Could your warehouse run more efficiently?
A poorly designed warehouse can not only cause accidents, but can also severely impact on your supply chain.
Before taking drastic and expensive measures to sort out any issues, you should first look at improving your warehouse layout.
Safety and Efficiency
You don’t have to choose one or the other when designing the layout for your warehouse, you can incorporate them both if you are thinking about safety from the very beginning.
Large signage that is constantly visible is a must but that shouldn’t be the only thing you use.
No matter how much signage you have, sometimes unexpected issues can arise. Implementing fool-proof processes and procedure such as interlocking dock controls and allowing plenty of space for machinery to manoeuvre are a must.
Know your Warehouses Requirements
A good knowledge of stock turnover, incoming returns and static volume is essential if you want to design a warehouse that works.
Improving your warehouses layout isn’t all about implementing procedures and spending out on hi-tech safety controls, good business knowledge is essential too.
Understanding how to maximise your space, before things get out of hand will lead to a more effective supply chain and a more profitable business.
Tighten Up your Docking Stations
Implement strategies to avoid contamination by ensuring there are seals and shelters for vehicles that are ready to dock.
This is often a forgotten area when it comes to improving your warehouse layout but can stop outside contaminants from ruining inside stock or harming members of staff.
These improvements are a necessary expense if you want to protect your business from profit loss further down the line.
Prevent Tampering
Improving the layout of a warehouse is as much about keeping team members safe as it is about keeping cargo out of the hands of thieves.
Trailers and vehicles in docking stations are a part of your warehouse layout too and should therefore be treated with the same amount of care as inside areas.
An external tampering sensor, that can sense when a vehicle has been opened or separated from the dock, is just one idea that can help to improve the layout of a warehouse.
Properly Separate Pedestrian and Vehicle Areas
Not only can separation improve safety within a warehouse, it can also contribute to a more efficient work day.
Using permanent or temporary barriers to divert the different flows of traffic to their respective areas helps to keep pedestrians away from the blind spots of moving vehicles, ensuring their safety.
It also means that team members on foot can move around more freely without worry, increasing productivity drastically.
These are just some of the ways you can improve your warehouse layout, but for professional expert advice contact Total Logistics - Supply Chain Consultants.