Key Considerations for Floor Cleaning in 3PL Warehouses

April 27, 2022 11:40 AM by Tennant Company

Posted in Staffing & Personnel, Robotic Cleaning Machines, Cleaning Challenges,

If your customers aren’t necessarily going to see the floors of your third-party logistics (3PL) warehouse, do they really need regular cleaning? The answer is a resounding “yes.”

About 80% of the soils found in a 3PL warehouse or distribution center are dry particulate soils — i.e., dust and dirt. Traffic from workers’ boots, forklifts, picker carts, etc., only serves to grind that dirt and dust into your flooring surface, resulting in a dirty, dingy appearance. Those soils can damage floor surfaces and wreak havoc on floor surfaces. More importantly, that dirt and debris can wind up on your products — possibly causing damage to your inventory and at the very least causing reputation damage when customers receive products covered in dirt and dust.

Cleaning Challenges for 3PL

3PL is the most common type of outsourced logistics center — and they’re becoming increasingly important as the “Amazon effect” continues to shift consumers’ shopping habits. However, 3PL warehouse cleaning challenges are different from traditional warehouses.

First, order volume continues to rise — which means 3PLs are constantly pulling products and adding new inventory. Workers are stretched thin, and it is important to keep aisles and spaces clear and clean to keep operations moving.

Secondly, is the size and space of 3PL warehouses — the average warehouse size is 267,904 square feet — which can pose significant challenges due to scope. Therefore, floor cleaning strategies for 3PL warehouses must not only be efficient but also limit the disruption to core business operations while keeping warehouse dust from accumulating.

Lastly, like other business 3PLs are competing for talent to keep up with the work and fill their vacancies. If customers are not having their orders filled in an efficient time frame, they will take their business elsewhere. Staff doesn’t have time to focus on ancillary tasks when order volume and expectations rise. One effective solution is leveraging robotic cleaning. Autonomous floor scrubbers don’t require a ride-on operator, meaning your staff can spend their time on high-value tasks.

Determine Your Cleaning Priorities

Another critical element to developing an effective cleaning strategy for your 3PL warehouse is determining your goals. Are there areas of your warehouse facility that customers and business partners are more likely to visit? If so, needs escalate from floors not only being clean, but also looking clean.

Traditionally, this level of expectation would require some serious elbow grease on concrete floors, but commercial warehouse autonomous floor cleaners from Tennant Company can reduce labor needs while achieving a superior level of cleanliness. Also, consider what type of inventory is stored near ground level. Features like spray skirts and dryers ensure that inventory won’t inadvertently be subject to moisture damage.

Lastly, consider the right time of day to start floor cleaning so that a regular schedule can be implemented. If your warehouse is like many 3PL facilities, there isn’t distinct downtime per se, but by comparing staffing levels and fulfillment volume, you may be able to identify a regular time block when floor cleaning would be least disruptive.

The Future of 3PL

As consumer habits continue to change, 3PL warehouses will become increasingly busy — and increasingly important as a key piece in the supply chain. Make sure that floor cleaning doesn’t fall by the wayside in that exponential growth.

Learn more about the family of floor scrubbers from Tennant Company.

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