If you’ve ever stepped into a warehouse, you know that it can be a hectic, fast-paced environment with very little downtime. Trucks come and go all day and pallets and boxes are moved about the warehouse constantly. Considering those things, it’s impressive that anybody can keep track of all of the day’s accomplishments. One often overlooked and underappreciated task required in running a warehouse is keeping it clean. The benefits of a clean warehouse reach far beyond simple hygiene – a clean warehouse promotes organization, efficiency, and productivity.
There are some relatively simple yet necessary tips for keeping a clean warehouse. Ensure the warehouse is well lit and the floors are free from clutter. An uncluttered floor means more open pathways for employees and forklifts, as well as casualty reduction. When employees don’t have to worry about hazards like slips, falls, and injuries, they feel safer and there will be less employee turnover.
The floor should be maintained throughout the day and washed every night so that it is ready to go the next morning. This includes running floor scrubbers regularly. Dust mopping every night is vital as well. Your customers don’t want their products accumulating dust, and it’s your job to keep all of the inventory as good as new. Trash cans should be emptied, and podiums should be cleaned at the end of every shift. This creates a professional, healthy and trustworthy environment, which customers or vendors will appreciate if they ever visit your warehouse.
When all of the cleaning tasks have been finished, freight should be checked to make sure that all required products are actually in the warehouse and that those that were supposed to ship out that day were indeed sent away. If existing freight has a destination, it should be tagged to prevent any future mix-ups. By providing a clean and organized warehouse, these daily tasks will be made simpler and allow your workers to focus on more labor-intensive tasks and problem-solving.
It may seem elementary but doing all the easy things to keep your warehouse clean on a daily basis will contribute to a more productive and healthy work environment. When your workers are accustomed to doing all the small things right, that work ethic will transfer to the big things, allowing your organization to increase successes in on-time shipping and delivery, and minimizing your claims by reducing damage. If you want to work with a clean, high-quality, and determined warehouse, get started today with Zip Xpress.
