In the United States, the storage unit industry brings in approximately $22 billion dollars annually — and warehouses function like storage units for companies, enabling them to get products to customers. They are especially important to the functioning of online retailers, which means that the demand for safe and efficient warehouses continues to grow. The latest technology is being used to improve warehouse safety and efficiency. New technologies are reducing injuries, speeding up essential processes, and monitoring everyday conditions. In other words, these advancements are now playing an essential role in how the average warehouse functions and keeps up with consumer demand.
How Technology Contributes to Warehouse Safety
Warehouse fires have become remarkably less frequent in the past three decades: there were 4,700 in 1980 but only 1,200 in 2011. Of course, improved fire safety and regulations aren’t the only means to keep employees safe. Some of the newest ways to use technology can help ensure safety in addition to increasing efficiency. Here are some of the technologies and practices being used to promote safe warehouse environments.
- RFID sensors: Radio frequency identification (RFID) sensors are important for keeping track of inventory, as well as for warning workers if they come too close to a potentially dangerous area. This helps to prevent injuries on the job. An RFID reader is affixed to equipment and each worker is given an RFID tag. The reader has the ability to sound alarms and turn off equipment when it encounters unsafe conditions.
- Automation for repetitive tasks: Workers can be made safer by the use of automation for certain tasks. Robots can complete work that might cause injury to people and they can perform work that requires repetitive motion, lowering the risk of strain for workers. The National Academy of Social Insurance reports that in 2016, almost $62 billion of workers’ compensation coverage was awarded to injured employees. While the notion of automation isn’t always popular, robots can reduce worker injuries and save on worker’s compensation payouts.
- Automated forklift operation: Automation may drive forklifts and pallet jacks as the technology for autonomous vehicles grows more sophisticated. This could lower the risk of worker injury by forklift — one of the most frequently reported types of injury in warehouses. For companies that aren’t prepared to shift to this technology, regular and thorough maintenance of equipment is crucial to reducing equipment failures that might cause injuries.
How Technology Contributes to Warehouse Efficiency
Warehouse inefficiency is a problem companies continue to work hard to solve. Less than 30% of warehouses are functioning efficiently, as reported by iBenchmarking Warehouse Performance. Here are some of the technologies being used to increase efficiency.
- Barcodes and wearables: Amazon has been criticized for tracking warehouse worker efficiency with wearable technology. But the same technology is being used by a number of companies to get an idea of which tasks are difficult for workers and how those tasks can be made easier. Barcodes are frequently used with RFID tags on packages to track their departures and arrivals at the warehouse and to see how the packages are moved once inside the warehouse. This helps companies track worker efficiency.
- Sustainable tech: Technology helps to lower energy use, product waste, and emissions. This allows companies to comply with federal and local environmental requirements. Using light-emitting diode (LED) lighting instead of old-fashioned fluorescent bulbs conserves power. Monitors can also help a warehouse use energy more efficiently in the long run by keeping power from being wasted in unused areas.
- Dimensioning systems: This technology determines the dimensions of boxes, packages, and pallets, entering the measurements into the warehouse receipt. Some systems can work with scales so that both dimensions and weight are entered into the receipt. Some dimensioning systems even take high-definition digital pictures of cargo to give customers a record of the condition of their goods.
- Software platforms: Virtually all companies that want to stay competitive need to employ software that will make their warehouse function more efficiently. Software offers a wide variety of management systems for warehouse operations. These computer programs track inventory, carry out customer orders, and assist in all kinds of monitoring. Managers can leave handwritten notes behind and use hand scanners and similar technologies that connect to the software.
- Warehouse design technologies: You don’t want to give up efficiency by fitting all the inventory you can into inadequate warehouse space. In the United States, warehouses typically cost $5.50 for every square foot, but efficient use of space is as important as cramming in all the items you can. New technological advances can assist you with creating an ideal warehouse floor design, tracking outbound and inbound processes, and storing products without wasted space.
- Mobile technologies: The typical warehouse clerk walks 30 times a day from their work station to the computer area. Mobile technology allows employees to engage with software systems from any location in the warehouse. Efficiency is increased by the use of mobile computers and printers. Most rugged tablets and computers can hold up to tough conditions, like dust, shock, and extremes of temperature and humidity. Mobile printers let employees create labels from any location within the warehouse, providing there is a sufficient wireless network.
Technology is constantly changing the way we do business, and companies operating warehouses are no exception. New technological advances such as RIFD sensors, automation, barcodes and wearables, dimensioning systems, software, and mobile computers and printers are helping to make warehouses safer and more efficient.
