Storage bins can increase workplace productivity and reduce downtime

Many people don’t realize how important the organization really is. Having a well-organized workspace can increase productivity and income. Believe it or not, having a well-organized workspace can save a company hours and hours of work and hundreds, and can prevent hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars of inventory from being lost.

For example, if a company has a parts department or a company uses specific parts on an assembly line, they can greatly benefit from a shelving/storage system that uses plastic bins and bags. Items can be organized by size, type, color, weight, or any other specific category, and then bins can be labeled and organized on shelves. Instead of searching through shelves of loose parts, a person can search for a bin location, walk over to the bin, grab the part, and go back to work as usual.

Mechanics and service technicians can also benefit from storage systems that use plastic containers. Especially if a mechanic works on multiple teams or gets stuck working on multiple issues on the same vehicle. Imagine if, instead of reading a table with spare parts, a mechanic had a bin marked with a customer’s name and specific information about the parts in the bin. That mechanic might have a small set of shelves with labeled bins organized by work order or customer name. These bins would help ensure that the mechanic rarely, if ever, loses parts.

Since most shops now operate on an ‘order as needed’ system, missing parts not only cost money but also time. A mechanic will usually order parts, which will then take anywhere from a couple of days to a week to arrive. Once the parts arrive, he will fix the problem at hand. If there’s no organization and something as simple as a $1 specialty washer gets lost somewhere along the way, then the mechanic might be forced to pay for overnight shipping or make the customer wait a few more days for a repair. This is simply unacceptable.

Investing in organization may require a bit of start-up capital, but having a good system in place really pays dividends in the long run. The bins and shelves will pay for themselves in terms of time and money in the long run. Having an organized work area also helps a company’s image. If a customer walks in and everything is messy, it can make a bad impression. However, if everything is well and organized, the client can leave a very positive impression of the company.