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EP 221: Warehouse Standards

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In this episode, I discuss warehouse standards and their importance. This has been one of the most important things to getting fully effective processes in place during my career in warehousing.

Standards Breakdown

  • What is a standard?
    • A process that is proven to be effective and is repeatable with the desired outcome
    • Rules that are put in place to ensure the right outcome is achieved every time
  • How to develop a standard
    • Map out your process that you want to standardize
    • Include all aspects of the process; no matter how small
    • Evaluate the process to see if it makes sense; can you improve any steps?
    • Ensure the process gives you the desired outcome
    • Get feedback from the parties doing the process
  • Document, document, document
    • If the standard is not documented then it might as well not exist
    • Tribal knowledge will kill you when the person with the knowledge leaves
    • Everything should be documented and readily accessible for reference
    • Update documents accordingly when changes are made
    • Create a standard for organizing your documents
  • Training
    • The key to having your standards succeed is to ensure the training is robust
    • All employees should be well versed in the standard and trained from when they begin
    • Do not throw them out there and train later
    • Start them right and with the expectation
    • Follow up on training periodically and ensure that it is top of mind
  • Improvements
    • Be sure to review your standards for potential improvements periodically
    • Value your employee’s input; they know the process the best
    • If something doesn’t make sense question it
The New Warehouse Podcast

EP 221: Warehouse Standards

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