Human error is one of the most unpredictable and irritating aspects of doing business. After all, even with all your planning, you can't guarantee you'll be able to root it out entirely. Still, if you know how to reduce human error in your warehouse, you can significantly limit the damage!
Work on your automation
If you approach an expert logistics company, they will readily confirm the fact that the future of the industry will require greater automation. It is simply far too good a chance to eliminate minor daily tasks that do nothing but consume your employees' time. And it is a fantastic way to speed up completing more complex tasks. However, its best advantage has to be its ability to reduce human error in your warehouse and business. After all, automation deals primarily with raw data and planning. Making mistakes with numbers in a warehouse can cause absolute chaos. Just imagine mistaking the volume of items about to be delivered! Similarly, automation can plan out the best possible placement organization for those items within the warehouse, maximizing space use.
Look for experienced employees
Of course, eliminating human errors during the planning phase is only step one of the process. The real problems often start when you try to carry out those plans. If your employees mess up here, it won't necessarily only end in suboptimal warehouse running. It can also often end in damaged goods or even injuries to your employees. After all, no matter how carefully you pick the right warehouse layout, it won't matter if your employee is not used to it and keeps going to the wrong places! The easiest way to overcome this hurdle is to hire experienced and qualified employees. Their employment history ensures they are versatile and can perform their tasks to specification.
Provide sufficient training
Yet, while our previous tip is the most optimal way to handle this issue, it is not perfect. As Eagle Van Lines moving company experts like to point out, hiring experienced employees is difficult. The current job market is such that the number of companies looking for them is much higher than the number of available skilled workers. So, you will inevitably have to hire some complete beginners. The solution here is never just to let them 'learn on the job!' By doing this, you guarantee they will damage your warehouse's daily operations. Untrained staff would also ruin your efforts to reduce human error in your warehouse. The natural way to include them in your workforce is first to put them through training. At the very least, you need to provide them with experienced mentors to oversee their work for a time.
Work at a steady pace
To reduce human error in your warehouse, you must stop putting your employees into scenarios where they are more likely to make mistakes. Most warehouses seem to oscillate between periods of rest and rampant activity. And this is not entirely possible to prevent. After all, the arrival of delivery trucks dictates this schedule. What you can do is ensure that your workers still perform at a measured pace rather than harry them along in an attempt to increase 'efficiency.' At the end of the day, you are losing far more than you are gaining through errors made along the way in this fashion.
Optimize your warehouse
Optimizing the facility is one of the most important ways to reduce human error in your warehouse. We've touched upon choosing your layout carefully. However, it is just as important to plan out every aspect of your facility thoroughly. If you deal with cold chain logistics, you must ensure you can take advantage of the benefits of a climate-controlled warehouse. If you opted for tall shelving, ensure your employees have the equipment to use it safely. You can't entirely eliminate human error, but you can give your employees all the tools they need to minimize it!
Final comment
Now that you know how to reduce human error in your warehouse, you can start introducing the measures to your warehouses! Just remember that human error can't ever truly be eliminated. Especially when training new employees. So, have patience and understanding when dealing with their mistakes.
For over 30 years, 18 Wheels Logistics has strived to be the most customer-centric trucking, warehousing, and logistics company around. Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 18 Wheels relies on experience and integrity to make customers happy and remain on the cutting edge of shipping and logistics management.
If you have any questions about this article or you would like to talk to us about your shipping needs, please call us at (604) 439-8938.
