2018年5月31日
众所周知,成功的仓库操作必须优化两个关键成分; 空间和时间。为了控制成本和优化生产力,我们可以将其分解为三个考虑因素; 空间,人员和设备。所有人必须
和谐共处,才能使运作具有竞争力。
设备
第一个要考虑的领域是确保您拥有合适的混合物 (mixture) 和合适数量的设备。如果您的物料搬运设备提供商有可用的信息,那么通过在线跟踪系统是了解每件设备的使用时间和时长的最简单方法。
使用在线跟踪系统意味着您可以识别单个机器上的使用率,并且您可以轮换机群以确保优化合同中包含的其他较少使用的机器上的时间。通过这些信息,您可以就可能的设备规模(fleet)合理化做出明智的决策,以满足您的(仓库)不断变化的需求。
季节性波动
当您需要确认设备(fleet)数量时,应考虑需求的季节性波动。您可能需要在日历中的某些点上比在一年中的其余时间内更多的机器。与其在这些高峰时段始终保持您需要的机器数量,为什么不考虑短期雇用呢?利用短期雇佣的灵活性,可以在繁忙的时期提高您的工作效率,而不会长期增加您的设备规模(fleet),从而节省大量成本并完成工作。
服务和维护协议
一旦掌握了机器数量和运行时间,就值得查看有关频率和类型故障的信息。这使您可以识别趋势,解决重复出现的问题并长期节省现金。例如,如果经常发生轮胎损坏,则可能表明卡车正在运行的地形不太理想。这使人们有机会审查环境以及卡车用于解决任何问题和最大限度地减少未来损害的方式。
员工
如果在查看您的故障和损坏成本时,您可以通过工作人员处理机器的方式确定模式,额外的培训和内部活动可以提高对损害真实成本的认识,这通常可以减少它们,并有助于支持良好的操作员技能,例如,驾驶员意识日为驾驶员带来了许多有趣的挑战。它允许他们将他们的驾驶技能进行测试,同时通过“猜测零件的更换成本”等挑战帮助提高对损坏成本的认识。
另一种简单的方法是创建在设施周围使用的海报,以提醒司机更换零件的成本(因为他们可能不知道他们真正花了多少钱)并鼓励他们照顾机器。
通过教育赋予权力当您等待受过训练的操作员使用特定机器时,生产力是否会被搁置?为什么不识别工作人员在使用该机器时进行培训?很可能是培训成本低于延迟生产力的业务成本。空间
重要的是要不断评估您使用可用空间的效率。可能您之前已经广泛地完成了这项工作,但您已经经历了数量的增长或您的业务多样化,以前的布局和方法不再是最有效的。使用仓库的3D模拟可以演示操作流程并确定发生拥堵或风险的位置。它允许您在没有承诺的情况下试用可能的替代布局,并且是展示变更和改进原理的绝佳工具。
It is commonly understood that a successful warehouse operation must optimise the two key ingredients; space and time. To control costs and optimise productivity we can break this down into three considerations; space, staff and equipment. All must work harmoniously together to allow the operation to function competitively.
Equipment
The first area to look at is ensuring you have the right mixture and number of machines. The simplest way to get transparency on how each piece of your equipment is being used, when and for how long, is to use the information available via an online tracking system if your materials handling equipment provider has one available.
Using an online tracking portal means you can identify high usage on individual machines and you can rotate the fleet to ensure you optimise the hours you have included in your contract on other less used machines. This information allows you to make informed decisions about possible fleet rationalisation to match your site’s evolving requirements.
Seasonal fluctuations
Seasonal fluctuations in demand should be considered when you review your fleet numbers too. It is likely that you will need more machines on site at certain points in the calendar than during the rest of the year. Rather than keeping the number of machines you need during these peak periods on site all the time, why not consider short term hire? Use the flexibility of short term hire to boost your productivity through busy periods without adding to your long term fleet, delivering a substantial saving overall and getting the job done.
Service and maintenance agreements
Once you have the number of machines and the hours of operation right, it is worth looking at your information on breakdowns for frequency and type. This allows you to identify trends, address recurring problems and save cash in the long term. For example if tyre damage is a frequent occurrence it may indicate that the terrain the trucks are being run over is less than ideal. This gives the opportunity for review of both the environment and the way in which the trucks are being used to remedy any issues and minimise future damage.
Staff
If when looking at your breakdown and damage costs you identify a pattern with the way machines are being handled by staff, additional training and an internal campaign to raise awareness of the true cost of damages can often reduce them and help to champion good operator skills, for example, driver awareness days featuring a number of fun challenges for the drivers. It allows them to put their driving skills to the test whilst helping raise awareness of damage costs through challenges such as ‘guess the replacement cost of the part’.
Another simple method is to create posters to use around the facility, to remind drivers of the cost of replacement parts (as they may not be aware of just how much they really cost) and to encourage them to look after the machines.
Empower through education Is productivity put on hold while you are waiting for a trained operator to use a particular machine? Why not identify a rota of staff members to train in the use that machine? It might well be that the cost of the training is less than the cost to the business of the delayed productivity. Space
It is important to continually assess how efficiently you use the space available to you. It may be that you have done this extensively before but that you have experienced a growth of volume or diversified your operations and the previous layout and methods are no longer the most effective. Using a 3D simulation of your warehouse can demonstrate a flow of operations and identify where congestion or risks occur. It allows you to trial possible alternative layouts without commitment and is an excellent tool for demonstrating rationale for change and improvement.
At Briggs Equipment, we can help you to address all of these areas. We don’t just supply and maintain forklifts, we have a very diverse range of equipment suitable for all warehouse applications available on a variety of leases to suit your business needs and help you cope with seasonal and fluctuating demand whilst minimising costs. We also provide operator training, advise on controlling costs associated with your materials handling fleet, provide you with fleet insights at your fingertips via BE Portal and can help you plan your warehouse space through a 3D visualisation programme.
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