Skilled Operators Help Maintain Warehouse Performance

The combination of increased warehouse activity and challenging hiring conditions has made skilled forklift operators as important as ever, which means attracting and retaining them should be a top priority. While workforce transition is inevitable,  there are steps you can take to reduce turnover and enhance operator satisfaction and retention.

Revisit the Operator Experience

There is no time better than now to look at the operator experience within your facility. Beyond personal breaks and potential downtime, your operators may spend almost the entirety of their day on a forklift. It is important to understand how they engage and interact with the equipment, because it can directly affect their comfort and stamina, overall well-being and satisfaction while working. A positive experience can keep them focused and motivated to perform better. A negative experience resulting from fatigue, body aches and discomfort can lead to distractions and dissatisfaction.

Let’s look at three focus areas that can potentially enhance the forklift operator experience and increase job satisfaction.

Emphasize Safety and Training

Developing a culture of safety through well-developed training programs can equip operators to have more confidence on the job. Operators may feel more comfortable and valuable knowing that you are committed to their safety.

Adopting technology that provides information to support your safety program along with a more personalized experience for the operator can help them develop a better understanding of their equipment and their performance while using it.

Crown’s InfoLink^® operator and fleet management system can assist operators in completing their pre-shift inspections. It also provides real-time feedback for operators to reinforce safe operation and identify unsafe behaviors. It also offers a customizable interface using a familiar touchscreen environment that enables operators to set their own preferences for onscreen widgets that quickly convey desired information.

Prioritize Operator Comfort

In any strenuous work environment, it’s important to have equipment that provides comfort and support. An operator that isn’t distracted by aches and pains developed throughout the shift can be more focused and productive and is less likely to become dissatisfied.

Here is a sampling of four forklift features that can enhance operator comfort:

·       An adjustable seat can go a long way. It can reduce pressure points, absorb shock while traveling and include features like backrest shoulder cutouts or pivoting functions.

·       Electronic power steering can improve lift truck control and maneuverability while reducing operator fatigue by alleviating strain and enhancing comfort.

·       Cushioned or suspended floorboards absorb shock and vibration when the lift truck travels over cracked or uneven floors and dock plates. This helps reduce stress on knees and joints.

·       Spacious operator compartments, combined with a low step height, help accommodate operators of various sizes while providing ample room for task movement and comfortable entry and exit. Some cold storage outdoor environments can also benefit from a climate-controlled cabin to minimize exposure and keep operators more comfortable.

Enhance Productivity and Efficiency

New operator assist technologies are designed to enhance productivity while enabling operators to incur less mental and physical fatigue. These technologies can automate repetitive tasks and enable operators to focus on higher-value tasks or areas.

For example, Crown’s QuickPick®  Rapid, is operator assist technology that can help reduce the strenuous nature of low-level order picking and enhance employee comfort and productivity. It allows operators to maintain a smooth workflow pattern, focusing less time on positioning the forklift and more on the task of picking.

Auto positioning technology can utilize data from the warehouse management system to guide forklifts automatically along the most effective route to the next rack location in high-reach applications, eliminating the mental and physical task of blending acceleration, travel and lift in the most efficient manner.

Rack Height Select is another operator assist feature that enables operators to raise the forks to preprogrammed heights with a press of a button. This reduces the need for operators to fine-tune fork position during putaway and retrieval, improving throughput.

While finding new skilled workers will continue to be a challenge, retaining the skilled workers and operators already in your facility doesn’t have to be. Creating an operator-centric environment that promotes safety, comfort and efficiency can help retain these valuable contributors to your productivity and your bottom line.