The warehouse is an area that plays a pivotal role in the success of any business. Its primary function is to receive and despatch goods throughout the day, and even during the night. As you can imagine, a company that sells physical products to its customers needs to have a functioning and efficient warehouse.
While most businesses run their warehouses like a well-oiled machine, there are some that need to improve their operations. Do you feel like your warehouse is in danger of becoming a disaster zone? If the answer is yes, today’s blog post is for you!
Keep reading to learn more about the kinds of problems a typical warehouse will have, and how you can avoid them. Here is what you need to know:
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Workplace injuries
The sad truth is that warehouses pose a high risk of danger. A typical warehouse will have pallets being moved around on forklift trucks all the time. And when those pallets get stored, they are usually done so on rows of heavy steel racks.
It’s important that all workplace injuries get kept to a minimum, especially in your warehouse. The good news is there are plenty of steps you can take to ensure that is the case. For example, you can have marked “zones” painted on the ground that should be free of obstructions (like boxes and pallets).
Another thing you could do is make spot checks on your staff to ensure they understand how to correctly handle bulky items.
Speedy handling
You might think being able to handle goods in a warehouse quickly might actually increase potential injuries. But, if you have a streamlined, tried and tested system in place, you can almost eradicate any workplace injuries in your warehouse.
For example, how do you move goods from one part of your warehouse to another? Having people carry them manually is both laborious and time-consuming. Instead, it makes sense to “roll” them along ball transfer tables. Or you could use mechanical conveyors if you’ve got a large warehouse.
If goods don’t get moved or allocated quickly, a backlog will soon occur. Not only will that impact your company’s logistics efficiency, but it can also pose health and safety problems.
The wrong employees
For such mission-critical work, it is crucial that you’ve got the right staff on board. It’s important that all potential employees get vetted before you offer them a job.
For a start, you want to make sure they have the right skills and experience necessary. Plus, you also have a legal obligation to check their credentials. In other words, they must have the legal right to work in the country.
If you don’t have an HR department to screen potential employees, consider using a recruitment agency. They will ensure only the perfect candidates get put forward for any warehouse jobs you wish to fill.
Conclusion
The above examples are some of the typical issues that most, if not all, warehouses face on a regular basis. By tackling them, you’ll have an efficient warehouse that poses no risk to health and safety or legal compliance.
