Thursday, December 20, 2007
RECEIVING AND SHIPPING DOCK LOCATIONS
The best receiving and shipping dock location must able to reduce the distance travel between the dock area and the storage pick area. The location of a warehouse and distribution facility or terminal receiving and shipping dock locations directly affects product flow and employee productivity.
The three basic truck receiving and shipping dock concepts:
(i) Combination Docks Concept
The activities are performed in one building area and able to utilize the equipment and employees. For this concept, it is suggested that a truck dock schedule in which the inbound product is delivered in the morning and outbound product loaded in the afternoon.
This method is more suitable for facility that deals with low volume and the product characteristics that are small. “U” flow occurs when the goods receipt and dispatch functions are located at the same end of a warehouse building. Positioning the docks adjacent to each other allows better utilization of dock space and associated handling equipment, less supervision and more flexibility.
But using this method it will increases in-house transportation and requires exact scheduling of inbound and outbound trucks and with this method it is difficult to compensate for product delivery problems and business fluctuations.
(ii) Separated dock method
Separate Docks Concept
This concept happens when receiving activities and shipping activities are performed in separate building areas and with separate equipment and employees and separate supervision.
They are used by companies whose warehouse needs to handle high volume, has a large number of SKUs (inventory) and has a large product mix. “Through” flow happens when the separate docks opposite end of a warehouse.
This method will allow increasing capacity, easy to control product flow and reduced need for in-house transportation. But positioning the docks opposite this ways will need to spend more increases investment in dock equipment and employees.
(iii) Scattered dock method
Scattered Docks Concept
The purpose of this design is to allow the receiving dock to locate directly near to the storage area and at the opposite building wall product flow from the storage areas or production lines into the shipping dock area in a very short distance.
Company that practice JIT or across the dock product flow concept will prefer to use this concept. The concept dictates a one way straight product flow pattern.
Using this concept, the product flow will not get interrupted and continuous product flow. But the disadvantages are need to monitor and tighter control of the operation.
TRUCK ACCESS TO THE DOCKS
The access-exit road is at least twice the length of the longest truck and must have separate traffic lanes for truck-yard entrance and exit.
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10:09 PM