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

2. Resource Planning & Labour Management
Section 12

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. Resource planning
Copyright D.G. Richards 2015

8. Labour management systems
Copyright D.G. Richards 2015

9. Copyright D.G. Richards 2015

10. Activity profiling
Copyright D.G. Richards 2015

11. Staff management – hours of work
The classic shift pattern is as follows:
Shift – 1400 hrs
Shift – 2200 hrs
Shift – 0600 hrs
Shift – 1700 hrs
Team 1
Team 2
Team 3
Team 4
Monday wk 1
0600 – 1800
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

12. 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

13. 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

14. Management
Copyright D.G. Richards 2015

15. 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

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