The following is a guest post by Tom Reddon.
Have you been looking for an innovative way to enhance and drive performance and safety in your workplace? Have you been looking for a tactical, strategic and innovative way to do so? Supply chain optimization is exactly what you are looking for! Supply chain optimization is as the name entails: implementing approaches and methodologies to ultimately maximize output by adhering and conforming to certain best behaviors. While there are many tools and resources that can aid any organization in executing this process, there are steps you can take right now to begin to catalyze these efforts. There are many benefits to supply chain optimization and almost all positively affect performance and safety. Among the short list of immediate results you will see, include a clean and organized workspace, streamlined business processes and reductions in deficiencies. Here is the scoop:
1. Cleans and Organizes Workspace
A common cause of workplace accidents and incidents is failing to maintain a clean, neat and orderly workplace. Not doing so creates distractions and further enables employees to be side-tracked from the task at hand. It is often in these instances, an accident is bound to occur. Supply chain optimization aids in cleaning and organizing workspace in that it stresses the availability of the most critical raw materials, products, goods, tools and components. According to the Stärke Material Handling Group, it is essential for employees to inventory and take account of their various cleaning supplies to ensure these are readily available when needed.
This is most important when dealing with spills or hazardous materials. It is advised that any set of cleaning supplies include mops, brooms, domestic agents, oil cleanup kits and receptacles to dispose of waste. Furthermore, spill kits in general are a must add.
2. Streamlined Business Processes
Simplified business processes are fundamental in bolstering performance and safety. Essentially, a streamlined business process allows personnel to “work smarter and not harder”. This is commonly encouraged by many leaders in manufacturing and logistic trades as it allows resources to be properly allocated to the most business-critical tasks. Supply chain optimization allows any business to streamline their processes in that it eases the flow of people and the products created. Additionally, supply chain optimization aids in transport, logistics and regulatory compliance which once again plays an instrumental role in reducing hold-ups, decreasing liabilities and mitigating vulnerabilities at large.
3. Track Errors
Building on what we have expressed vehemently, tracking errors is paramount to both enhancing performance and bolstering safety. This is achieved through continuous monitoring of trends to identify and ultimately eliminate the most pertinent deficiencies. These deficiencies almost always impact daily operations and as a result reduce efficiency and decrease workplace safety. Optimizing your supply chain with some of the advanced technologies and practical theories of today will assuredly be an asset in this initiative. Not only do the interfaces track errors but they isolate them expediently and recommend swift courses of actions to eliminate them. Supply chain optimization is essential in this aspect of material handling and enterprise-wide process improvements.
Tom Reddon is a forklift specialist and blog manager for the National Forklift Exchange. He also sits on the Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association (MHEDA) Executive Dialogue team. Follow him on Twitter at @TomReddon.
