Chances are you’re familiar with the concept of warehouses. You’ve seen the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark where the sacred Ark of the Covenant is rolled into storage among a number of other crates and boxes, right? If not, you’ve definitely passed by those big buildings that store all sorts of items from presents to furniture to business supplies. Warehouses are a necessary part of business operations for all sorts of industries. And while you may be familiar with the general concept of warehouse storage, you may not understand every component of running these facilities.
For those who work in warehouses, you know safety, security, and efficiency are the most important parts of your job. You need the right tools to help provide these necessary packages and storage systems for companies all across the world. You are responsible for the organization, storage, and transportation of these goods and there are so many people counting on your efficiency. But a worker is only as good as their tools. So you need the best equipment in the game to guarantee you are doing your job to it’s fullest potential. From lifts, carts, and conveyors to online organization and communication, find the right pieces and tools to do the job right. Here are just a few areas where you can get the best equipment for your warehouse.
Safe Energy Sources
Any building needs to be powered somehow. Especially in your warehouse when you have conveyors and lifts and all sorts of electric items working together in harmony. The first priority should be making sure your energy is coming from a safe source. Different companies and providers have years of experience as technicians ready to provide you the best customer experience. You don’t have to be an expert in thermal expansion of your boiler to feel safe and secure in the warehouse.
Rely on the experts who can handle higher temperatures, perform preventative maintenance, avoid liquid leaks, and keep to OSHA standards. Whether you’re using boiler power or mechanical systems, the bottom line is you need to handle any thermal expansion and find the best way to keep everything running without any cracks in the system or gases getting out. Reliability is the name of the game. And with great thermal expansion equipment for your boilers and mechanical systems, you won’t only be staying safe, but you’ll increase efficiency and lower your energy costs as well.
Communication Tools
A warehouse is rarely the final destination for most items. You are usually the middle man or the storage unit for boxes that are in transit. Because of this, your warehouse management is probably communicating with a large number of clients and vendors. It can be time-consuming to speak with callers and take every voice call that comes your way. You still want to create that exceptional customer experience, but you don’t have a ton of downtime to do so. It may be a good time to turn to a Call Center as a Solution (CCaaS). This is a cloud solution where your customer interactions take place offsite with the help of contact center software that is then relayed back to the warehouse.
CCaaS charges a small fee to handle all your contact center and analytics needs on their own site with their team and their tools. Take that pressure off yourself and let the experts handle that great customer service for you with the help of a cloud contact center. This will ultimately allow you to be a better supervisor onsight, focus on quality management, and aid your overall scalability while keeping up with customer satisfaction.
Dock Equipment
Once you’ve handled your energy and how you want to communicate, it’s time to get into the nitty-gritty of what equipment you need to do your job. Dock equipment is first on the list of important pieces to secure. When items arrive at the warehouse, they come in on big semi-trucks and have to be unloaded onto the dock. This is a place where safety and workforce management are vital. To operate efficiently, you need to be ready to customize your equipment to the ever-changing trucks coming in. This saves time and energy for your staff while keeping everyone safe. You should have a whole supply of dock boards, lifts, levers, truck restraints, bumpers, and wheel chocks to help unload and reload equipment quickly and without injury.
Specialized Conveyors
This next tool is used in a lot of places beyond warehouses. You’ve heard of a conveyor belt, right? Well, that general idea of conveyors is paramount in the running of a warehouse. Rather than using human labor to carry heavy boxes all day, you can use conveyors to move products quicker. The lowered human interaction also lowers risks for your staff and for error.
Heavy-Duty Carts
In the event where individuals are transporting cargo, you don’t want them doing that without any help. It may sound like a basic concept, but carts are an incredibly important part of warehouse operations. Whether you need pallets or tugger carts, these solutions allow you to move more material at a time and complete the high number of tasks you’re dealing with each day.
Lifts
Warehouses have to be large buildings in order to store everything you have. Not only do they have a lot of floor space, but they also have room to grow and store up. With the help of sturdy shelving units, you can store items one on top of the other to really maximize the use of your space. Of course, people can’t lift a box up 30 feet, so that is where forklifts come in. You simply load boxes onto a forklift, and with the help of some automation, it lifts your item to its new location in real-time. This is the best way to get the job down and you deserve to upgrade to this method and design. Just make sure you’re staying on top of your forklift engine maintenance so your service solution doesn’t end up causing you more trouble.
Storage
Oftentimes you’ll have boxes at the warehouse for an extended time. Keep your storage organized with the right tools. Not every piece you’re dealing with comes in large boxes. You may need your own bins, shelves, and carousels to keep those smaller items organized. It is also key that you remember where everything is and set up an efficient storage system. Download software or keep a master spreadsheet. With such a large facility, everything has its place and you may need a road map to be sure you remember where all the parts and pieces are located.
Scales
This piece of equipment may easily get forgotten, but it is important to have scales and weighers throughout your facility. Your shelving units, conveyors, or the trucks that transport materials can only support a certain amount of weight. Avoid a disaster by staying on top of how heavy all your pieces are and never overloading any systems.
Building Maintenance
At the end of the day, a warehouse is still a building and has needs for basic building equipment. Make sure you have industrial-grade lighting that will allow you to do your work. And keep things cool with big fans or AC. Set up your bathroom and have emergency washing stations in case of an emergency. These are the last-minute updates that will help secure the best warehouse for your needs.
