How to cut costs by improvinl

By Alan Darnell Sunbelt Material Handling Co. Roswell, Ga.

I N TODAY'S business climate the I lumber dealer has limited control over many forces. He can do little about the economy or the growth of warehouse home centers, and the best collective efforts can only somewhat stem the tide of timber cutting restrictions.

What dealers can do. however. is eliminate waste and inefficiency in their own yards. Time spent reviewing material handling and storage procedures and the use of existing shed space is a good start.

Bulk storage sheds on many yards may be well "sited" for yard operations and traffic flow, but not utilized well. An example is a pole shed or perimeter shed with an eave height of 16' or greater that has units of lumber or pallets of roofing spread only one or two high over most of the floor area.

More often than not in sheds where you pull stock for orders, the unit you need may be behind or under other units causing your yard people to move several units with the lift. Increased handling not only wastes man hours, but increases the likelihood of lift truck damage. Just as bad. however. is the scenario where employees (and customers) climb over broken units of lumber to pull from units in the rear of the shed. Man hours are wasted with the risk of injury added.

The efficiency of bulk and perimeter sheds can be improved by aligning cantilever or pallet racking on support column lines either across the shed or with its length. This creates lift truck aisles for unit loading and in most cases will double the usable storage capacity by utilizing the shed's vertical "cube." All lumber units or pallets are instantly accessible, making order picking and inventory control easier.

Many yards may have sheds that have outlived their usefulness or have become cumbersome to yard operations because of their location. Though it may seem painful to consider, you should think about taking down sheds like this to open up your site plan for an improved yard layout. Most lumber yards reflect their growth over the years in the