Common Warehouse Problems and How To Prevent Them
Although warehouses can be an impressive display of productivity and safety, some problems can hinder those factors. This guide to three of the most common warehouse problems and how to prevent them will help business owners prioritize productivity and safety every day.
Disorganized Inventory
One source of warehouse inefficiency comes from inventory issues. These issues include incorrectly recording stock availability and placing products in the wrong area. These simple mistakes can cause employees to needlessly waste time looking for a product that isn’t there. These issues can also cause employees to struggle while looking for available storage spaces, which won’t do your workflow any favors either.
Inventory issues are typically a human error, and automation is a popular method for preventing them. Automating your inventory records helps accurately monitor product information, minimizing the chances of incorrect data hindering your workflow.
Lackluster Employee and Equipment Performance
When you hire an employee, you should provide them with a thorough, concise training course. If warehouses don’t monitor employee performance, it can lead to reckless practices becoming commonplace. Making the effort to monitor employee performance means you can swiftly make any necessary improvements.
Use this principle with your warehouse equipment, too. From forklifts to belt conveyors, monitor your machinery regularly and confirm that all routine maintenance takes place when it should. Without regular maintenance and proper handling, your equipment’s performance will diminish over time, potentially posing a safety risk to employees.
Inefficient Warehouse Design
When you’re thinking about common warehouse problems and how to prevent them in your facility, analyzing your floor plan is key. Your warehouse floor plan shouldn’t be random—design a facility that ensures no employees have to travel excessive, inefficient distances to complete tasks. Make sure you’re not sacrificing safety standards in the process.
For instance, some common forklift operator mistakes pose a substantial safety risk to nearby employees. For this reason, you should design your warehouse in a way that keeps forklifts away from other workers whenever possible. You can do this while still laying out a productive path for your forklifts. By keeping employee health and efficiency in mind early on, you can design your warehouse in a way that allows forklifts to travel along a safe, useful path.
