The human element behind productivity
By Bob C. Kennedy
Principal, RCK Consulting
Automation. Software. Process Engineering. Material handling equipment. Mobile and voice computing. You name it, the drive behind all these technologies is to improve the performance of an operation. That can mean increasing throughput, reducing errors, reducing inventory, and almost always, impacting labor requirements.
In my career, the warehouse management system (WMS) most often derived its ROI from reducing labor costs (reducing headcount). It was the most tangible, most quantifiable element toward the justification of buying a new system. After all, labor costs were a major part of the total cost of an operation. So, if the current operation required 25 people, and the new WMS reduced that to needing only 15, the math was easy. All the rest was gravy.
Software systems can reduce headcount in a number of ways, the most impactful generally by reducing travel time. In the simplest terms, by arranging products in storage and on picklines according to velocity, all any operator needed to do was follow the instructions on the mobile terminal and they would be 20-30% more productive. Today, largely due to labor shortages, so much innovation is focused on reducing headcount through technologies like AMRs, GTP, AI systems and, soon enough, by robots handling tasks that humans are currently doing.
Call it an irresistible force. If human beings can be eliminated, they probably will be – at least for the companies who can afford the technology. And even with those who can afford it, there will always be a requirement for thinking, breathing human beings.
What all of this drive toward productivity has missed, and continues to miss, is the opportunity to develop a human workforce to its best. Beyond the drive to reduce labor, I think we missed the opportunity to pull labor into the equation. With every project I have ever done, I invariably came to understand that there is a huge resource of knowledge in the workforce – about how things really work – as well as enormous productivity reserves. When your workforce is rewarded, encouraged, and ultimately respected for their native knowledge of the business, you can release that reserve and incrementally drive up productivity.
I think we have left a lot of potential on the table.
This is what I refer to as the “human element.” Lately I have been researching certain concepts that harness human nature to gain improvements, not just for the business, but for the people too. These concepts hold the potential toward improving job retention and satisfaction. It’s a safe assumption that a person who is satisfied in their job is going to be more productive.
In a series of blog posts, we will explore three concepts of the human element. Here's the interesting part: we’re going to try taking concepts developed for other industries and applications and apply them to a warehouse operation. This is an area that I am committed to studying further with a little help from my friends. The three areas worth exploring include:
Circadian Rhythm. I recently read the book When by Daniel Pink. The book asserts that productivity in human beings is in part guided by the natural laws of circadian rhythm. Simply put, there are morning people and night owls. That is real. It is physiological. The tasks that people perform and how well they perform them need to be synchronized with their natural rhythm. I am fascinated by how this can be applied to the warehouse. I am also following a friend and colleague Leah Byrd who is developing the concept into a program to teach the effectiveness of what she refers to as “rhythm design.” We will hear from Leah.
Team Culture. So, what is a team? I wrote a blog post on this topic previously. A true team forges an esprit de corps, bonding them together so that there is a willingness to work for the benefit of the team, not just for the individual. A true team recognizes that if everyone works together, they will accomplish more and receive personal satisfaction from the team's success, fostering a sense of pride, responsibility, and self-authority that often results in better productivity, quality, and less supervision.
Teams also inspire innovation: they will figure out ways to improve the group's performance that wouldn’t occur to an individual, consultant, or engineer. If the result is better performance, won’t that bring pride to each person and create more enthusiasm for the job? With more enthusiasm, won’t the team continue to get better? Maybe you even throw a bit of friendly competition into the mix. That leads us to the next topic.
Gamification. I personally do not like the term “gamification” because I feel like it trivializes a very real approach to productivity. But the concept is simple, and it seems remarkably effective. Worker productivity can increase substantially by introducing better and more immediate means of tracking performance, rewarding performance instantaneously, and introducing a bit of friendly competition.
Rewards can be simple and cost next to nothing. Maybe it’s a coupon for free pizza? Or an extra 15 minutes of break time? Or even just a simple poster on the wall touting a person’s accomplishments. It’s not about the monetary reward; it’s about the acknowledgement that they are appreciated. The human element is at play here: people naturally like to be rewarded for a job well done. These rewards are separate and incremental to any pay incentives. It’s a simple message to your workforce that you appreciate what they are doing.
In the coming weeks, I will consult with experts and go into some depth about each approach. I genuinely think there is room for exploring the human element of warehouses, and that the tangible and intangible gains will be worthwhile. It might even be fun…
Let’s see what we can discover.
