Lift trucks are small industrial vehicles that have attachments which enable it to transport and lift a variety of different loads. These types of machines are very useful in warehouses and within factories, and are normally used in construction, aviation, shipping and receiving, dockyards and agricultural industries.
When compared to a standard truck or car, forklifts operate on a rear-wheel drive system and this makes driving somewhat strange. As these machinery carry their cargo at the front, the center of gravity is consistently changing and this could make the forklift unstable.
To be able to make certain that packers receive complete orders, the packing operations have been improved. The packers are not worried with whether or not the order is complete and they are very busy to be running around the warehouse concerned with anything missing. It's a great idea to see if packers have an adequate amount space by observing their activities and making sure that they have a sufficient amount of room so that they are in a safe working environment. If packers are tripping over boxes or bumping into each other, hazardous situations could happen.
One more good idea is to provide a consistent workflow in the packing area. By ensuring packing operations do not change between rush hour activity and dead periods, everything will run smoother. If any changes are detected, it might be a good idea to revise your picking method in order to make sure that everything is operating effectively.
Gain input from your operators. If you teach material handling and forklift operators and warehouse employees about process improvement, you will improve overall effectiveness drastically.
Another approach is to ask the staff to identify one task they perform and to detail all of the steps involved in performing the task. Then ask for feedback on how this process can be improved. Normally, there are lots of great ideas the employees will come up with to be able to help streamline their work and improve overall effectiveness.
To decipher their process tricks, one more great method is to observe the best operators. Then, have those operators teach other workers how to save effort, and time. By doing this, you may be able to discover a real leader amongst the operators and significantly improve your effectiveness.