Are operations dragging in the warehouse? Are routine tasks seeming more and more demanding? Are workers struggling to get typical assignments done? Are projects taking longer than usual to complete?
If the answer is yes to any of these questions, your warehouse operations may be having significant issues. But there is good news! There are several ways you can change the culture of your warehouse and enhance both productivity and efficiency in the daily grind.
Here are three important tips to take into consideration to boost your warehouse efficiency.
Go For Constant Process Optimization
We may not always realize it but we can always do the same task or job better and every day we should dedicate ourselves to finding ways to complete an assignment faster, swifter and more extensively. Dedication to process optimization can result in increases in efficiency and productivity while assuring the promotion of a transformative and progressive work environment.
Process optimization is actually something many supply chain and procurement managers promote in material handling capacities. Through consistent analysis and on-going scrutiny of daily business processes and operations, staff and personnel can establish continuity in achieving results and then devise new approaches and methodologies to exceed these achievements while also determining ways that are easier, safer and more effective in doing so.
It is important to always be looking at active processes and identify ways to improve them as this mentality will almost always bolster success.
Cultivate A Transformative Work Culture
According to Chron, a positive work culture is vital to the success of any enterprise or business. For many, employees are more likely to succeed and get positive results if they feel respected, appreciated and have a sense of belonging. A strong team-oriented attitude in the warehouse is known to enhance communication and it has been proven that many incidents which hamper both safety and efficiency are often a direct result of miscommunication. Supporting a transformative and progressive work culture is a great way to drive efficiency while also enabling the workplace to be positive and supportive.
Look Into And Adopt Six Sigma Or Lean Manufacturing
In material handling capacities, Lean Manufacturing or Six Sigma Methodologies have become a highly commoditized trend. A by-product of a technologically-driven era, Lean Manufacturing merges traditional best business practices with the integration performance metrics and analytics that catalyze business in the modern day. Six Sigma champions the optimization of inventory, devises methodologies to improve efficiency and also identifies ways jobs can be less labor-intensive while also reducing risk. “Work smarter, not harder” is a great mantra to describe the ideologies of both Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing approaches.
With the recent emergence of such methodologies, many workshops have been authored and integrated into the workforce and virtually any employee can gain a wide range of practical knowledge to apply in their daily duties. Comparable to training for martial arts, there are multiple levels of expertise that one can attain. As a result, employees can earn various certifications that serve as a benchmark of expertise. For example, any Six Sigma Champion can assuredly be a boost of both productivity and efficiency in even the most dynamic and challenging of environments.
Tom Reddon is a forklift specialist and blog manager for the National Forklift Exchange. He also sits on the Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association (MHEDA) Executive Dialogue team.
Follow him on Twitter at @TomReddon