Warehouse Improvement Options for 2009

Impact of Aisle Widths
Inventory reduction efforts over the past couple of decades have increasingly changed the focus from warehousing and storage density to material handling and speed.

Industries that would previously manufacturer a six-month supply of an item, store it in high-density storage such as bulk floor storage or drive-in rack, and ship out in full-truck-load quantities are now manufacturing a two-week supply and shipping one pallet, one case, or one piece at a time to their customers. While this doesn’t negate the need for a warehouse or the importance of space utilization, it does change the storage characteristics from long-term high-density storage to temporary selective storage.

Determining optimal aisle width is a critical part of an overall storage/material-handling strategy. Aisle width decisions must attempt to achieve the best combination of productivity, space utilization, flexibility, safety, and equipment costs for the specific application. Assuming you’ll continue to use the aisle widths “you’ve always used” or “other warehouses use” could be a costly mistake.

The primary constraints to aisle width are the type of lift trucks used and the characteristics of the loads being handled. Since you probably can’t significantly change the characteristics of the loads being handled, you’ll find that the aisle width decision is actually a material handling equipment decision.

Aisle Types

Lift trucks used for handling unit loads in racked storage are categorized by the aisle widths they are designed to be operated in.

Wide Aisle (WA) trucks are the standard counterbalanced lift trucks that have become synonymous with the term “forklift”. Wide aisle trucks generally operate in aisles greater than 11’ with 12’ being the norm for handling 48” deep loads.

Narrow Aisle (NA) trucks operate in aisles of 8’ to 10’. This is primarily the domain of the stand-up reach and double-deep reach trucks.

Very Narrow Aisle (VNA) trucks generally operate in aisles of less than 6’ and often use guidance systems (wire, rail, optical) to travel within the aisles.

Space Savings

There are many factors to consider when calculating potential space savings. These would include vehicle specs, load size, load weight, rack height, and facility factors such as warehouse dimensions/shape and structural support locations. To give some general comparisons, assuming a standard 40”x48” load weighing approximately 1500 lbs and using wide aisles as the baseline, you can expect to be able to store 20%-25% more product by going to a narrow aisle system and 40%-50% more by going to a VNA system.

Contact us for a complimentary facility assessment for 2009 projects..

You Do That?

Southworth Products - A Leader in Ergonomic Innovation
When they began writing about Ergonomics more than 30 years ago, Southworth Product Corp. was simply attempting to bring more scientific perspective to a common sense issue. If you consider the capabilities and limitations of the worker in the design of the workplace, the worker will be more productive and that productivity contributes to profit.

Improvement in productivity from the use of ergonomic equipment is easier to achieve and more important than ever. Lean manufacturing requires minimizing material handling and any approach to their products do just that. Southworth leads the industry in product innovation. Check out some recently introduced products.

PalletPal Pallet Inverter / Rotator
With the ability to handle pallet loads measuring up to 48" x 48" x 60" high; the Southworth Product Corp PalletPal Pallet Inverter / Rotator is a simple, rugged machine designed to invert entire pallet loads. The pressure adjustable clamping mechanism easily secures loads up to 4,400 pounds and rotates them 180 degrees on a massive anti-friction turret bearing.

PalletPal Roll-In Level Loader
The Roll-In Level Loader features a unique low-profile design that allows it to be fed with an ordinary hand pallet truck. Simply pick up a palletized load, raise the pallet truck and roll the load into position. The pallet moves over the Roll-In while the pallet truck rolls between the outside platform and the center support beam. By eliminating the need for forklift trucks, costs are reduced and productivity is improved.

PalletPal Mobile Leveler (Straddle)
Perform multiple functions with one versatile machine. Use it by itself as a mobile pallet positioner or as the perfect companion to feed your other PalletPals. As a transporter it moves effortlessly throughout the plant. It's a lot less expensive than a ride on fork lift and it doesn't require special training or certification to use.

PalletPal Lift Truck
If you use open bottom containers or skids, you can now transport and palletize with a single unit. Loads can be adjusted up and down at the touch of a button.

The knowledgeable eyes of Morrison Company’s sales and engineering teams can identify trouble spots for you and in many cases help you to correct workplace problems that are robbing you of productivity and exposing you and your workers to the dangers and multiple costs of injuries. Contact Morrison Company today for an assessment of your needs.

Ergonomics Best Practices

Determining Manual Material Handling Risk
Recognizing the importance of proper manual material handling [MMH] is a critical step in the job improvement process. There are many types of manual material handling tasks in industry, for example, lifting raw materials and finished products, pushing carts, and carrying boxes. These tasks represent a continuum of ergonomic exposure from low risk to high risk.

