Assess the density and type of storage—rack
type, configuration, and height; the type and
velocity of products stored in those racks; and
aisle widths, intersections, travel paths, and other
features that affect vehicle travel. Then comes
product velocity, or throughput: how many units
must be moved per hour or shift.
Track exactly what your lift trucks do, and
where and how they do it. “Think in terms of the
product lifecycle and movement for a particular customer,” recommends Greg Mason, warehouse product consultant, Mitsubishi Caterpillar
Forklift America Inc. (MCFA). That might include
how and where a particular
product will be received, put
away, and then picked and
shipped, he says.
As for where to find all
this diverse data, managers
can tap a variety of sources.
A warehouse management
system (WMS) can provide
insight into throughput,
including pallets per hour
and the velocity of individual stock-keeping units (SKUs). Hour meters can
determine how much traveling and lifting trucks
are doing, data loggers attached to batteries can
measure energy usage, and fleet management software can generate detailed performance reports
for individual vehicles and operators as well as for
different classes of trucks.
But it would be a mistake to rely entirely on
technology. You simply can’t make an informed
decision without site surveys or assessments by
technically knowledgeable observers, including
the forklift dealer’s representative and someone
from your own team—“the site survey guy who
knows the lift truck and the guy with the need,”
as Clark Simpson, product marketing engineer for
Clark Material Handling Co., puts it.
Indeed, local dealers—and for large projects, a
material handling consulting engineer—should
be involved in site surveys. They’re trained to
conduct and interpret the results of those assess-
ments, and they can apply what they’ve learned
from previous projects to your situation. You’ll
also need input from your warehouse operations
team, and speaking with lift truck operators is
critical. “They’re the ones who live and breathe
this, and they typically have very good insight into
productivity levels,” Mason says.
Site assessments, including demographic and
time-study application surveys, are essential
because they provide an accurate picture of what’s
actually happening on the warehouse floor—not
just what the numbers say
is happening. For instance,
a software-generated report
might indicate that a lift
truck has a high utilization rate, says Bill Pedriana,
director of sales for Big Joe
Forklifts. But what it might
not show is that the operator
is using the vehicle for personal transportation. That
kind of qualitative information, obtainable only through direct observation,
can reveal opportunities to make big gains in
efficiency.
How much information should you gather?
The most important thing is to cover not just
normal periods but also your least busy and your
peak times, says Susan Comfort, product man-
ager, narrow-aisle products marketing for The
Raymond Corp. But don’t limit yourself to think-
ing about the past, she cautions. “You should
also anticipate future needs. For example, if your
business changes, then its peak demand might
also change.”
Pedriana agrees that it’s valuable to look at his-
torical data but adds a caveat: Business practices
are changing so quickly, he says, that if you go
too far back, you may not capture what’s actually
happening today. He further suggests regular
