how to design a warehouse and layout

How to design a warehouse and layout Subject:warehouse management Name:Liu Xiaohui FIN：G1028585Q Zhou Zhanxiang G0982534M Lu Tongxin G1152851T Sun Bo G1068589W Date :02/09/2012 warehouse layout design is to optimize the warehousing functions and achieve maximum efficiency and space utilization. A warehouse is typically divided into areas to support your every day processes. These areas include: reserve storage, forward pick, cross docking, shipping, receiving, assembly/special handling lines, and quality/inspection area. I design the warehouse as the picture. A big warehouse needs a big room to receive goods and it also needs a big room to store and ship goods. As seeing the picture that we choose the wide door so that goods can be moved apace and safely. Customers don’t need more worry. Receiving room and shipping room are set in different sides so that transport absolutely is in trouble. Trucks go another side to load after unloading. It’s very simple for drivers and loading workers and unloading workers absolutely work side by side. Storage room must open for all kinds of goods because there will are many orders of customers. The warehouse won’t be developed as a strong warehouse if it cannot satisfy different customers. Of course, we must find the goods what is stored in there to save time and money. INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.strategosinc.com/images/transaction-storage-sml.gif" A good wareouse design and layout can help us: 1) Using the most suitable unit load 2) Making the best use of space 3) Minimizing movement 4) Controlling movement and location 5) Providing safe, secure and environmentally sound conditions 6) Maintaining at minimum overall operating cost Successful warehouse layouts must adhere to the principles, regardless of material being stored to: i) maximize the use of space ii) maximize the use of equipment iii) maximize the use of labor iv) maximize accessibility to all items v) and maximize protection of all items Here are some material handing equipments In the warehouse,people need to use some equipment to help themself to work. ① forklifts Forklifts are a critical element of warehouses and distribution centers. It’s imperative that these structures be designed to accommodate their efficient and safe movement. In the case of Drive-In/Drive-Thru Racking, a forklift needs to travel inside a storage bay that is multiple pallet positions deep to place or retrieve a pallet. Oftentimes, forklift drivers are guided into the bay through guide rails on the floor and the pallet is placed on cantilevered arms or rails. These maneuvers require well-trained operators. Since every pallet requires the truck to enter the storage structure, damage is more common than with other types of storage. In designing a drive-in system, dimensions of the fork truck, including overall width and mast width, must be carefully considered。 ② Pallet A pallet sometimes called a skid, is a flat transport structure that supports goods in a stable fashion while being lifted by a forklift, pallet jack, front loader or other jacking device. A pallet is the structural foundation of a unit load which allows handling and storage efficiencies. Goods or shipping containers are often placed on a pallet secured with strapping, stretch wrap or shrink wrap and shipped. Pallets make it easier to move heavy stacks. Loads with pallets under them can be hauled by forklift trucks of different sizes, or even by hand-pumped and hand-drawn pallet jacks. Movement is easy on a wide, strong, flat floor: concrete is excellent. The greatest investment needed for economical pallet use is in the construction of commercial or industrial buildings. Passage through doors and buildings must be possible. To help this issue, some later pallet standards (the U.S. Military 35 × 45.5 in/889 × 1,156 mm) are designed to pass through standard doorways. Organizations using standard pallets for loading and unloading can have much lower costs for handling and storage, with faster material movement than businesses that do not. The exceptions are establishments that move small items such as jewelry or large items such as cars. But even they can be improved. For instance, the distributors of costume jewelry normally use pallets in their warehouses and car manufacturers use pallets to move components and spare parts. ③ conveyor A conveyor system is a common piece of mechanical handling equipment that moves materials from one location to another. Conveyors are especially useful in applications involving the transportation of heavy or bulky materials. Conveyor systems allow quick and efficient transportation for a wide variety of materials, which make them very popular in the material handling and packaging industries[1] . Many kinds of conveying systems are available, and are used according to the various needs of different industries. There are chain conveyors (floor and overhead)[2] as well. Chain conveyors consist of enclosed tracks, I-Beam, towline, power & free, and hand pushed trolleys. Warehouse management First of all, we should understand that what is warehouse? 1. General In my opinion, warehouse is an integral part of the goods and material supply system of an enterprise; it is a link to the enterprise’s reserve of various material turnovers, at the same time, it is responsible for a number of functions in material management. Its major task is the safe keeping of stockpiled materials, maintaining the accurate quantity and good quality, as well as ensuring the safety, rapid dispatch and receipt of materials. 2. Objective In order to standardize the warehouse management, to ensure the material assets are in good condition, regulations are implemented in accordance with the combination of company administration and financial management together with some specific situations of the company. Then, we should know that in the planning of the warehouse, the most important part is the warehouse management Warehouse management System(WMS) A WMS is an IT tool created to meet the specific operational needs of the warehouse. It is simply an integration of the various IT elements employed in the warehouse, including computer systems, software and data collection equipment (barcode and RFID) into a cohesive system to achieve the following objectives. -To provide high quality (accurate) information on which operational and management decisions can be based. -To identify, profit and coordinate the various tasks that need to be carried out in the warehouse. -To maximize performance of the warehouse in term of labours' productivity and key performance targets. (Quote pg 84) Remarks: The evolution of warehouse management systems is very similar to that of many other software solutions. Initially a system to control movement and storage of materials within a warehouse, the role of WMS is expanding to including light manufacturing, transportation management, order management, and complete accounting systems. To use the grandfather of operations-related software, MRP, as a comparison, material requirements planning (MRP) started as a system for planning raw material requirements in a manufacturing environment. Soon MRP evolved in to manufacturing resource planning (MRPII), which took the basic MRP system and added scheduling and capacity planning logic. Eventually MRPII evolved into enterprise resource planning (ERP). incorporating all the MRPII functionality with full financial and customer and vendor management Functionality. Now, whether WMS evolving into a warehouse-focused ERP system is a good thing or not is up to debate, What is clear is that the exparison of the overlap in functionality between Warehouse Management Systems. Enterprise Resource Planning, Distribution Requirements Planning, Transportation Management Systems, Supply Chain Planning, Advanced Planning and Scheduling, and Man Management Executiong Systems will only increase the level of confusion among companies looking for software solutions for their operations. The flow chart of Warehouse Management. Order goods Purchasing Order Arrival notice Lack of supplies Examine goods and physical inventory Fill in Warehousing list Check the number Make an inventory of Enter warehouse Everyday inventory reports Delivery of cargo from storage Sort alphabetically Into computer Matters need attention: 1. Storage of goods must not be in direct contact with the ground. in order to avoid wet and be neatly stacked. 2. Pay attention to the temperature and humidity of the storage area. Make sure the storage area is dry. 3. The warehouse must be waterproof, fireproof, and theft proof to ensure the safety of the commodity. 4. There should be inventory cards on every shelf. When put things in and out, remember first last out. Color management method can also be used, such as put different colors every week or month, to clearly identify the date of purchase. 5. Warehouse management staff should communicate with ordering personnel in a timely manner, in order to accommodate the arrival of the goods. Also make inventory shortage warning notice in time to prevent out of stock. 6. Make access to goods timely. But in order to take into account the efficiency and security, there should be opening time restrictions. 7. Registration work should be done carefully, in order to clarify the duty. However, for some commodities (such as frozen, refrigerated products), we can put the warehouse and selling place together to avoid expire. 8. There should be access control to the warehouse.