Stress?”

According to OSHA, cold stress is a general term that encompasses a range of weather-related health concerns such as hypothermia, frostbite and trench foot. While OSHA maintains no specific regulations governing cold weather work, they do recognize an employer’s requirement to operate a workplace “free of recognized hazards.”

Winter-Related Illnesses

Winter months also bring the onset of colds and flu. Data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that companies lose $10.5 billion in medical costs and decreased productivity during flu season each year.

Tips to Prevent Cold-Related Injuries and Illnesses

– Educate employees about cold stress risk factors such as dressing improperly, working in wet clothes and consuming excessive caffeine.

– Implement radiant heaters and other engineering controls to keep the workplace warm.

– Schedule the bulk of work activities during warmer times of the day.

– Have supervisors monitor employees for signs of cold stress. If possible, assign workers in pairs.

– OSHA doesn’t require employers to provide coats, gloves and other winter wear, but many companies find it cost-effective to do so.

– Promote flu shots. Consider holding an on-site vaccination clinic or partnering with local pharmacies.

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Key Warehouse Performance Metrics – What to Know

Understanding the Workplace

Goal-setting is necessary for any successful business, but how do you know if you’re on track? Improvements in technology provide advanced performance metrics to evaluate everything from condition of warehouse equipment to order fill rates.

Every warehouse will have its own priorities, but there are some key performance indicators (KPIs) that are applicable to any operation. Here are five major performance metrics and why you should be tracking them.

Truck Time at the Receiving Dock

Companies often focus on the processes that occur on the warehouse floor, but an efficient receiving dock is a crucial part of fulfilling customer demands. Excessive truck times can point to labor shortage or other problems to correct.

Inventory Intake Time

On-site inventory that’s not ready to be picked can actually end up costing money in lost revenue. If it’s taking too long to transfer received items to pick locations, an upgrade in warehouse equipment could be the solution.

Days-on-Hand

The longer a product sits in the warehouse, the more it impacts the bottom line with higher storage costs. Calculate storage cost per item and inventory cost per square foot to see if you’re optimizing inventory management.

Cost per Line Item Shipped

Order picking and packing form the meat-and-potatoes of warehouse operations. With the complexity of factors involved, cost per line item gives you a starting point from which to evaluate the overall process.

Perfect Order Percentage

What is the industry standard for perfect order percentage? Keep in mind that there’s a problem if reducing error rates results in higher expenses.

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Tips for Preparing Your Trucking Fleet for Winter Operation

Your yard trucks may be ready to roll for the winter shipping season – but is your fleet? Frigid winter temperatures and icy driving conditions put fleet vehicles under additional stress. Luckily, a few minor preventative maintenance tasks can help you avoid costly downtown and emergency repairs during the cold winter months.

Winter Fleet Maintenance Checklist:

Winterize

Winterizing with seasonally-enhanced fuels will help vehicles operate in temperatures as low as -30° F with a cold filter plugging point of -55° F. Special additives can increase both horsepower and fuel efficiency as much as 5%, alleviating common cold weather hauling hassles. Ditto for replacing fluids such as motor oil, wiper fluid, power steering and brake fluids with more winter-friendly options.

Swap It & Drain It

Regularly drain water separators and replace water-absorbing filters that can plug-up during cold snaps and create cold engine startup issues (fuel gelling) as well as water damage in sub-zero temperatures to fuel pumps and injectors.

Be Proactive with Wearable Components

Cold temperatures are tough on wearables like belts, hoses, and brake pads. Perform maintenance now to avoid shivering roadside later. Battery testing and maintenance (and a glow-plug check on diesels) are also wisely performed at this time.

Keep Things Clean

Prep vehicles for snow, ice, and salt, ensuring longevity with a thorough pre-season cleaning and protective waxing. Wash the exterior regularly, including cab, body, and undercarriage to prevent damage from corrosive salts.

Dress Up Your Digs

Confirm winter heater/defroster operation and outfit your rigs with winter comfort and safety gear like warm blankets, water, food, flares, jumper cables, fire extinguisher, and more for safety in an emergency.

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Three Tips to Improving the Bottom-Line at Your Warehouse

Improve the Bottom-Line in Your Warehouse Operation

In the highly competitive warehouse and distribution center industry, it’s more important than ever to minimize expenses and maximize profitability. Our electric material handling equipment helps you allocate valuable manpower more efficiently.

But that’s just a start. Here are some expert tips to reduce costs and optimize your bottom line.

Incorporate a Warehouse Management System (WMS)

How much do you really know about the effectiveness of individual employees? If you’re still using time cards and other old-school methods, the answer is, “not much.”

Warehouse management systems with labor management functionality offer reporting at a granular level that provides unprecedented amounts of data. All the information you need to spot problems is right at your fingertips.

Reduce Excess and Obsolete Inventory

– Discounts available with buying in bulk may be tempting, but it can actually be counterproductive due to increased storage costs. Review the warehouse layout and make any necessary changes to improve space utilization.

– Obsolete inventory also ties up capital and renders warehouse space unprofitable. Slow-moving items can be donated to charity, sold at a discount or disposed of in other creative ways that don’t result in a total loss.

Conduct Ongoing Tech Training

Access to technology isn’t enough. Workers need adequate training to ensure that they’re getting full functionality from tablets, scanners and other devices.

Establish a training program for both current and new employees. Online learning systems allow hands-on training and reduce costs of live training sessions.

DJ Products: Your Top Choice for Material Handling Equipment

Labor is your number one expense. Our battery-powered tugs, movers and pushers offer two-fold savings with more efficient manpower allocation and reduced workplace injuries.

Visit our website and chat with our friendly sales engineers to find the best solution for your specific needs.

Tag: Warehouse Operations