Human errors in warehouse operations: An improvement model

Warehouse operations are very much dependent on manual works and hence, humans play critical roles. In order to have an excellent warehouse performance, it is imperative to address the human needs so that the errors can be minimised. Papers addressing human factors in warehouse operations are limited. The purpose of this paper is to develop an improvement model that can connect between warehouse performance, human errors in the process, and actions needed to improve the performance. We propose a two-stage deployment procedure, modified from the well-known quality function deployment (QFD). The first stage is to screen human errors that substantially affect warehouse performance. The second stage is to prioritise proposed improvement actions that could address most effectively the human errors. The model is applied to a warehouse operated by a logistics company that handles the storage and distribution of fast moving consumer goods.