Active floor management allows managers to improve performance within the distribution center in 3 main ways. Be sure to regularly walk the floor to stay abreast of issues.
By having management show presence on the floor on a regular basis, it helps to recognize which workers might require more training and which might be the next to be promoted to a supervisory position; it shows you consider the floor and everything which occurs there and the workers to be vital to the overall operation and very essential; finally, you could address issues as they occur.
Determine the Use of Space: To begin with, you must determine the cube utilization within you workplace, making sure to check how much empty space is situated near the ceiling. Implementing higher racks and narrow aisles and particular forklifts which work in those kinds of environments can greatly increase how you move and store supplies. What may not seem like a lot of wasted area could mean thousands of extra dollars and square feet with a few adjustments.
Check for Obsolete Inventory: Like for instance, if a SKU or stock-keeping unit has not moved in over a year, then it is considered to be consuming valuable space. Also, if you have numerous half-full pallets which are staged or stored in aisles, you are also not using available space to its full potential. By re-organizing existing stock and doing an inventory overhaul, much space could be made to accommodate faster moving items.
How is the Flow of Product? Check to see if the product flow is both sequential and logical, by taking the time to trace how precisely product flows through your facility regularly. Approximately 60 percent of direct labor in the warehouse is allotted to traveling from one place to another. You can potentially have less personnel completing the same amount of work by being aware of product flow. Being able to move personnel to finish other jobs instead of having employees doubled up transporting things will get more work out of the same amount of personnel.
The order filling method should be reviewed and if it is identified that a variety of SKUs are mixed-up in one place. If orders do not require things of this mix, pickers are wasting time. Another big waste of time is having the same SKU situated in many places inside the warehouse. Get the staff used of going to a specific place for each and every specific thing so that they are just looking in one place and not traveling through the warehouse checking more than one location for the same item. These small changes can vastly enhance the overall effectiveness within your warehouse.