5 Ways To Operate A User-Friendly Warehouse
Warehouses can be nightmares to navigate around in and find what is needed. Making your firm’s warehouse as user-friendly as possible takes time, planning, and work. Doing it effectively can improve employee and customer relations, optimize company resources, and increase profitability. Here are a few warehouse management tips to do this.
1. Effectively identify items
Identifying warehouse items is essential for operating a user-friendly site. Since many administration papers must legally be kept for years, it is essential to mark each box. This can be done via a heavy duty magic marker on a label or through a bar coding system. Whichever works best for the company is the determining factor. Cross-referencing the contents with a written list can aid workers in locating items for future periods.
2. Comply with OSHA
OSHA places employee and workplace safety first. OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, has strict regulations that each business must abide by. Failure to meet these requirements can result in punitive damages, increased claims, and possible business closure. Some of the many OSHA requirements include proper signage, employee notifications, and certifications.
3. Integrate Ergonomics
Ergonomics play a vital role in keeping your warehouse workers and visitors safe. Ergonomics is the field of science that optimizes the workplace environment to lower the risks of worker musculoskeletal disorders or injury. Risk levels depend on duration, frequency, and intensity of exposure to activities. Worker activities could include using a keyboard, lifting heavy items, walking, or other physically demanding endeavors. A user-friendly warehouse will take ergonomics and worker safety into consideration.
Ways to improve ergonomics include using a cushioned mouse-pad for keyboard usage, using proper lighting to reduce eyestrain and glare, placing workstations at proper heights to avoid undue back strain or slouching, and requiring employees take frequent breaks to rest. Ergonomics improve productivity by increasing employee morale and comfort. By lowering injury risks, firms can save medical expenses.
4. Use integrated warehouse software
Integrated warehouse software makes it possible to maintain all facets of the warehouse in a user-friendly manner. All business departments are interrelated in some manner. Whether someone in accounting wants to find cost of goods sold, or the warehouse manager wants to locate obsolete inventory items, an integrated software program can be the foundation for optimizing productivity and profitability. With so many software programs available, choosing the one that best fits the firm’s needs and resources will be the best choice.
5. Properly train staff
When staff are trained in warehouse operations, the firm will experience greater productivity and customer satisfaction. Less time will be spent searching for items. Employees will understand what is needed to properly navigate the warehouse, operate needed equipment, and answer customer questions. Equipment operators may need specific certifications to meet OSHA safety rules and regulations.
A properly trained staff will understand how to use the warehouse software to optimize the job requirements. Staff members will know how to quickly use the software to check inventory, update purchases and returns, understand figures on a count sheet, and be able to locate vendor or customer data.
Operating a user-friendly warehouse will set a firm apart from the competition. Not every firm takes the time to optimize its warehouse operations in this manner. When a firm has a reputation for having a comfortable and welcoming warehouse, both employees and visitors will eagerly look forward to setting foot in it.
