10 Tips for Improving Warehouse Safety and Productivity
A well-organized and secure warehouse environment boosts productivity and protects employees, equipment, and inventory.
1. Optimize the movement of equipment and machinery. Leverage real-time data, advanced algorithms, and predictive analytics to ensure that workers utilize machinery efficiently and safely. By optimizing the movement of equipment, workers can be kept safe by ensuring equipment doesn’t operate too close to them. Workers have safer pathways and bottlenecks are minimized.
2. Monitor activities in real time. Live updates on workforce activities, equipment location, and task statuses allow managers to identify potential safety risks. If excess congestion is detected, send notifications to alert managers of potential unsafe conditions, enabling proactive intervention.
3. Minimize manual intervention. Automating repetitive and hazardous tasks with equipment will reduce the likelihood of worker injuries. However, workers are often required to work alongside robots to ensure they function correctly. Coordinate schedules between workers and machines to improve efficiencies and foster productivity.
4. Organize the warehouse layout. Designate zones for equipment, storage, and walkways. Organize inventory logically. For example, place high-demand items closer to picking zones to improve efficiencies in inventory management and reduce clutter, which enhances safety. Efficient layouts for storage and pathways keep hazardous areas separate from high-traffic zones.
5. Load balance the workforce. Assigning the right number of workers to tasks based on demand, skill levels, and capacity ensures labor is properly balanced and neither overburdened nor underutilized, which improves productivity. If too many workers are at one site, send some to another site that needs additional labor.
6. Cross-dock efficiently. Cross-docking efficiently synchronizes inbound and outbound operations, which reduces the need for storage and accelerates the flow of goods. Cross-docking minimizes warehouse storage time by streamlining the direct transfer of goods from inbound shipments to outbound transportation. Use predictive analytics to align incoming goods with current and future outbound demand.
7. Allocate tasks intelligently. Assign the work based on real-time data and pre-defined rules to ensure that tasks are assigned to the right employees, considering their skills, availability, and current workload. Do not assign workers and equipment to the same area within the warehouse simultaneously to reduce the risk of collisions or overcrowding. Using technology to dynamically adjust schedules as priorities change helps to ensure efficient workflows and streamline operations.
8. Use an orchestration platform. Working in conjunction with a warehouse management system, a warehouse orchestration platform tracks inventory and identifies demand patterns to optimize schedules. Knowing what orders are coming in and when they need to be fulfilled helps to ensure that proper labor is at the right place to execute on the correct orders.
9. Foster a culture of safety. Encourage open communications among employees and supervisors to quickly address issues that could hinder productivity and safety. Conduct training sessions for employees on proper equipment handling, safety procedures, and emergency protocols to improve safety and increase productivity.
10. Drive continuous improvement. Tracking KPIs such as throughput, task completion rates, and inventory status helps to resolve disruptions and increase efficiencies. Analyze safety incident data to identify patterns for implementing long-term improvements.
SOURCE: Keith Moore, CEO, AutoScheduler.AI