How To Increase Warehouse Efficiency With Tool Cribs
The efficient running of a warehouse is critical to your entire company's success. Some companies go so far as to hire consultants to visit their organization and assess their company's efficiency.
In order for you to increase efficiency, your warehouse must be kept clean, organized, and orderly. To keep your warehouse clean and organized, tool cribs should be a cornerstone of your warehouse. To learn more about how tool cribs can help organize your warehouse, read our blog The Role of Tool Cribs in Warehouse Operations if you didn't catch it earlier.
In today's topic, we dive deeper into how our tool crib solutions can maintain and increase warehouse efficiency through our modular design.
Tool Cribs Designed For Custom Warehouse Needs
There is no one-size-fits-all solution for warehouse efficiency because there are no two warehouses that have the same needs or design. Warehouse efficiency begins with the layout of your floor, and every process decision you make that impacts productivity, costs, and ultimately your business' bottom line.
There are many ways you can customize your WireCrafters tool crib. Our stock panels come in one foot increments from 1' to 10' wide and in heights of 4' and 5'. These standardized units allow flexibility and variety for you to create a truly custom solution. A variety of panel options can be chosen from including woven wire panels, welded wire panels, expanded metal panels, polycarbonate panels, and sheet metal panels can all be used. For entry, you can choose from a full line of hinged, double hinged, and sliding doors for tool crib use.
Injuries and Lost or Disorganized Items Directly Impact Organizational Efficiency
A cluttered warehouse signals to employees and visitors alike that warehouse operations are not where they should be. Injuries and lost or misplaced items are just two of the consequences warehouses will see as a result of unorganized space.
Of course, safety should be the number one priority in every warehouse. Injuries alone can hurt your efficiency because an injured employee requires full attention, and that accident can impact the productivity of other team members for even days after. Of course, injured employees also require time off work meaning they are unable to fulfill their responsibilities. Proper placement and storage for tools and equipment can help reduce opportunities for injury.
Once safety is addressed and optimized in your warehouse operations, then efficiency will be quick to follow. Our tool cribs can be used for securing all types of equipment, inventory, and products within a facility. This includes large, heavy, and potentially dangerous machinery. If you have equipment that only a handful of employees should have access to, custom locks are available to control access to tool cribs. Additionally, when designing a tool crib or storage cage for safety purposes, they can also be equipped with ceilings for an added layer of security.
Increase Your Warehouse Efficiency With Tool Cribs
Utilizing the entire facility in the most efficient way can be a huge task to accomplish. We understand as we have our own plant and warehouse at WireCrafters.
Placing the right amount and type of shelves and storage space for each sector of your warehouse, while keeping traffic patterns and work processes in mind, will optimize efficiency. If you're unsure about what kind of storage your warehouse needs, the following applications can be adapted to meet your unique needs.
Our tool cribs allow you to keep a comprehensive list of your entire tool set and provides a designated, organized area for all tools to stay. When an employee needs a tool, they can go to the tool crib and sign out what they need and sign it back in when they're finished with it. This allows you to keep track of your inventory which can provide additional insight into how you can continuously improve an efficient workflow each day.
See how our tool cribs have helped solve real-life warehouse efficiency problems by catching up on our case studies.
Lastly, it's clear we believe our tool cribs can aid in your efficiency. But we can't go without sharing some of our most important advice to successfully become an efficient warehouse. Effectively managing your team members, being sure the right people are in the right roles, will ensure the job is done and done well. Additionally, time management is so important for an efficient workplace. Tracking time, understanding proper expectations for workflow, eliminating time wasters as best as possible. We encourage you to focus on these things. They are definitely time–and energy– well spent.
