How to train personnel in work with the WMS system

The project on implementation of WMS is not just automation and optimization of procedures of acceptance, placement, storage, processing and shipment of goods, and implementation of new technologies in work of a warehouse complex, such as address accounting, barcoding, use of radio data collection terminals and many others. Use of new technologies means radical change of all rules of accomplishment of technology warehouse transactions.

After implementation of a WMS system the functionality of many warehouse workers strongly changes, and to the employees who were long working according to the old scheme can be difficult will be rebuilt under new working conditions. Process of an unacceptance of new technologies meets quite often, especially at linear personnel therefore if not to carry out work with employees, process of implementation can be dragged out.

One of factors of successful implementation of WMS are competently prepared warehouse personnel ready to work with new technologies.

As a rule, the project on implementation of a WMS system is implemented in several stages:

• Development and the description of technology of work of a warehouse - the rule of accomplishment of warehouse transactions.
• Integration of a corporate information system and WMS.
• Personnel training.

As we see, personnel training is obligatory and one of the major stages in projects on implementation of WMS. Without understanding as work in a warehouse where it is applied new technologies, start of WMS in operation a difficult task which can lead to interruptions in work and respectively to financial losses is organized.

Speaking about training of employees in work with the implemented WMS system, it should be noted that the received results of implementation directly depend on extent of its preliminary preparation. The project team should prepare both detailed user instructions, and short descriptions of the main stages of accomplishment of warehouse processes in a warehouse management system. All process should represent the role play imitating real workflows. So each employee will be able much quicker to learn to execute the future duties in an automated system. Trainings on work with WMS should be under construction on bright examples which will allow personnel to understand new operation algorithms of a warehouse well.

Management of customer company also should prepare new procedural procedures for warehouse employees for the beginning of training - for a running in of changes of regulations of work of a warehouse in actual practice.

How it is correct to build learning process of employees? Let's take, for example, work with the data collection terminals (DCT). Should be trained in small groups on 3-5 people (warehouse workers) no more. Groups should form on functional duties of users of the WMS system. The mutual understanding situation should reign in learning process to reduce a distance between "teacher" (the leader of a training) and "pupils" (warehouse workers). The second should not hesitate to ask questions, in the future it will allow to avoid the majority of the problems and errors work-related in a system.

In each group it is necessary to identify the intellectual leader - the most interested employee who asks profound questions. The leader of a training should be convinced that at least this leader of group had a thorough understanding of the described processes. All in order that each trained employee could act further as the mentor for other colleagues.

In learning process the leader should communicate with all audience. Each trainee should suffer close attention of the trainer, feel that mentor his understanding of material very much worries. As for semantic filling of a training, the rule of necessary sufficiency works here. It means that the trained employee does not have need to go deep into logic of the system not to interfere with perception only of those processes and functions which will be performed by it afterwards. During the training it is necessary that the leader on specific examples studied with audience each process happening in a warehouse - from beginning to end. It is especially important that the employee at the end of a rate could explain independently the corresponding processes and action of a system. One of the important moments is that the trainer should sort all possible errors and exclusive situations with listeners and also explain their effects for work of a warehouse. It is important to define initially a measure of responsibility of any worker to colleagues that everyone felt as an important link in the general warehouse mechanism, felt participation in common cause. System operation and a warehouse in general depends on correct execution by employees of the duties.

The personnel also should know well what to do and whom to ask for the help in that case when the error in its work after all arose. The debugged system of subordination and responsibility directly affects fault tolerance of all distribution center. Passing to the general rules of creation of learning process of employees to work to the shipping documentation, it should be noted that all information should move most clear and visually. The trainer should avoid ambiguous expressions to exclude wrong treatments both from the employee, and from his colleagues and by that to warn possible negative effects.

In learning process it is necessary to make minutes of trainings once again to draw the attention of personnel to importance of specific process and to help the trainer to control the training course. Upon termination of a rate of trainings each employee needs to issue short instructions - "cribs" for work with the shipping documentation with a detailed explanation of all steps. Instructions should be in printed form that the worker could always have them at himself and address them if necessary.

User training, working directly in a WMS system, is in many respects similar to training of the employees using in work of the shipping documentation. The difference is that heavy responsibility for accomplishment of much more composite functions is conferred on their shoulders. Training should be divided into semantic blocks and have the logical sequence. Future users of WMS under the vigilant management of the consultant should study all processes in a system, it is good to understand its settings and configurations. Not to overload personnel with new knowledge in the course of the training it is necessary to take a break, but not too long, about 10-15 minutes. It will allow not to break integrity of a picture of knowledge.

In conclusion it would be desirable to tell that training is one of fundamental stages of an implementation project the WMS system. Readiness of employees to work with the solution brought into operation and results of implementation in general which such factors as the detailed analysis of processes and minimization of modifications of the implemented software product also affect depends on its results.

An important role in training is played by extent of participation of supervision manpower from the customer. Its main objective is the timely report to employees of changes in stand-alone operation algorithms of a warehouse. Based on our experience, it should be noted that human factor can become a cornerstone of all implementation project. Especially if not enough attention is paid to learning process. Effectively it is possible to manage the distribution center only in the conditions of a clear understanding by subordinates of the duties and features of execution of functions.