WINTER 2021

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THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK
ROBERT FOOTLIK MAKING SENSE OF THE WAREHOUSE from page 46
A great manager will spot someone else doing it and
commend them on the spot to reinforce their behavior.
Really seeing what is happening in real time and making
someone feel good can deliver a powerful message about
management expectations while enhancing morale.
Look up in a warehouse with occupancy sensors on
the lighting and you will know where the people are working.
Watching the pattern of how the lights turn off might also
tell you where they have been. This is especially important
if there is a security cage (Who was just there?), high
priority quick pick aisle (Why isn’t there anybody there?)
or a dead inventory area at the back of the warehouse
(Why should anybody be in there?). Anti-collision mirrors in
strategic areas might serve the same purpose. Cameras
that record warehouse events are only as effective as the
images are reviewed. Looking up might tell you when and
where to investigate.
My late Father was my mentor and he could be
astounding. One night we went thru a warehouse with a
client when there was no one else in the building. After
the tour we sat in the owner’s office and he discussed at
least 15 problems in the warehouse in detail. Not just what
he observed, but also who was doing it. The pornography
wallpapering the receiving area ceiling for example was
indicative of too many people with too much time on their
hands. That was obvious. It was when he started naming
employees and their work habits that got my attention.
When I asked him about this later he admitted that all he
had to do was look at their lockers and Joe’s locker with
the pornography easy to identify. Joe’s name was right
there for anyone to see.
What do you HEAR?
Your ears can be surprisingly effective when you filter
out background noise and actually listen for anomalies.
That noisy unit heater over your head has a bad bearing
that’s cutting into the fan shaft. A squeaky wheel on an
order picking cart is costing extra effort and might prevent
safe operation. A whining hydraulic pump on the forklift
is frequently indicative of low fluid levels. None of this is
immediately catastrophic but the wise manager practices
preventative maintenance that is often based on unusual
sounds.
People also make some unusual sounds indicative
of preventable problems. A raised voice, a quiet curse
or these day’s excessive coughing means it’s time for a
management intervention. What you hear might not be
intelligible but inflection and perhaps body language can
tell you what needs to be done. Cultivating the ability to
really listen to your staff is the key to maintaining good
morale and building an effective team. It isn’t just what
they say, it’s how they say it.
What no one wants to hear is a crash, bang or
explosion. Vision might be blocked, but the type of sound
will dictate whether you should run towards the disaster or
away from it as fast as you can. A loud noise followed by a
bright light might dictate grabbing a fire extinguisher as you
yell for someone to call 911. But a strong odor of natural gas
calls for shutting down the gas supply which might be in the
opposite direction while yelling for everyone to get out NOW!
The fallacy of most security camera systems is that
they don’t include audio. How many warehouse incidents
have you seen on YouTube? Almost none of them are
accompanied by audio. You can only imagine how the
cascading pallets, glass bottles, empty cans or pallet racks
falling like dominos sound. Similarly, having video evidence
of theft or illegal activity might be far more damning if one
can hear what is being said by the participants. Don’t go
into the warehouse without your ears on.
What do you SMELL?
Our olfactory nerves can detect amazingly small
concentrations of molecules that travel long distances
wafted by even small air movements and this provide an
astute manager with a wealth of information.
An LP gas powered forklift that emits a strong exhaust
smell may be running a fuel mixture that is too rich, or
burning oil excessively. Either condition can be potentially
expensive, but the problem might also be a leaky exhaust
system that fills the warehouse with carbon monoxide.
Either way it’s time to get the vehicle serviced.
Similarly, in one operation I visited an electric forklift
went past when I was speaking with the warehouse
manager. He stopped the operator and told him to take the
truck to a charger ASAP. Why? Because he smelled battery
acid from an outgassing, uncharged battery. Someone forgot
to plug it in overnight. Not a disaster yet, but what might have
happened if the equipment went dead at a critical moment?
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