Quality of Intralogistics Operation

Understand the path to a quality operation in Intralogistics

According to the publication Intralogistica: Concepts and Suggestions, “ In House Logistics or Intralogistics involves everything that refers to the management, optimization and automation of the flow of raw materials and finished products in a company, whether in its stock or in distribution centers, combining operational processes with data generation, control and storage systems.”

For Rogério Scheffer, President of Águia Sistemas, a market leader in this segment, “While LOGISTICS is the art of managing resources, materials and information to organize the supply chain and deliver the right products to the right place, at the right time, at a cost viable, INTRALOGISTICS is associated with the resources, information and materials necessary for Storage, Handling and Shipping activities in a warehouse, distribution center or industry, that is, it is everything that happens between four walls in the logistics universe”.

That is why the search for quality in Intralogistics operations is so important. A process that begins with knowing in detail the company’s routine, its market niche, geographic area, available storage space and exactly what products it plans to work with, as well as the available resources, both financial and personnel.

After this survey, which must be meticulous, the planning of setting up this operation or analysis of what already exists must go through Total Quality Management tools, such as the Pareto Chart, Cause and Effect Diagram and Action Plan. The Pareto Principle says that 80% of the results come from 20% of the actions taken. Based on this concept, the Pareto Chart was developed, which seeks to visualize problems through a graph assembled with data collected in the field. Cause and Effect Diagram, also known as Fishbone Diagram or Ishikawa Diagram is a tool that helps identify the main causes of a problem, analyzing all the factors that involve the execution of the process. And the Action Plan monitors the development of work carried out in the organization.

To make the best use of an Action Plan, it is essential to use the 5w2h method. This tool consists of answering 7 basic business questions: “What?”; “Why?”; “As?”; “When?”; “Where?”; “How much?”; “Who?”. It may seem simple, but the identification of these elements allows the control of the process with greater efficiency. Other Total Quality Management tools can be successfully applied in Intralogistics, such as 5S and the GUT Matrix (Gravity, Urgency and Tendency), which scales its 3 strands into five different levels so that everyday decisions are focused on pragmatism and good results.

After all, what operations are we talking about? According to the Aarmac website, Intralogistics involves:

• “ the receipt and verification of materials needed in the actions;

• the movement of materials to their respective storage areas;

• launching products in the system and in stock;

• the storage and storage of items;

• the distribution of products to each requested sector;

• the movement of materials on site;

• the monitoring and tracking of the items and also the information about the progress of each one of them ”.

Is it worth investing in quality within these operations? What would be the advantages? For the Tecnovia website, these are some of the benefits:

• “ Increased productivity : teams will have more agile workflows, which get the product ready for transport in shorter terms;

• cost optimization : routines will be structured to make the most of available resources and prevent waste from occurring;

• higher level of automation : investments in technology will be made to prevent delays and bottlenecks from occurring when making the environment automated;

• improvement of the company’s results : a business with more ability to manage cargo will find it easier to achieve its medium and long-term goals. ”

In addition to these advantages, there is one more, cited by the Sansuy blog, the development of traceability of products and services: “Traceability is the ability a company has to know the entire trajectory of its goods, from the origin of the raw materials to their acquisition by the final consumer. It is important because it allows industries to have more control and transparency over their production chains ”.

But before achieving these results, all investment work in quality in Intralogistics operations must avoid the most common everyday mistakes, which the website armac.com.br lists as follows:

• “ failure to identify and check goods;

• errors in locating items and products;

• wrong count in the volume of goods;

• wrong separation of products;

• wrong entry into the system of the quantity or type of material received;

• incomplete information about loads;

• delays in loading or unloading due to human error;

• ignoring demand and not renewing stock on time;

• having communication problems between departments and sectors;

• not leaving the processes well defined;

• not using adequate equipment and machines for the services;

• use of equipment without up-to-date maintenance or that are already old and may break during processes;

• failing to track performance metrics and failing to make necessary adjustments;

• not guaranteeing safety at work due to the lack of PPE — Personal Protective Equipment;
• damage to the products due to lack of care or improper handling ”.

And what is the path to a quality operation in Intralogistics? Well, after initial analysis and proper planning, do the following steps:

1. Assemble a good storage unit, adapted to your needs. It can be a conventional warehouse, with a Dynamic system, or a completely automated Clad-rack, with robots operating in place of people. This depends on your business and available capital. But the structure must at least be adequate to your business flow;
2. Buy good equipment for operational work in the warehouse or distribution center, from radio-frequency labels for products to durable forklifts with a low maintenance cost;
3. Invest in human resources, providing PPE to employees, as well as constant training;
4. Keep the teams aligned, as having specialized teams in each sector can be a great differentiator;
5. Keep stock organized;
6. Maintain inventory;
7. Invest in good management software, such as a WMS, for example.

By following these advices, your Intralogistics operation will certainly have above-average quality, making your company more competitive, saving resources and pleasing customers with exemplary service. At Águia Sistemas, we can help you in this process. Contact us.

(The text above was written with information from the sites aguiasistemas.com, praxisjr.com.br, armac.com.br, blog.sansuy and tecnovia.com.br).