Tag Archives: Human Error

Warehouse operations are the foundation of any company that processes and ships orders. An efficient warehouse means that you’re optimizing labor costs, getting a good return on investment on your space, and, most importantly – ensuring your customers get their orders on time. At USC Consulting Group, we believe that warehouse operations can be used to boost your business’ growth. Want to learn effective strategies to do so? Keep reading to find out!

Reduce the Potential for Human Error

According to The Balance, human error is one of the most significant contributors to decreased productivity. Human error can set back deliverables, delay orders, and mess up operations systems. But how can you reduce such occurrences? Well, it will be critical to ensure that every employee undergoes proper training. This will help reduce the events of basic mistakes. However, there will always be a certain error level irrespective of training. To mitigate this, invest in solid warehouse design. Some solutions to implement in your design will be clearly labeled products, easy-to-access racks, and scannable items.

Organize Your Inventory Properly

A well-organized warehouse can pave the way for optimized operations. An intuitive workflow, logical storage, and segregated products will ensure your employees know where to go, what to do, and how to find items. By following a systematic method into your inventory organization, you’ll be able to process orders faster and with more ease. Below are some easy organization strategies to implement today:

• Best selling products close to the front
• Stack inventory higher to optimize space
• Use information and photographic labels
• Always store like products with like products

In addition to physically organizing your warehouse, keep everyone on track and productive through digital tools as well. For example, create a process map to allow your team to analyze processes and outcomes while assigning and reviewing tasks. This will keep your workflows organized, as the whole team will get both the micro and macro picture of what they’re working on.

Incentives for Workers

You’re relying a great deal on your employees when it comes to warehouse operations. You will have to keep your workforce happy and thriving to boost productivity. Setting up an accepting and uplifting workplace will be critical for this, as company culture sets the tone for employee performance. In addition, offer incentives to workers to motivate them to do better. Reward systems could be tiered or pay-based, but make sure the rewards are tangible and make a difference to your workers.

Track Results

An essential part of any company’s operations is tracking results, Demonstrating Value reports. Besides monitoring marketing and financial performance, be sure to follow your operations performance. Set up metrics for evaluation, for example – time efficiency, capacity utilization, safety, production costs, and quality concerns. Use logistics technology to track these results consistently for reliable data, and then streamline from there. This is a great way to optimize operations, as it will keep you pivoting and adapting to change. Furthermore, warehouses have lots of moving parts. Tracking results helps narrow down which strategies are working and which aren’t. You also want to consider real-time data so you can see how each warehousing process is doing in a timely manner.

Running a warehouse is a complex puzzle, and it requires an excellent level of planning, physical optimization, and analysis. Be sure to follow these strategies to ensure that your warehouse operations run like a well-oiled machine – it is truly a great way to grow your business to the top.

Need additional support for optimizing your warehouse operations? USC Consulting Group helps companies reach their highest potential by improving operating excellence across the supply chain. Click here to learn more about what we do today.

*This article was written by Dean Burgess. Dean runs Excitepreneur, which celebrates the achievements of entrepreneurs. He understands that there are many types of entrepreneurs, and strives to provide helpful information to assist them in achieving their particular idea or goal.

Back to top ↑

Production involves different processes that run concurrently or independently, with operators and technicians handling several tasks at one go. They monitor the working conditions of machinery and the quality of products. As such, plant floors are ever busy, making safety a priority for companies. They establish and enforce safety regulations to enhance the consistency of processes, eliminate workplace injuries and minimize breakdowns.

Human error is among the leading causes of plant floor accidents leading to workplace injuries, equipment and product damage, pollution (non-compliance) and death. Human errors may arise from fatigue, slips and lapses, psychological stress, technical mistakes, or violation of safety regulations. Reducing human error and accidents on the plant floor goes beyond establishing a safety mindset among employees. Below are tips for reducing human errors and accidents on the plant floor.

1. Automate processes

There are several automation technologies for improving the consistency and accuracy of processes while minimizing human intervention. They range from basic control systems for starting, sequencing and stopping production to complex robots with artificial intelligence which perform repetitive tasks without fatigue. Conveyors and autonomous mobile robots replace forklifts for material handling, transporting large loads. Advanced robots have visual guides to enable them to navigate obstacles, thereby reducing plant floor collisions.

