Best Practices for Cleaning and Organizing Your Warehouse

Keeping a clean and organized warehouse is a crucial component of running an efficient operation. In addition to slowing down daily operations, goods can become misplaced and people can get injured if a warehouse isn’t organized.

Addressing a messy warehouse might not be easy, but this post will cover how to organize and clean your warehouse:

• Draw up a new floor plan: The first step in organizing your warehouse is often creating a new floor plan. Make sure your floor plan allows for a smooth flow for the workday. For example, make sure inventory can move easily from receiving to storage. Get input from your employees about the best way to lay out your warehouse.
• Review storage capacity: Ideally, your warehouse will always be at maximum storage capacity. If there’s any wasted shelf space, you’re essentially paying to store air. Multiplying height by width and depth will give you your facility’s storage capacity in cubic feet. Consider updating your shelving or aisle spacing if you think you could have more storage space in your building.
• Post signage: Navigating through a massive warehouse is difficult enough on its own. Updating the whole floor plan makes getting around even harder! Set your employees up for success by posting clear signage to ensure they know where everything is located.
• Provide maps: It’s not a bad idea to hand out maps to employees after cleaning up your disorganized warehouse. While signs do wonders to help everyone navigate, maps can take everything one step further to ensure employees are as efficient as possible. Additionally, a map can help prevent frustration for new employees.
• Create cleaning checklists: Tidying up should be part of everyone’s shift. Create and post a daily cleaning checklist that includes items like sweeping and disinfecting work surfaces. These quick items will keep your warehouse clean and safe and will improve efficiency by ensuring everything is in order.
• Keep aisles clear: Things are constantly in motion in a warehouse. To ensure things run as smoothly as possible, be sure to keep aisles clear for any moving vehicles or individuals. Along with ensuring a more efficient workday, clear aisles reduce injury risks.
• Classify inventory: There are many ways to classify your inventory, but consider classifying items from A to D, with A goods moving the fastest and D moving the slowest. This classification system keeps everything in order while ensuring your warehouse is as efficient as possible.
• Train your staff: Now that everything is organized, you’ll need to train your staff on how to operate in their new environment. Make sure to set expectations for your employees, especially when it comes to cleaning and staying organized throughout their shifts.

Ready to learn more?

We’ve only scratched the surface of how to increase efficiency in your warehouse. Contact our team at Remis Power Systems Inc. if you’d like to learn more about warehouse organization or you need new industrial batteries. With over four decades of industry experience, our pros can set you and your operation up for success.

Categorised in: Warehouse Tips

This post was written by Writer