Escalating labour
challenges have forced
the warehousing sector to
increase automation and
improve systems to drive
workers to up production.
“Productivity in
warehousing is almost half
of what it was five years
ago,” said Martin Bailey,
chairman of Industrial
Logistic System (ILS),
speaking at the Chartered
Institute of Logistics
and Transport: South
Africa (Ciltsa) networking
breakfast in Johannesburg
recently.
He said the increased
unionisation and changes
to the labour relations act
were driving up wages
faster than inf lation. “This
has also impacted in other
areas – to the advantage
of the employees – such as
more sick leave, improved
UIF contributions, more
stringent hiring and firing
policies etc,” said Bailey.
He added that while
there was no shortage
of labour,
there was a
shortage of
skills. “There
are lots of
business
graduates
every year but
very few who
specialise in
transport and
logistics and
they therefore
do not have
the expertise to properly
manage a warehouse,”
commented Bailey.
According
to him, there
are also lots of new
matriculants but there is no
trust in the basic education
system and its ability to
produce a strong, reliable
labour force. “Furthermore,
there is no shortage of
labour from neighbouring
countries but it is becoming
increasingly difficult
for them to receive work
permits,” said Bailey.
All these factors have
driven warehouse operators
to change their workforce
standards, looking at
individual productivity
reporting and incentive
compensation for improved
efficiency and output.
Bailey
noted that
one major
retailer had
seen a huge
increase in
warehouse
productivity
by providing
an individual
incentive
on a pallet
packing
target. “The
average number of pallets
packed went from just over
10 in an hour to 42 per
hour,” he said.
Another introduced
an automated packing
labelling system which
displays the name, along
with a photo, of the
individual packer and
reduces the need for
additional accuracy checks.
“It takes less time to check
but it also means that if a
consignment is inaccurate,
it can be traced back to
an individual packer.
The system will then also
record the number of
times the specific packer
is responsible for an
inaccurate consignment,”
explained Bailey.
Warehouse automation
is another way to
reduce the workforce,
minimise risks and
improve production and
efficiency. “The standard
warehousing equipment
is changing, with hybrids
being introduced to
perform more than one
task simultaneously.
Other innovations are
also coming on board
such as voice picking and
scanning,” said Bailey.
INSERT & CAPTION
Pallet packing
incentive pushes
productivity from 10
to 42 per hour.
– Martin Bailey
