How to Design a Warehouse Induction Checklist

What is a Warehouse Induction Checklist?

A warehouse induction checklist helps make sure the new employees use the right materials, adhere to policies, and follow all the steps, procedures, and workflows. It outlines the tasks and activities assigned to the new employee or contractor. Furthermore, it is a well-detailed guideline that helps ensure promptness and avoid setbacks.

Starting a new job can be overwhelming without a proper briefing. It is daunting to interact with unfamiliar co-workers, adjust to new company culture, and learn how to work with a different system. Formulating a comprehensive warehouse induction process can help guarantee that new employees experience a smooth transition. A warehouse induction template is a handy tool for facilitating the onboarding of new employees.

The content of a checklist can vary according to the person's role. For example, depending on the profession, a checklist for a new hire could be widely different from that of a contractor. But one thing is for sure, an effective warehouse induction checklist offers multiple benefits.

• For instance, it helps reduce the anxiety that often comes with having to navigate new territory. Having a pre-prepared list on hand provides a new hire with the necessary information about how to perform their assigned duties. It can then act as a reference guide and put them at ease in their new surroundings, reducing anxiety and stress levels.
• Another benefit is it makes monitoring easy. The checklist details all the areas to cover throughout the induction, so it is easy to track where you are during the process. It avoids duplications or omissions of crucial information.
• It makes the induction process run smoothly. A well-structured warehouse induction checklist means mistakes are less likely to occur.

In this article, the following points are explained:

1. Warehouse induction checklist bulletpoints

2. Performing a good warehouse induction

3. Tips for writing a warehouse induction checklist

4. Lumiform’s digital solution to checklists

What Should be Included in a Warehouse Induction Checklist?

Your warehouse induction checklist will vary depending on the job description. The size of your organization will also play a role in what’s included in the checklist. For instance, if your warehouse is small, the induction could take the form of a pre-recorded video. On the other hand, if you’re dealing with operations on a larger scale, the induction can be a bit more complex and include emergency response and evacuation drills apart from job-specific onboarding.

Regardless of the size, there are still some crucial aspects that must never be left out. They include:

Workplace Safety

• Control measures for electrical hazards, falling objects, harmful substances, and other hazards specific to the workplace. It could include information about no-go zones and other safe gaps for working near electrical lines.
• Rules about wearing hard hats and other personal protective equipment (PPE)
• Traffic management plans and other documents concerning safety and other policies.
• Information about reporting incidents and hazards
• Accidents, emergency, and evacuation procedures
• Warehouse layout such as the location of first aid kits, entries and exits, and loading and unloading areas.
• Changes to the workplace that can have an impact on the employees’ health and safety.

Job-Specific

It is important to provide the necessary information your employees need to carry out their tasks. They must also know the risks and control measures relevant to their job. For example, a warehouse induction checklist that’s used by an employee who regularly works at heights must include information on mobile elevated working platforms (MEWPs).

Job-specific inductions must cover:

• The assigned tasks
• Hazards, risks, and control measures relevant to the job
• Job safety analyses or warehouse safety principles
• Possible interactions with other members of the team
• Legal responsibilities of the employee, codes of conduct, or technical standards that require compliance

How do You Perform a good Warehouse Induction?

A warehouse induction is commonly performed for employees, contractors, and visitors. The warehouse induction checklist must be customized according to the specific role such as a security officer, cleaning contractor, or maintenance contractor. The induction could also differ depending on whether the person is a part-time or full-time employee.

Warehouse Visitor Induction Checklist

A visitor induction checklist is short and simple. The goal here is to make sure the visitor is aware and understands the importance of the policies in place for their protection. For this reason, it should include safety and emergency evacuation procedures.

Contractor Induction Checklist

A contractor induction is more detailed. It might cover elements such as permits and procedures for contract workers in your warehouse. It must also contain information about the contractor’s role and the policies and procedures related to it. A warehouse induction checklist can be prepared to make sure the contractor knows all safety procedures, incident reporting, and emergency evacuation procedures.

Warehouse Employee Induction Checklist

An employee induction checklist aims to make your employee as ready for the job as possible. In a warehouse setting, items for employees could include:

• Employment documentation, such as contract and tax declarations
• Employment terms and conditions
• Risk management procedures, such as emergency evacuation and hazard reporting
• Work health and safety issues
• Performance review criteria
• Your organization's policies against, absenteeism, bullying, harassment, and other workplace issues
• Workplace dress codes
• Standard operating procedures on the use of the Internet, mobile phones, and emails
• Policies for annual, maternity, paternity, and sick leaves

Supplier Induction Checklist

Having a new supplier could also require an induction checklist. It will help make sure that the supplier has gone through the supplier prequalification procedures, such as signing a distribution agreement. This is a crucial part of a warehouse’s supplier management system.

How the warehouse induction will be delivered will vary depending on several factors. For example, how many people are being inducted? How big is your warehouse? What are the health and safety issues related to your workplace?

Thanks to technology, there are many ways you can conduct the warehouse induction:

• Through a pre-recorded video
• Booklets
• Emails or phone calls
• Zoom calls or online interactive programs
• Training sessions in a classroom-type setting

Tips for Designing a Warehouse Induction Checklist

• Be realistic about your timelines. Give your new employees ample time to process the reviewed material. Do not overwhelm them with needless information.
• Make the checklist clear and concise. The instructions must be straightforward so that it is easy to understand and easy to follow.
• Encourage new employees to provide feedback after the induction. You can use their suggestion to review and improve your induction process.
• Make sure you are organized. It is important to create a favourable first impression.

How can a Digital Induction Template Benefit Your Company?

It’s hard enough to keep track of everything that needs to get done in the day without having to worry about the loose-leaf paper that needs to be filled out, filed, and documented. With Lumiform’s intuitive mobile application, you can check off as you go. Especially in the fast-paced warehouse environment, it’s all the more reason to depend on a reliable solution. All your reporting is instantly uploaded to the cloud, so you can be rest assured that all your information is right where you left it and not getting trampled on by busy feet.

Use the Lumiform solution to do:

• Swiftly analyze the data from your reports so you can improve your warehouse’s onboarding process.
• Automatically assign and schedule induction tours to responsible colleagues. With the Lumiform app, you’ll be immediately informed if tours are missed or bulleted items on the list are skipped
• The flexible form builder kit to convert any old paper document or lists into a digital checklist within minutes.
• Because the checklists are digitized, the whole process can be done approximately 30%-50% faster. That frees up time to focus on problems that need your attention and make the warehouse a safer place to work
• Increase the efficiency of your warehouse induction process and improve inter-team communication with faster reporting and responses from management and colleagues.

To help you get started, use our free warehouse induction checklist and templates and modify them to your specific business needs.