The American warehouse is a haven for accidents. Slips, falls, and accidents lead to 95 million lost working days annually in the United States. Just think of all the efficiency and productivity that’s being lost! 

By being open with your staff and providing regular updates and training, you can create a super slick warehouse operation that will maximize your logistic company’s effectiveness. Here are our five top tips for a more efficient and productive warehouse.

Reduce Travel Time in the warehouse

Travel time in warehouse operations refers to the amount of time it takes for items to move between stations. Every minute it takes to unload, organize, or package items loses valuable time. Instead, make sure your warehouse is set up in a logical fashion. Have stations that rely on each other in close proximity. Don’t, for instance, have your label printer at the opposite end of your building to the packaging stations.

Examine your current warehouse process. Think to yourself: where can I save time? By implementing these changes, you’ll also improve safety. Employees can’t take shortcuts if most of the time it takes to complete a job has already been reduced.

Be A Better Communicator

A must for any team in any business, but essential in a warehouse operation. Since both inbound and outbound freight changes can completely change a warehouse’s slotting system, teams must always communicate with each other to stay as productive as possible. 

When staff communicate, they need to say as much information as possible without being so detailed that their colleagues may switch off. At your next staff training, make sure everyone is aware of this. Work on your staff communication, and you’ll see your efficiency numbers start to rise.

Implement Training Programs

Speaking of training, this needs to occur regularly if you want to maintain high standards. You can buy all of the most expensive gear imaginable, but if your staff don’t know how to use them effectively, they’re worthless.

So keep your employees in the loop, go out of your way to make sure they fully understand all the facets of their job role. Training not only increases efficiency, but it also improves staff morale. Yes, we’re all aware of the pointless training day stereotypes, but trust us – they work! By showing your employees that your organization is willing to invest in their progress, you give them an immense amount of confidence going forward.

Use Tech To Monitor warehouse Performance

Want the exact details about what’s slowing your team down efficiency? You’re going to have to go beyond just a stopwatch and notepad. Instead, use metrics to analyze and monitor performance. What’s more, performance metrics for staff members may be used to provide incentives to improve productivity, like incentivized pay.

Hire More Staff

Ok. We get that not everybody is in a fortunate position to do this right now, but if you’ve got the money, we’d highly recommend you increasing your workforce. One of the most common causes of slow productivity is a warehouse being understaffed. 

Not only will that degrade overall efficiency, but it also stretches your current employees who are having to do far more than their job description entails. This is likely to lead to high staff turnover. The simplest way to increase warehouse operations productivity is to hire more staff.

Here at Spectra360 we have plenty of resources to help you during your company’s hiring process. As things continue to evolve, we invite you to reach out to our team if you have any questions! Click here to contact us: www.spectra360.com/contact