Responsibilities often include the management of activities and resources that affect the design, planning, control and monitoring of the supply chain to fulfill the objective of creating optimal value in their operation.
Telematics is a way of monitoring the movements, status and behavior of a vehicle and its operator. This information gives management complete, real-time knowledge of their fleet activities in one centralized interface, to increase productivity, reduce labor costs, improve customer service, increase safety and reduce operating expenses. Many Operation Managers have looked to this technology to provide them with more data to gain insights on their operations, in the form of devices that are mounted on each Fork Lift truck in their fleet. These truck mounted devices record key data events and transmit them to a database where reports can be retrieved.
- Operator Verification which limits operation of the truck to only those trained and approved operators identified by their Employee code or badge.
- Truck checklists must be performed and approved by Operators on the truck before the truck can be put into operation.
- Impacts of the truck with rack, product or the building can be recorded and reported on. Reports can including the date, time, Operator name and force level.
- Truck and Operator Utilization based on onboard hour meters including Key switch, Dead man, Travel and Lift.
Data from these events can be arranged in reports to provide significant insights of the warehouse operation 24/7 to help make process improvements, increase productivity, reduce risk and damage in the workplace, instill driver accountability and realize labor savings.
If you are an Operations Manager in an organization without one of these systems, you must ask yourself if you are able to answer these six representative questions.
- How many trucks do I truly need in my operation?
- How many Operators does it take to pick my orders in a shift, day, week, month and year?
- Who are my top operators?
- Is utilization balanced across my fleet or am I overusing a truck while others sit?
- Am I getting the value out of my Maintenance program or am I wasting money?
- Who is causing the damage to my Products and Racks in the warehouse?
The answers to these six simple questions could significantly improve the efficiency of any warehouse and are attainable if the Manager had access to the data available from their truck fleet.
Warehouse and Labor Management systems have been available to managers for some time. Telematics offers a unique solution that can either offer visibility to the dark corners of those earlier solutions or provide an enlightened first step in getting your warehouse efficiency where it needs to be in order to succeed in this competitive marketplace.
