Management can be an extremely rewarding position, but it’s also a fast-paced and highly detailed job. You will have to be well versed in everyone else’s jobs to ensure that staffing does their job well and keeps up with productivity. Here is a list of what you should know as a new warehouse manager.
Safety and OSHA Compliance
If you don’t have a safe working environment, you can’t have anyone work in your warehouse. Therefore, you need to observe safety daily to prevent harm and injury to any employee. Once someone is injured, you need to make plans to fill the position until they recover. Because this could happen at any time to anyone, you must prepare for it.
Organization and Productivity
You will need to make sure that there are lists of priorities between departments. If organized properly, you will share a list between the employees that you will go over before and after the shift. This will help them understand the goal and how to carry it out. Therefore, it’s important to understand warehouse management as it applies to business to maintain operations effectively.
Preventative Maintenance
Checking the worksite and equipment can be a tenacious responsibility, but as management, you must ensure the safety and security of your employees and the warehouse. This means that you will need to make routine checks multiple times per shift and adjust machines accordingly, as employees constantly use them.
Shipping and Receiving
Shipping and receiving can cause a lot of trouble if you don’t keep the department in order. One shipment that doesn’t make its move on time or has issues could back up the order of shipments, putting extra stress on your business and making your job more difficult than it should be.
Training and Education
If you don’t have a crew properly trained in their positions and what they need to know, your warehouse can’t function. You should provide regular training and refreshers so that the staff can stay on top of things while at the job site, keeping it running as smoothly as possible.
Management is a special position as it takes on the facets of many positions, with a sense of authority and leadership in knowing about all the other jobs. Therefore, understanding what you should know as a new warehouse manager can make or break your opportunity in this position.
