How to Build Resiliency Out of a Labor Shortage

Four cost-effective ways to combat the effects of labor shortage
It’s easy for employees to get burned out when they’re accustomed to the monotony of tough labor. Working in a manufacturing facility can be a vicious cycle. If you don’t have the right equipment or safety procedures in place, expect a quick turnover.

ROI understands what it takes to build a sustainable working environment, and this blog illustrates what’s needed for you to create that type of culture.

How to Fight the Effects of Labor Shortage

A productive workforce is a happy workforce. Motivating your employees is the challenge though. What does it take for laborers to find satisfaction on the job?

Here are four critical steps you could take to build that resilient taskforce:

1. Hire Skilled Workers

Working in a manufacturing plant is like survival of the fittest. Millions of people work in manufacturing facilities, but only a select percentage are truly capable of performing the work. Warehouse and factory conditions can be grueling. Responsibilities can be tiresome, especially if you’re new to the job.

When you screen for frontline positions, make sure candidates are capable of fulfilling essential physical demands. Try to hire experienced warehouse workers, especially those who don’t have any medical conditions.

2. Give Your Employees Breaks

Moving products through the supply chain is exhausting. Stacking and moving pallets is extra strenuous. Your employees are humans, not robots. It’s not realistic for them to perform this type of labor for 40+ hours a week without any rest. That’s why it’s essential to reward your team with downtime during the workday.

Working break time into your daily routine allows your employees to recharge their batteries. This gives staff members a dedicated time to catch their breath, rest their feet, and get a much-needed drink of water.

3. Establish a Safety Protocol

A manufacturing space is a hazardous working environment. If you’re not careful, you may end up seriously hurt on the job. The safety and wellbeing of your employees should always be your top priority. If you’re not properly training and educating your staff on proper warehouse etiquette, you’re not taking the necessary steps to protect your team. You can’t afford to show negligence, otherwise, you might wind up in an expensive dilemma that results in a workman’s comp dispute.

Train your employees effectively. If they’re operating machinery, make sure they’re certified. Next, establish an emergency response protocol and walk through the process with your team. Finally, make sure there’s enough safety equipment and first aid resources available at all times.

4. Automate Your Infrastructure

One of the easiest ways to streamline production is with automated technology. In particular, it’s best to adopt some form of a pallet automation system. These material-handling pallet shuffles help do all the heavy lifting, which helps eliminate strenuous activity from your day-to-day.

With an automated palletizing solution in your arsenal, you’re able to complete tasks much faster than with any other manual labor unit. This form of robotic palletizing requires no labor shift planning, staffing, or supervision. And best of all, this automated solution can handle all the monotonous physical tasks without getting burned out.

Trust ROI to Shrink Your Labor Shortage

At ROI, we work tirelessly to bring safety and peace of mind to your manufacturing environment. Our goal is to shrink the unemployment rate while making your daily grind seamless. When it comes to compact palletizing, we have everything you need to make things easier for your employees. We modernize floor spaces with the industry’s most advanced automated palletizing technology.

Our PalletPOD equipment helps simplify all aspects of manufacturing. Whether it’s pallet-handling to stretch wrapping, we have all the tools and resources you need to help streamline the tough tasks in your daily operations. When you’re ready to test out the equipment yourself or claim your free quote on a custom solution, our experts are here to answer all the questions.

Reach out today to learn more about the ROI PalletPOD and all its unique capabilities. Contact us directly or fill out the form to schedule your free consultation.