Visual control is one of the most popular concepts in the warehousing sector today, but businesses adopting it should keep in mind that it isn’t a solution. To perform well, tiered accountability, like any other lean tool, must be part of a system. This requires some serious research and analysis and evaluation of your team’s use of lean tools.
A warehouse that practices “system thinking” makes extensive use of tools and techniques for business improvement and has created effective procedures to ensure that tools are applied consistently throughout the company.
It may be unsettling, and you may face resistance from certain parts of the company after all, “new” may be a frightening word. If you hit a brick wall, remember that even if visual management is done precisely, if the support to keep it going isn’t in place, it will eventually fade. Managers will wake up one day to find the “how we’ve always done things” has returned to its original place.
If you innovate your workflows correctly, with forethought and commitment to your end-goals, you’ll discover that this strong concept will improve the way you do business within your warehouse walls
What Impact Will It Have on My Warehouses?
A warehouse with supported visual control will be a worksite where a staff member can find anything they need without assistance. Their guides and tools are clearly labelled and placed in a convenient location.
This means less time spent running up and down the chain of command, fewer questions about procedures, and fewer time- and money-consuming “workarounds” for broken or outdated workflow links. New employees adjust more quickly, and a sick or absent team member with specialized knowledge doesn’t bring everything to a standstill; delays are the most common operational blunder.
With the help of management buy-in, you can improve the efficiency of every aspect of your workflow by asking three simple questions:
- What went very well?
- What didn’t go exactly?
- What can we do to make it better?
Another important way your warehouses will change is that your associates will become empowered specialists. They’re the ones who can tell you what needs to be labelled, why it needs to be labelled, where it should go, and what should be cut out completely. Reports, figures, and data can only go so far; to truly make a difference, you must first focus on the foundation, rather than a top-down view of your company.
Again, visual management is merely a technique to assist you in achieving efficiency. It can’t possibly be the only tool in the arsenal. It requires the plans that are currently locked up in your warehouse staff’s knowledge and experiences.
How can I get started with visual management?
No matter where you start, education will be your first step toward successful visual control. There is currently a disconnect between employees on the ground and their degree-based, experienced managers.
This may be a minor distinction, such as a dialect mismatch rather than a completely separate language, but it still needs to be addressed. Your new common language, like learning a new language, will need to be created from the ground up with simple agreements: process arrows, numbering assets like forklifts, numbering forklift spaces, posting your verbal norms, and so on.
Visualmitra are here to help you make Lean work by applying continuous improvement across your business. To find out more about how our visual management specialists can support you, get in touch with our Expert on +9820061281 or fill in our contact form.