(Courtesy: Active Ride Shop at flickr.com)
Anyone who might think that the job of a warehouse manager is easy hasn’t been one. A manager of a warehouse must have knowledge of all facets of a warehouse business including safety and OSHA regulations, productivity, slotting and organization, preventative maintenance, boxes and containers, staffing and management, training and education, and shipping and receiving. You bet it’s not a simple job.
Breaking down what is required knowledge in each category further shows how complicating the job can be.
When the manager has his safety hat on he must be responsible for the protection of all the personnel that work in the warehouse. He needs to be concerned about loss of hours due to unsafe working conditions; have an awareness of the company’s equipment training program and how to use the right tools for specific jobs; he must also be a traffic cop observing the driving abilities of his staff of forklift operators; and he must be aware of things within the warehouse that can cause a forklift accident including loading lifts with merchandise from elevated shelves and the condition of aisles, ramps and flooring surfaces. And, of course, there is those pesky OSHA rules that he needs to make sure are complied with.
When he is wearing the productivity hat, he needs to understand workflow and the process of order picking. Moreover, he must be able to identify problems that cause a slow down in productivity and he needs to be flexible so that he can make changes in the operation when productivity slows down or falters.
Then there’s the slotting and organization hat. In this case, he needs to know where to place inventory to assure efficient operation and also be certain that the workers are safe.
His preventative maintenance hat means that he must be somewhat of a gas station mechanic and have knowledge of how to properly maintain forklifts and other equipment. He needs to have an understanding of regular maintenance schedules and the condition of his fleet of lifts and other equipment such as pneumatic pallet jacks. And he needs to be scrutinizing things to make certain that proper maintenance is not being ignored.
How about the boxes and containers hat? Not only does he have to make certain that there are boxes and containers available in which to pack the orders, he needs to ascertain the condition of those boxes and containers to assure that they don’t cause damage of the products packed in them when they experience the bumpy ride during delivery.
Some time during a typical day he will have to wear the staffing and management hat. He needs to be aware of human resources issues, salaries and who deserves a raise, how and when to evaluate workers and how to motivate the troops.
Then there’s the educator’s hat. You need to know how to create and maintain training classes for all categories of workers including forklift drivers, pickers, technicians, office workers, custodian personnel, order takers, IT personnel, and more. How often do you require a forklift operator to go through refresher training? Moreover, you need to stay aware of any innovations in the methods of training.
Finally, there is shipping and receiving. A manager has to be certain that the orders being shipped are properly labeled and loaded on to the appropriate trucks. You need to be aware of the incoming stuff and make certain that they are properly identified and stored in the appropriate area.
It is complicating. Of course, you should delegate tasks to others on your staff that can focus on each category. However, as the manager you need to know how the operation works so that you can spot problems and make changes when necessary.