How to Help Ensure the Health and Safety of Supply Chain Employees

Shared with permission from Zebra Technologies. Please click here to download the original application brief and visit www.zebra.com/warehouse to learn more about Zebra’s warehouse solutions.

Distribution and fulfillment centers of essential businesses continue operating during this infection outbreak to keep our global economy running. For these businesses that means designing best practices to keep employees at a social distance, ensuring cleaning procedures are enforced, and reducing physical contact with surfaces as much as possible. Fortunately, the technology you already have can be part of the solution.

Keeping Employees at a Social Distance

While warehousing operations are generally spread out, there are plenty of opportunities where small groups of employees need to be in the same proximity to one another. By giving employees access to mobile devices, you can help to keep them working in their own space at a safe distance.

• Loading a push-to-talk (PTT) and messaging app on their mobile computers can replace one-on-one conversations in person.
• Mobile printing will keep workers on the warehouse floor instead of walking throughout the facility coming in contact with others to locate a printer.
• Extended-range scanning with a vehicle-mount mobile computer keeps forklift drivers on their vehicles.
• Handheld and wearable mobile computers allow workers to receive picking orders right on their device, eliminating the need to physically retrieve paper pick tickets. Or, with the right application, orders can be assigned based on workers’ zones or location to keep them from crossing paths.

Getting a Grip on Cleaning and Sanitizing

Keeping your warehouse and assets clean and sanitized has never been more important. Changing procedures to frequent deep cleaning will become the new normal. Keeping track of what’s been cleaned, how it has been cleaned and who has been where will help identify or rule out sources of infection.

• he use of mobile computers, tablets and scanners in your warehouse helps to keep electronic, time-stamped records of cleaning activities at work stations and shared equipment like lift trucks, pick carts, devices, totes and pallet jacks.
• On-the-spot training through videos on the device ensure cleaning is done properly.
• Employee ID badges can be scanned upon entry at a kiosk where they can log current health, and upon exit indicate areas where they have interacted during their shift.

These solutions put you in control of ensuring the health and safety of your employees.

Developing Contactless Operations

For operations that require a proof-of-delivery workflows, it is important to reduce the number of human touches on parcels and devices during the delivery process. Photographing proof of delivery and sending electronic receipts will reduce the number of touch points, keep an electronic record of the transaction and help keep workers at a social distance.

Learn how to disinfect your Zebra devices.