Get Off to a Great Start in the New Year with These Resolution Ideas for Your Warehouse

Posted by: admin on October 21, 2022

The start of a new year is a good time to make improvements to your warehouse. You can make it safer, more efficient, and more productive. If you need ideas for how to improve your warehouse, here are some New Year’s resolutions that might help you.

Resolve to Get Safe

One of the best things you can do to start the New Year is to focus on safety. This is important because accidents and injuries in the workplace can be costly, both in terms of time and money. Fortunately, there are some easy steps you can take to reduce accidents and injuries in your workplace. First, make sure that your employees are properly trained on how to use the equipment in your warehouse. Many accidents can be prevented with good training. Second, make sure that your employees have the proper equipment they need to work safely and comfortably. This may include personal protective equipment (PPE), places to warm up if it is cold outside, and safe spaces for breaks.

Resolve to be OSHA Compliant

OSHA inspections can be a problem for warehouses. If you want to start implementing New Year’s resolutions for your warehouse, make sure that your processes and employees are compliant with OSHA standards. Providing OSHA-required training to your employees is an easy way to get started with being compliant. This is especially important for warehouses that use aerial lifts, forklifts, and pallet jacks. There are two benefits of providing OSHA required training: you meet the requirements that keep your warehouse running, and you have a safer workforce. Both of these benefits will help improve your bottom line by reducing accidents and downtime.

Resolve to Get Organized

Efficiency is important in a warehouse. This means that you want to spend as little time as possible on tasks that don’t help you earn money. Few people who manage warehouses would disagree that more productivity is better for their company’s bottom line. When it comes to warehouse efficiency, no tool is more important than the forklift. If your team hasn’t yet completed OSHA-compliant forklift certification training, make it a goal in the new year. This will help you make the most of these incredible machines.

Resolve to Optimize Your Warehouse Layout

Forklift efficiency starts with warehouse optimization. When your warehouse is poorly organized or is not laid out in a logical manner, it can slow down production, create traffic flow problems, and slow down productivity in general. If you’ve noticed that your warehouse can use some improvements in how it’s laid out, how the product is stored, or how your shelving is organized in regards to traffic flow, the New Year is a great time to make changes. For many warehouses, the beginning of the year is a slow, quiet time. Why not take advantage of a slow season and make organizational changes to the layout of your warehouse?

Resolve to Improve Technology

New technology can be expensive, but it can make a substantial improvement in the way your warehouse operates. If you are using outdated automation equipment or software that has been around for more than five years, chances are your productivity isn’t at the level it could be. Make it your New Year’s resolution to invest in new automation equipment or a software upgrade. This can save time and money when it comes to how long it takes to produce or ship a product. You can also better manage orders and track supplies with improved warehouse management software. This saves time for your employees and reduces problems related to lost or delayed orders.

Resolve to Reduce Shipping Errors

One of the best New Year’s resolutions for your warehouse is cutting down and shipping errors. Reducing shipping errors can help improve customer satisfaction and sales in the long term. They also take up a lot of internal resources to fix as procedures need to be carried out to correct these mistakes. Tracking identification technologies can significantly reduce the number of times the wrong product is shipped to a customer. RFID technology can help ensure the correct items are loaded onto trucks leaving a warehouse and are shipped to the right customers. This reduces shipping errors and also the time is taken to sort items later on.

Resolve to Prioritize Continuous Training and Improvement

Making sure workers know what to do and when to do it is essential. This should be a process that happens regularly. There should be reviews and updates on new technology, as well as inviting feedback so problems can be fixed quickly. The sharing of information freely helps to reduce risk and increase efficiency and inclusion. When tracking assets with RFID technology, we can see where things are getting backed up or lost items. This then tells us if training is needed in certain areas of the warehouse to solve this.

Resolve to Develop Employees

Happy employees are productive employees. Many facilities or warehouse managers automatically think this means that they have to pay their employees more. However, this isn’t always the case. As you brainstorm New Year’s resolution ideas for your warehouse, consider incentivizing productivity. Many times, giving employees a small incentive to grow and improve is all it takes to keep employees happy and productive. Incentive programs should provide a good challenge to employees, that will help them grow and become better employees but shouldn’t be so challenging that even your best employees cannot be successful. Your new incentive program doesn’t have to cost a lot of money or require a party every time something good happens. It should, however, reward the work features that are important to your warehouses, like speed, productivity, efficiency, accuracy, and safety. 

With blue collar jobs on the rise, you’ll want to prioritize incentives and employee development if you hope to keep your most valuable employees on staff. By investing in your team, you’ll send a clear message that you see a future with them at your warehouse. You’ll also help employees grow their skills and foster a safer work environment for everyone. Professional development like forklift certification training programs are a great way to do just that. The best part? Developing employees doesn’t have to take a lot of time or money. In just about an hour’s time, your entire team can get OSHA certified to drive forklifts. It’s a powerful addition to any resume and a real boon to the safety of your warehouse.

Make Safety a Priority Every Year!

This is just the start of the New Year’s resolutions that you can make for every year. For you, the warehouse or facility manager, the start of a new year is a great time to begin making your workplace the best it can possibly be. By improving the way your warehouse runs through better organization and upgraded technology, you increase productivity and reduce slowdowns caused by an inefficient workplace. Improving the safety, productivity, and motivation of your employee makes the changes to organization and technology even more useful for your company. Happy and safe employees will work harder, be reliable team members and may even stay with your company longer.

Look into the online, OSHA-compliant equipment training from CertifyMe.net to make this year your safest and most cost-efficient year yet! To begin your training or learn more about our offerings, simply click here or dial 1-888-699-4800.