That’s rubbish. Five ways to ‘spark joy’ with an uncluttered DC
The recent popularity of Marie Kondo’s Netflix show about removing clutter addresses a wider problem of both our work and home environments. We can’t help you with the home stuff (watch Marie for this). But we can help you with cleaning and optimising your distribution centre.
Described as ‘a series of inspiring home makeovers from a world-renowned tidying expert’, Tidying up with Marie Kondo is a reality TV show intent on de-cluttering and simplifying our busy modern lives.
It’s similar to our work undertaking a Scope audit on-site (except, more often than not, ours has way cooler equipment and less terribly packed boxes of old socks and collections of forgotten 80s magazines).
This is important work. Improving cleanliness and order generally means increasing efficiency and cost savings. It’s better for team pride, easier for management and better for the bottom line.
An untidy and jumbled workplace is often a dangerous workplace too. Plastic rubbish gets caught in moving mechanical parts, causes slipping risks and generally can cause havoc if left to accumulate.
Here are five considerations to help de-clutter the DC:
Removing clutter addresses a wider problem of both our work and home environments. We can’t help you with the home stuff, but we can help you with cleaning and optimising your distribution centre.
One: Give it a good home.
Rubbish isn’t (generally) left anywhere on purpose. Sometimes there’s nowhere obvious to put rubbish, tools or other items and these placed down momentarily and then forgotten. Then, just as with New York’s famous ‘broken windows’ example, a small break in ‘civil behaviour’ provides the environment for further negative actions.
Two: Keep a dedicated compactor close at hand.
To be as effective as possible recycling needs to be as easy as possible. If the team needs to walk more than ten metres to the compactor there is more opportunity for wrap to be dropped and forgotten or, worse, for it to pile up in a ‘holding area’.
Three: Automate.
Wulftec pallet wrapping machinery allows DCs to free up valuable space previously taken up by staging areas. With more real estate there’s room to increase capacity without compromising everyday functionality. With a Scope process undertaken with the move other helpful efficiencies are generally uncovered too.
Four. Schedule.
If everyday standards are slipping sometimes there’s nothing to do but schedule an ongoing cleaning schedule. This might be a few minutes before breaks and at the end of the day. One way or another, it really needs to happen and it’s far better dealing with a molehill than a mountain.
Five. Cut back on what you need.
As the great comedian Stephen Wright once stated, “You can’t have everything… where would you put it?” A change in wrapping product can help here.
Some of our clients have cut up to 75% of rolls needed after changing to Nanowrap. That makes a big difference in what’s stored on site.
Marie Kondo believes objects should ‘spark joy’ in their owners. We couldn’t agree more. And on that note… have you seen our Spinny and Wulftec ranges?