Automation systems are programmed to perform tasks following specific procedures, leaving no room for errors. They are equipped with automatic safety switches to stop processes when production conditions are violated. Automation reduces operator exposure to moving equipment parts and improves material handling.

Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) are platforms for automating maintenance workflows. Companies upload equipment safety information, manuals and standard checklists that outline maintenance activities and intervals. Technicians navigate CMMS programs on mobile devices, allowing them to access accurate maintenance information promptly. CMMS solutions reduce maintenance mistakes and standardize operations, guaranteeing uniformity.

2. Develop standard operating procedures

The human factor in production means that individuals may skip or modify procedures to complete tasks faster. In some cases, the company provides mismatched safety and operational policies, breeding confusion during implementation. The incoherence of policies and ambiguity of procedures lead to more errors, more accidents and frequent production stops.

Companies need to compile all procedures in a single document, providing detailed instruction for accomplishing each task on the production floor. Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) increase the consistency of floor operations while leaving little or no room for errors. These documents use straightforward language to outline step-by-step guidelines, reducing the misinterpretation of policies.

Technicians de-energize production equipment when performing routine or emergency maintenance. To protect technicians and equipment, companies use equipment-specific lockout tagout (LOTO) procedures. They outline how to shut down processes, block energy sources during maintenance, tag equipment under repairs, startup procedures after maintenance and authorization protocols. In case of a technical mistake or unplanned re-energization of the system, lockout devices block the hazardous energy and signal technicians of impending danger. They halt the repair process and resume once they remove the hazard.

3. Audit facilities and perform conclusive root cause analysis

Equipment design and plant floor layout contribute to accidents. Proper arrangement of production equipment facilitates seamless continuity of processes while enhancing the safety of employees. When designing plant floor equipment, companies should consider ergonometrics. Equipment should be sized appropriately, fitted with protective safety guards and emergency switches. The plant floor should have adequate lighting, clearly marked walkways and visible safety signs.

Frequent facility audits enable companies to identify flaws on the production floor that escalate human errors. They inspect all machinery, check maintenance records and verify compliance of processes to internal and statutory regulations. Through facility audits, companies identify accidents that occur frequently and their causes. Insights from these audits facilitate future optimization plans, focusing on minimizing the impact of human errors in the production process.

Facilities may fail to investigate minor accidents since some operators or technicians underreport or disregard them. However, it is prudent that companies develop an accident reporting format that captures any incident irrespective of its magnitude. Accident reports enable companies to perform conclusive root cause analysis for the elimination of inherent hazards. Results of root cause analysis can be used to tailor safety training.

4. Conduct extensive staff training

Hiring a pool of skilled employees is not sufficient surety that human errors and accidents will happen. Over time, plant floor operations overwhelm the employees as they struggle to hit production targets amid other personal distractions. Companies upgrade machinery and adopt newer technologies as they strive to improve productivity and enhance compliance. Staff training is a continuous process that companies utilize to strengthen the technical capabilities of staff, introduce and explain safety policy changes and the consequences of non-compliance.

Through on-the-job maintenance training programs, technicians gain invaluable skills in troubleshooting and correcting equipment defects within a short time without errors. Technicians become aware of the safety procedures and understand how to exploit technological tools and protective equipment to eradicate plant floor accidents. Companies use training programs to equip operators with fundamental machinery diagnosis and care skills for identifying and correcting minor errors independently.

Final Thoughts

Reducing human errors on the plant floor is a collective responsibility that requires proactive action by staff and the management. The company provides correct work tools, trains staff, and guarantees the safety of facilities. Employees should follow safety regulations, report defects and accidents, use machinery correctly and adhere to standard operating procedures.

*This article is written by Bryan Christiansen. Bryan is the founder and CEO of Limble CMMS. Limble is a modern, easy-to-use mobile CMMS software that takes the stress and chaos out of maintenance by helping managers organize, automate, and streamline their maintenance operations.

Back to top ↑