Question

A new warehouse is to be constructed and you have been tasked to provide the initial design. The warehouse is primarily used for pick/pack of grocery items with a small amount of frozen goods and some pharmaceuticals. Incoming goods are palletized and outgoing orders are as per the customers’ orders. The warehouse will contain some 8000 SKU’s with the majority considered, 80%, to be C class items. The building is only framed right now and is waiting on your design before completion.

1. Using the objectives of a good warehouse layout, and considering the location of fixed obstacles, draft a physical warehouse layout. Be sure to describe your rationale for each of the following steps:

a. Define the location of the receiving and shipping function, a high-activity area that must be located such that productivity is maximized, material flow is improved and space utilization is optimized. Consider the concept of FAST from the previous assignment.

b. Locate the storage areas and equipment, including required aisles. Remember that the types of storage areas and equipment used will determine the extent of the overall configuration.

c. Assign materials to be stored to their storage location to ensure that storage allowances have been made for all items to be stored.

Layouts must include labels for each physical area and piece of equipment. The layout should also show product flow for inbound, outbound and internal handling process steps.

2. Identify the strengths of your design and identify potential problem areas that will need monitoring or alternatives.

Answer 1

1a.When designing the warehouse, I wanted to push the product smoothly to doorways outbound. I store all the racks by group, so that the product can be more convenient. I called the FAST method to assess the location of the doorways in and out. I placed them on the opposite side , in order to prevent congestion.

2b.There are four categories of the aisle. Each one is designed in a way that movement in between is easily accessible by the staff. For example, I placed the conveyor belt in the middle to make it more convenient. I put the bulk storage and case lot beside the inbound because It will relieve less stress for the employee due to the packing being dense. This design helps labour to load the truck safely because the warehouse has enough space to operate forklifts. The design ensure that the product flow is efficient, and the space allocated to load, and un-load in the productivity of the warehouse.

c.You can see from the design that I have bulk storage which is more of a slow mover for the employee. I have a Case Lot on the other hand, which is a fast mover. Instead I have the sorting and packaging section on the right. I've got Flow Rack for broken cases, lastly. I used the ABC categorization to help us effectively store the product in every aisle that associates would work easily around. This makes sure the room is efficiently used.

2b. One flaw in this design is the conveyor belt, because I feel the belt can cause congestion when mounted. I also think that having the outbound and inbound door opposite side and making it slower to move the stuff, because it creates more room, which is a gain. Another feature I might add to that is technology incorporation. This technology has the ability to both eliminate human error and optimize it more effectively.