Storage and Warehousing Techniques Warehouse Management, 3rd edition by Gwynne Richards Published November 2017 (Kogan Page) Copyright D.G. Richards 2015

Resource Planning & Labour Management Section 12

Resource Planning Maximise the utilisation of resources and avoid idle time or additional costs through overtime Balance warehouse throughputs between days Normally daily or weekly planning Copyright D.G. Richards 2015

Controlling labour productivity Time and motion studies Determine time period Determine number of pallets/cases handled during the period Determine total hours worked in the period for all activities Divide total number of cases by total number of minutes to determine case per minute throughput Copyright D.G. Richards 2015

Establishing timings Manual operations Time taken Pick up and put down small pallet Pick up and put down carton Walking empty handed Walking with hand pallet truck Fork truck operations Pick up and put down pallet (PU/PD) Hoist up and down (HU/HD) Travelling Time taken 10 seconds 20 seconds 61 metres per minute 30.5 metres per minute 65 seconds 20 seconds per metre 120 metres per minute Also need to take into account preparation (collecting, equipment, pallet, paperwork) Human factors (Skills, motivation, fatigue) Mechanical factors (battery changing, attachment changes, re-fuelling) Operational factors (location system, product placement, congestion) Can be a significant time factor Copyright D.G. Richards 2015

Timed events Activity Description Daily volume (Average) Productivity standard (units per hour) Hours required MHE type Other equipment Activity (units) Unit of measure Put-away Collect pallets, put-away in wide aisle racking 198 Pallets 24 8.25 FLT RFS Collect pallets, put away in drive-in racking 300 16 18.75 Collect pallets, put-away in pick locations 2 5 0.4 PPT Copyright D.G. Richards 2015

Resource planning Copyright D.G. Richards 2015

Labour management systems Copyright D.G. Richards 2015

Copyright D.G. Richards 2015

Activity profiling Copyright D.G. Richards 2015

Staff management – hours of work The classic shift pattern is as follows: Shift 1 0600 – 1400 hrs Shift 2 1400 – 2200 hrs Shift 3 2200 – 0600 hrs Shift 4 0800 – 1700 hrs Team 1 Team 2 Team 3 Team 4 Monday wk 1 0600 – 1800 1800 - 0600 Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday wk 2 Tuesday wk 2 Others: School hours, twilight shifts Match available hours to demand!! Copyright D.G. Richards 2015

Staff management - supervision A recent survey carried out by Cranfield University showed the average number of operators per supervisor were as follows: Small warehouse (<10,000 square metres) 1 supervisor per 8 operators Large warehouses (>10,000 square metres) 1 supervisor per 15 operators Today’s supervisor should have eight critical attributes: Excellent communication skills Ability to delegate effectively Motivational Problem solving skills Comprehensive knowledge of company processes and procedures Be customer oriented Teamwork skills Flexibility Copyright D.G. Richards 2015

Management skills - teamwork Team-working skills and capabilities include: Ability to work in a group Ability to build relationships Emotional intelligence Ability to cope under pressure Negotiating skills Ability to cooperate Coordination and allocation of tasks Influencing skills Ability to compromise where necessary Ability to make decisions Copyright D.G. Richards 2015

Management Copyright D.G. Richards 2015

How to engage warehouse staff - Invest in training for all parts of the workforce - full time and temporary. Produce worker instruction manuals in user-friendly formats and multiple languages if the workforce mix justifies it - Provide a simple process flow map to show the end-to-end supply chain and how each step impacts the final customer so you engage your warehouse staff and make them feel part of the bigger process - Where possible, give your staff an opportunity to see and work through the whole delivery centre process right up to the point of the retail store - Providing clear guidance on what you expect from your staff through visible KPIs - Providing corporate branded items such as clothing creates a sense of belonging, especially for third-party logistics providers - Give third-party logistics provider staff the same staff discount - Ensure communication is simple, clear and concise Copyright D.G. Richards 2015

The importance of people! Copyright D.G. Richards 2015