The outbreak of COVID-19 has completely transformed the way we work, live, and socialize. And it is likely, that many of the changes are here to stay. Adaptability, flexibility and the use of innovative technology are essential for distribution centers (DCs) to operate effectively and safely in what many of us are calling the ‘new normal’.
By definition, many warehouse and distribution facility activities cannot be operated remotely, but there are several strategies that can be implemented to protect employees while not only continuing operations, but also improving productivity.
Promote Personal Hygiene & Sanitize
Hygiene is a critical element in the fight against viruses. It corresponds on the one hand to personal hygiene, and on the other to surface and locale disinfection. Accordingly, employers should envisage to make sanitization and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) easily accessible to its staff at all times; this includes hand sanitizers, face masks or screens, gloves, tissue, etc. For example, Personnel Hygiene Stands which contain PPE dispensers and hand sanitizers guarantee that personnel and visitors entering the site always have the necessary tools at their disposal to minimize the risk of infection.
In addition, studies indicate that the virus can live for hours and sometimes days on various surfaces, including steel, plastic totes, packaging and cardboard. Therefore, DCs should sanitize the area, in particular frequently touched surfaces. This can be performed manually, or the activity can be automated via autonomous disinfectant robots. Several robots are on the market, some disinfecting by UV light, and others through disinfectant vaporization, which render this process efficient and dependable.
Introduce Automation
Reducing human interaction limits the spread of infection. Thought should be given to automating key processes with typically high traffic, such as picking. Though automation typically requires a reconfiguration of activities and some amount of investment, it would not only greatly reduce footfall, and thus risk of infection, but also have the additional advantage of increasing productivity.
Automated picking solutions such as mini-loads, carousels, AMRs (Autonomous Mobile Robots), and other storage and retrieval systems, avoid having pickers walking through aisles and crossing paths. For example, instead of having personnel walking across the warehouse picking from shelving or racking aisles, a vertical lift module can be installed. This ensures that pickers remain in a defined area. The fixed picking stations create designated workstations that inherently ensure physical distance is maintained. For additional protection, pickers can also be assigned to two adjacent modules to further increase distance, and partitions can be used to separate work areas or modules.
Another automation example at the end of the supply chain are contactless delivery mechanisms such as Click and Collect solutions. Cleveron’s Click and Collect lockers enable retailers to deliver parcels to consumers quickly and conveniently, while avoiding last-mile delivery costs and ensuring the safety of their staff and consumers.
Maximize Physical Distance
Physical distancing will be a key priority for organizations as they gradually lift the quarantine and ramp up operations. Work areas and break rooms should be reconfigured to ensure adequate distance is maintained. Regulations stipulate that a minimum distance of 1.5m-2m should be maintained at all times. Rearranging workstations and lunch tables should be performed accordingly. In addition, it is best practice to also install plexiglass dividers between workstations to provide additional protection. In the interim, organizations can consider installing temporary disposable cardboards or plastic separators.
A simple solution to designate industrial work areas to specific personnel comprises of placing tape on the ground to draw zones. In cases where personnel require mobility to perform their jobs, organizations can roll out the use of Physical Distancing Tags. These tags accurately and reliably track the distance between individuals in real-time and alert the personnel (and/ or the warehouse management system) when a proximity limit has been breached. The tags range from simple buzzers that alert the individuals that come too close, to more complex solutions that track all infractions, develop heat maps, and record movement of all personnel. For example, if a worker has been identified as COVID-19 positive, the more complex solution would enable organizations to pinpoint whether the worker had been in close contact with other employees (contact tracing), which personnel require testing or should be quarantined by reviewing logs for the past few days or weeks, the areas the worker had accessed the most and which zones require thorough disinfection.
Physical distancing can also be maintained by reviewing key processes and traffic patterns and making changes accordingly. Identifying potential hazards can be conducted manually or through the use of heat maps or other technology. Once identified, solutions can be implemented. These can include for example eliminating single line order picking which requires movement across the entire facility, and instilling instead batch, zone or wave picking as they can minimize picker traffic, enable designated areas, and reduce number of touches. One-way traffic flows including single entry and exits to different areas can be implemented to segregate personnel and ensure that operators are not crossing each other within the aisles.
Ensure Time Distance
Physical distancing’s other brother – time distance – refers to separating individuals through time. Organizations can limit the number of people within the facility, or a certain area, at any given time in three ways. First, the most obvious way to ensure time distance is to ensure that people are not at the workplace at the same time. This includes providing flex time so individuals can come in and leave at the time of their choosing – within a predefined limit, and ensuring a minimum number of hours at work. In addition, work from home opportunities can be provided for non-essential staff.
Secondly, postponing non-essential meetings, and moving essential meetings online, limits the number of people within a room at the same time. And finally, staggering timings can also help organizations meet time distance targets. For example, organizations can set up lunch and other break shifts by teams with staggered start and finish times to minimize interaction during breaks and limit occupants within the same space at the same time. In addition, staggering arrival and departure times can ensure that staff are not queuing to enter and leave the building at the same time.
Communicate & Track
Communication and adequate monitoring of adherence are key to the success of a safe environment post COVID. A solid communication plan, reinforcing screening protocols, providing information around the virus itself, the necessity of staying at home if unwell, the importance of social distancing, and the new measures in place ensures that staff are equipped with the necessary information to protect themselves and others. Organizations can use visual cues, posters, newsletters, emails, town-halls (with physical distancing in mind!), or online meetings as means to communicate with personnel.
Finally, companies should routinely check that distancing and sanitization measures are being abided by in order to assess the safety of the facility and ensure that the highest level of protection is provided to personnel. Monitoring can be performed in various ways depending on what organizations seek to track: temperature or symptom screening, designating team guards to ensure new standards are maintained, CCTV, physical distancing tags or location trackers, risk and COVID-case recordings.
As facilities and businesses move towards normalcy, it is our collective responsibility to mitigate the risk of further infection. Organizations must adopt a holistic approach involving all five strategic initiatives to properly protect DCs against the spread of viruses; No single strategy can be successful in isolation.
Contact us today to learn more about how technologies can assist you in safely operating your business post-pandemic.
