What is a warehouse induction checklist?
A warehouse induction checklist is used to onboard new hires in a warehouse. It ensures that new employees use the right materials, adhere to policies, and follow all required steps, procedures, and workflows. It outlines every task and activity assigned to new employees. A detailed warehouse induction checklist helps ensure promptness and avoid setbacks.
Their contents can vary depending on a worker’s role. For example, a checklist for a new hire could be widely different from that of a contractor. Preparing a warehouse induction template:
- Helps reduce the anxiety of a first day and acts as a reference when performing tasks
- Makes monitoring easy by detailing each step of the induction process without omitting anything
- Avoids mistakes during the induction process
What should you include in your warehouse induction checklist?
A warehouse induction checklist varies depending on the job description and the size of your business. For instance, if your warehouse is small, the induction might be a pre-recorded video. A larger business might be more complex and include emergency response and evacuation drills as well as job-specific onboarding.
Regardless of the size, essential elements of a warehouse induction checklist include:
Workplace safety
- Control measures for electrical hazards, falling objects, harmful substances, and other workplace hazards. These might include information about no-go zones and rules for working near electrical lines.
- Rules about wearing hard hats and other personal protective equipment (PPE)
- Traffic management plans and other safety documents
- Protocols for reporting incidents
- Accident, emergency, and evacuation procedures
- Layout information like the location of first aid kits, entrances and exits, and loading and unloading areas
- Changes to the workplace that can impact employee health and safety
Job-specific
It’s important to provide any information necessary for employee tasks. Workers need know the risks and safety measures relevant to their job. For example, a warehouse induction checklist for employees who regularly work at heights must include information on mobile elevated working platforms (MEWPs).
Job-specific inductions cover:
- Assigned tasks
- Job hazards, risks, and control measures
- Job safety analyses or warehouse safety principles
- Possible interactions with other members of the team
- Legal obligations, codes of conduct, or technical standards that require compliance
What makes an effective warehouse induction?
Warehouse inductions are usually performed for employees, contractors, and visitors. A warehouse induction checklist is customized according to specific roles such as security officers, cleaning contractors, or maintenance contractors. Inductions also depend on whether employees are part-time or full-time.
Warehouse visitor induction checklist
A visitor induction checklist is short and simple. They make sure visitors are aware of and understand the importance of policies in place to protect them. These checklists should include safety and emergency evacuation procedures.
Contractor induction checklist
A contractor induction is more detailed. It covers elements like permits and procedures for contract workers in your warehouse. It also needs to outline the contractor’s role and any policies and procedures related to it. A warehouse induction checklist makes sure contractors know the safety procedures, incident reporting, and emergency evacuation procedures in your workplace.
Warehouse employee induction checklist
An employee induction checklist prepares your employee for the job as best as possible. It includes items like:
- Contract and tax documentation
- Employment terms and conditions
- Risk management procedures, like emergency evacuation and hazard reporting
- Work health and safety issues
- Performance review criteria
- Organizational policies about absenteeism, bullying, harassment, and other workplace issues
- Workplace dress codes
- Standard operating procedures regarding use of the Internet, mobile phones, and emails
- Policies for annual, maternity, paternity, and sick leaves
Supplier induction checklist
Induction checklists are also useful for new suppliers, to make sure that the supplier has completed all qualifications, such as signing a distribution agreement. This is a crucial part of a warehouse’s supplier management system.
Warehouse inductions are delivered differently depending on several factors. These factors include number of people being inducted, size of the warehouse, and any workplace health and safety issues.
Ways to perform a warehouse induction include:
- Pre-recorded videos
- Booklets
- Emails or phone calls
- Zoom calls or online interactive programs
- Training sessions in a classroom-type setting
Warehouse induction checklist best practices
- Be realistic about your timelines. Give new employees ample time to process reviewed material. Don’t overwhelm them with information.
- Make your checklist clear and concise. They need to be easy to understand and follow.
- Encourage new employees to provide feedback after their induction. Use their suggestions to review and improve your induction process.
- Make sure you’re organized so you create a favourable first impression
Using workflow automation software to write a warehouse induction checklist
Paper-based inspections make keeping track of everything that needs doing harder than it needs to be. It’s easy to lose, damage, or misplace paper documents, and you need to prepare a new checklist each time. But using workflow automation software like Lumiform, you’re able to create, use, and manage checklists all with one platform.
All completed checklists are instantly uploaded to the cloud, so you can rest assured that all your information is safe and available when you need it.
Use Lumiform’s solution to:
- Swiftly analyze report data to improve your warehouse’s onboarding process
- Automatically assign and schedule inductions to responsible colleagues, and stay informed when tours are missed or checklist items are missed
- Transform any paper checklist into a digital one, or make a custom checklist, using the flexible form builder kit
- Complete warehouse inductions approximately 30%-50% faster using the mobile app, so you can focus on other problems that need your attention
- Improve inter-team communication with faster reporting and responses from management and colleagues
