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You’re sitting in your ivory office chair made of the finest Italian leathers and watching your newton’s cradle bounce back and forth in an endless motion. This is bliss, you think as you take another sip from your ethically sourced continental roast coffee. This is the way everyone should live their life.
Indeed, while stressful, the day-to-day grind of the chief executive officer (CEO) has a few perks. But, while you are strategically planning company growth for the next few years, the current staff in the company warehouse are working extremely hard like their lives depended on it – and for many, it really does. While most warehouses and factories in the west world do not even remotely resemble Dickensian-style workhouses, many are in dire need of an upgrade.
Manual warehouse laborers are, by and large, at the bottom of the scale when it comes to wages and quality of work. Should a poor workplace add to their list of concerns? If you are a responsible CEO, the answer is “of course not.”
Upgrading your warehouse is not only about your peace of mind. With appropriate working conditions, you assure your staff that you care about them. You are quite literally investing in their productivity, decreasing the risk of a strike or a employee turnover. This way, you can spend more time preventing trademark infringement for your business operations.
With this in mind, what can you do to improve the quality of your warehouse?
Forks At The Ready
First and foremost, warehouse employees need the proper equipment. Are your forklift trucks sputtering to a halt every few seconds, coughing up an engine that is full of exhaust fumes as its wheels slowly stop turning? If so, then it is time to replace your warehouse equipment. Luckily, you don’t have to completely break the bank to do so. You can consider checking out used forklifts for sale in your area to get good equipment at a lower cost.
With a modern refurbished forklift, your employees will have increased productivity, greater speeds and maneuverability. However, where can you go to find a truck that won’t cost you an arm and a leg? As you might already know, business warehouse equipment is not cheap.
We recommended checking out this site. Specialists in trucks, you will be able to find one in your price range easily. You will be able to choose from diesel, electric and gas as well as a wide range of brands to explore.
Every Suggestion Counts
Even if you run around the warehouse, observing employees very carefully, you will have a hard time obtaining accurate insights. As the CEO at the top, you can not possibly understand the ins and outs of your average employees schedule. If you can, you are probably not managing your time efficiently.
So ask your employees for input. There are two effective ways to ask your warehouse employees for input. Firstly, place a suggestion box in your warehouse, allowing people to leave their thoughts and opinions (anonymously). Secondly, you can choose schedule check-in meetings with team members. Either way, it is important to have an open line of communication.
Lastly, if you are really interested in being face to face with your employees, you can establish an open door policy. With this policy in place, your staff will know their CEO is available to speak with them, creating a feeling that their voice really matters. As you can imagine, the enhanced communication in addition to the right equipment can dramatically improve warehouse operations.
Warehouse Equipment Improvements
One thing you can certainly do to improve your warehouse is to improve your warehouse equipment. Conducting regular maintenance and inspections on your machines will help you to prevent a costly breakdown in the future. Replacing old machines before they entirely break down is a great practice, as well. Doing so will prevent your warehouse from a long-term decrease in productivity when an old machine finally kicks the bucket. It may even be worthwhile to have a specific machine repairs engineer on staff to perform routine maintenance and quality inspections. This way, you do not have to call a refrigerator repair service for every tiny mishap. Keeping your warehouse equipment in good, safe working condition is one of the best things you can to do improve your warehouse.
Labeling Warehouse Operations
Labeling warehouse areas for different operations is an easy way to improve efficiency and overall organization and safety of your warehouse. That is why it is so important to create large, bold labels that enhance readability and improve visibility. Otherwise, labeling warehouse operations areas is a waste of time. If you want to easily improve warehouse equipment operations, label warehouse equipment by the job that it does. Label the products you use too, including all the brewery supplies that go into each step of production. That way, your employees know what to do where. Then, your business benefits from increased productivity, efficiency and organization.
Image from http://invisionstudio.com/industries/factory-virtual-tour-company/