The most common body part affected by MMH is the back, which often suffers strains, sprains, herniated discs, joint inflammation, and dislocation. The average cost of each low back injury is $24,000, as reported by the National Council on Compensation Insurance.

Determining Which Jobs to Improve

In order to make planned and practical MMH improvements in a facility, we must first quantify the exposure to ergonomic risk in a job by gathering three pieces of data:

• Previous musculoskeletal disorders
  
  
• Operator discomfort
  
  
• Ergonomic risk based on force, frequency, posture, and duration
  
  

Developing Practical Solutions: Some Considerations

Once we have determined which jobs involve the highest ergonomic risk, we can develop practical solutions to address those risks. Organizations typically look for inexpensive and easy solutions that mitigate the operator exposure to ergonomic risk. Important considerations when implementing practical material handling solutions are:

• Ergonomic risk reduction
  
  
• Budget
  
  
• Productivity
  
  
• Number of operators affected
  
  
• Timeline
  
  
• Ease of implementation
  
  

A Hierarchy of Controls

When developing solutions to ergonomic issues, there is an accepted hierarchy of controls: (1) engineering improvements, (2) administrative controls, and (3) work practices modifications. Engineering controls, such as changes to equipment or workstations, are the method of ergonomic risk reduction Certified Professional Ergonomists prefer. Engineering controls provide an excellent opportunity to remove the source of ergonomic risk from a job.

Administrative controls are changes to task responsibilities that reduce exposure to ergonomic risk factors. These types of controls are dependent on good planning and require management or supervisor oversight. They do not eliminate ergonomic risk factors but may reduce risk exposures to an acceptable level.

Work practices modifications are changes to procedures and work methods that reduce exposure to ergonomic risk factors. These controls depend on individual work behaviors and require ongoing supervision, monitoring, and correction by leaders. They do not eliminate ergonomic risk factors but may reduce some contributing factors.

Why not contact Morrison Company today for an ergonomic review of your manufacturing or distribution facility operations.

Warehouse Improvement Best Practices

Identifying Improvement Opportunities in Your Warehouse Operations

Warehouse and distribution operations are relatively simple from an operational perspective, which may be why they’re so often overlooked when it comes to lean applications. Despite their simplicity, however, there’s often significant opportunity for cost savings. Warehouse and distribution operations tend to be associated with high levels of activity — people and products in constant motion. But activity should not be confused with productivity.

Rather than proceeding in a smooth flow, they tend to stack up and sit in queues in between processing steps. There are also many problems causing delays that can occur within picking, packing, and loading process steps.

• Waiting for forklift
  
  
• Looking for ladder
  
  
• Blocked aisles
  
  
• Scanner issues
  
  
• Inventory issues
  
  
• Interruptions
  
  

• Waiting for equipment
  
  
• Looking for tools
  
  
• Conveyor issues
  
  
• Interruptions
  
  

Effectively applying lean operating principles in a warehouse or distribution operation takes a fundamental change in perspective. The concept is to “assemble” orders in a similar fashion as products flow in an assembly line. To implement lean principles, begin with a time study and analysis of the order fulfillment process. Determine the average cycle time to process orders from beginning to end. Identify value-added and nonvalue-added work elements, and determine the time consumed by each. Calculate the value-added ratio as an overall indicator of the potential improvement. Then, assess workflow for delays, inefficient picking paths, wasted motion, congestion, and equipment availability.

Organization Is Key

Further improvements can be gained by organizing the warehouse so that product is easily found and retrieved. Review warehouse layout and product storage, and make improvements to the overall layout and product storage strategy including:

• Modify aisle and rack layout to improve space utilization.
  
  
• Arrange products ordered most frequently closest to the shipping dock to reduce travel distance.
  
  
• Implement visual identification systems for aisles, racks, products, and workflow.
  
  
• Employ put-away processes that prevent cluttered and blocked aisles.
  
  
• Establish organization and housekeeping systems to improve efficiency by ensuring tools and equipment are available when and where they’re needed (a place for everything and everything in place).
  
  

Once the pilot is complete, conduct another time study to validate the results, and make adjustments as necessary. An important success factor in transforming a warehouse or distribution operation is measuring and monitoring performance. It’s important to establish performance targets such as lines or orders processed per labor hour. Measure them consistently to drive continuous improvement.

Contact Morrison Company about developing the most efficient storage design for your warehouse’s picking operations.