To determine an appropriate course of action in successfully completing the warehouse relocation project, I first had my supervisor walk me through the process that was necessary to completely transfer each inventory item in the system from the current location in the existing warehouse to the new location. It had already been determined that the parts would be moved to their new location according to which category the parts belonged (bearings with bearings, fuses with fuses, valves with valves, etc.) instead of storing the same category of parts in different locations according to where those parts were used in the plant like the original warehouse management had decided to do. This new organization would adapt to a retail-style inventory management system that could be likened to a home improvement store such as Lowes or Home Depot.

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After becoming familiar with the inventory management system used by Martin Marietta, I took the information I had gathered and came up with a system that would standardize the way parts were moved to the new location. First, I determined that there were roughly four main stages involved in this relocation project:

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1. Gathering parts of the same category, 

2. Transferring those parts administratively in the inventory management system,

3. Relabeling those parts with the correct number and new location, and

4. Physically transporting the newly labeled items to the new warehouse and storing them in their proper location

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Next, the warehouse staff was divided into one of the four groups that would best suit their capabilities and experiences and determined additional resources needed to complete the move efficiently. I then created detailed checklists for each group that listed step-by-step instructions required to complete each task that the groups were responsible for in order to standardize the relocation process. This method was tested by multiple trial runs and adjusted to eliminate inefficiencies. Please click here for an in-depth view of the four main groups and their responsibilities.

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A large part of the relocation plan was centered around the organization of the new warehouse. The goal was to implement an intuitive naming system for the new inventory locations that would eliminate duplication and ambiguity. To ensure that parts were easily located, the team determined that the new warehouse would be separated into three sections; the Red Section, the White Section and the Blue Section. Items would be labeled according to the section, row, column and shelf in which they were located. For example, if an inventory item in the system was shown to be stored in location B1-3-C, you would know that the item was located in the Blue Section, Row 1, Column 3, Shelf C. A CAD drawing was created and linked to an Excel spreadsheet that would contain the specific location (Section, Row, Column and Shelf) of every part moved from the existing location to the new location. Please reference the picture below for a general layout of the new warehouse location and its surrounding area.

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However, the quantity of Martin Marietta's inventory was much too large to fit everything into the new warehouse. To solve this problem, it was determined that Conex storage containers would be placed outside with a predetermined distance set between each container. These containers would be given the location name of CX for "Conex" plus a number to identify in which container a certain item was located. The spaces between each container were covered with sheet metal and given the location name of CS for "Covered Storage" plus a number to identify in which covered storage area a certain item was located. I implemented a similar naming system within these locations that would show which container or covered storage area would house a particular item, and exactly where that item would be stored within each location. Please reference the picture below for an example of what an organized CX location might look like and how the location would be named in the system.

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To ensure that parts moved through the relocation system efficiently, I developed staging areas that were designed to keep parts separated as they moved through the four main phases of the project. As parts were pulled from their original locations, they were placed in a yellow staging area to signify that the parts were ready to be cleaned, organized, transferred administratively and relabeled with the new location. Next, the parts would be moved to a green staging area and organized in a crate to signify that they were ready to be transferred to the new warehouse and properly stored in the appropriate location. A red staging area would be reserved for parts that could not be properly identified or otherwise transferred in the system. A purple staging area would be reserved for parts that were determined to be obsolete. The parts would remain there until they were accounted for and either sold or disposed of. Please note the pictures below to see how the staging areas were used during the relocation project.  

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Overall, the transferal process along with the improved organizational layout of the new warehouse and its surrounding location would serve to ensure that once parts were moved through the system and stored properly, inventory management would be streamlined, assisting in the prevention of lost revenue and the risk of prolonged kiln outages. Click here to see the results realized by the use of the plan implemented in the warehouse relocation project during my time at Martin Marietta.

 

 

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