Warehouse and Operations as a Career

A young associate, from what I could gather, had been on the job for 3 days, and was asked to go over to another building and help load out D-Containers. They were quite shocked to learn they were not the large metal containers, as she put it, that looks like trailers. She asked if I’d ever seen such.  It just so happens that I’ve worked a lot with different containers earlier in my career.  

Now when most people hear the word container, they think about those giant steel boxes stacked on ships crossing the ocean. But containers are really everywhere. From a D container rolling through a retail grocery warehouse, to an EH container packed with heavy product, to lift vans moving families overseas, all the way up to 45-foot, and even larger, high cube ocean containers arriving from around the world. There are so many different types of containers. They organize freight, help protect the product Increasing productivity and Improving cube utilization, and speeding up transportation. 

And if you’ve ever worked around them, you already know containers aren’t just boxes. Some are designed for stacking. Some for rolling. They even have some refrigerated products. I’ve seen several different ones for for export shipping.  

So today, let’s talk about containers. The small ones, large ones, reusable ones, the refrigerated ones, and the giant steel containers that changed global commerce forever. 

Let’s start with the containers many warehouse associates know best. The D containers, E containers, EH containers, and the LDN containers. Now depending on the operation, the exact sizes and names may vary slightly, but in grocery, foodservice, retail, and large distribution environments, these are usually large reusable, pallet or rolling containers designed around warehouse productivity systems. These are not the little plastic totes on our conveyer tracks. 

Let’s start off with the D Container. I’ve banded and strapped many a D container in my day.  If you’ve spent time in grocery or foodservice distribution, especially in the produce world, you’ve probably loaded up hundreds of D containers in your career. The D container is one of the workhorses of warehouse distribution. An absolute time saver. Typical dimensions are often around 48 inches long, 40 inches wide and anywhere between 36 to 48 inches tall. Anybody want to guess why 48 by 40. Yep, the size of a typical GMA, or the grocery manufacturers association pallet. Most are built with heavy-duty cardboard or plastic with reinforced bases, large caster wheels for the rolling models and some stackable designs as well. Many operations load them with 1,000 to 2,000 pounds of freight. I commonly see D containers used for mixed product selection, cooler operations like produce, think of like watermelons, pumpkins, melons, things like that. They are good for returns and repacks too. If you’ve seen those commercials or ads for buying a pallet of returned product, they may ship it to you in a D container. 

A container can truly change the workflow. Using the right container is important. The size of the container affects our picking speed, trailer cube, stacking patterns, conveyor systems, even different slotting strategies, and labor productivity. Operations teams don’t just pick containers randomly. There’s engineering behind every inch of that design. And from a safety standpoint, D containers demand respect. Once they’re fully loaded, stopping distance changes, our pushing force is increased, visibility and control changes. Anybody that’s ever lost control of a loaded D container on an incline knows exactly what I’m talking about! 

Next up are the E containers. Now the E container is usually taller and designed for higher cube utilization. Typical dimensions are again around 48 inches by 40 inches wide, but  around 50 to 60 inches tall. You’ll see E containers heavily used in, again, grocery distribution, some types of retail replenishment, and both cooler and freezer environments. I mentioned respect and safety earlier. That extra height changes everything operationally. Now we’re talking about a higher center of gravity, reduced visibility and an increased tipping risk. A poorly built E container becomes dangerous quick. Especially if heavy product gets stacked high or product shifts during transportation. 

Now let’s move on to the EH container. The heavy-duty version. These containers are built tougher and stronger. More reinforced. And designed for heavier freight applications. The typical dimensions are often 48×40 and 60 inches tall or greater. Many operations safely load 2,000 pounds or more into an EH container.  

You’ll commonly find EH containers in freezer operations, meat distribution, industrial warehousing, manufacturing, and such. And once again, the container itself becomes part of the safety conversation. Because now we’re discussing pinch points, rolling weight, dock plate safety, caster failures, and freight shifting. Especially in freezer environments where condensation freezes, wheels become harder to control, and any plastic can become brittle.  

Let’s see, what’s next, the LDN containers. These are often longer, deeper, high-capacity containers designed for heavy environments. Typical dimensions may range from 48 to 60 inches long, 40 inches wide and 60 inches or taller . These are commonly seen in cross dock operations, route staging and high-volume distribution centers and these containers are built around one thing, cube utilization. Empty space cost money right. Every inch matters. In the trailer, on the dock, in reserve storage and on conveyor systems. The better we use cube, the more efficient the operation becomes. 

Now let’s talk about something many younger warehouse associates may never have heard of. The lift van. Before standardized ocean containers became the norm, lift vans played a huge role in transportation and overseas moving. A lift van is basically a portable shipping vault. There usually built from wood or reinforced plywood with steel supports or composite materials. Typical sizes varied greatly, but many measured 6 to 8 feet wide, 6 to 8 feet tall and 6 to 12 feet long. These were heavily used for military relocations, office moves, overseas household shipping, and export freight. And honestly, lift vans helped inspire container standardization and showed a need across global shipping. Once businesses realized freight could stay inside one container from start to finish, efficiency exploded. 

Now let’s move into the giants of global commerce. The ocean shipping containers. These steel boxes changed the world. Before standardized shipping containers, freight was loaded piece by piece onto ships. Imagine loading every box, crate, barrel and pallet

by hand. Loading ships could take days. Then standardized containers arrived and global commerce was changed forever. 

The 20-foot container became one of the original global standards. There typical dimensions were 20 feet long, 8 feet wide, and 8 feet 6 inches tall with a maximum gross weight of approximately 52,000 pounds, meaning a payload capacity of roughly 47,000 pounds. These containers are commonly used for things like machinery, industrial products, canned goods, and heavy dense freight. And because the container is smaller, it often handles heavy loads better than longer containers. 

Now the 24-foot container isn’t as common globally, but many domestic and specialized operations use them. You’ll sometimes see them in regional transportation arenas, moving operations, specialized freight systems, and certain intermodal applications. They help bridge the gap between maneuverability and increased cube space.  

And on to the 40 foot container. The 40-footer became the king of international shipping. 

Typical dimensions being 40 feet long, 8 feet wide, 8 feet 6 inches tall with a gross weight of approximately 67,000 pounds. These dominate in retail imports, electronics, furniture, apparel, and consumer goods. When you picture giant stacks of containers on ships, this is usually what you’re seeing. And you have the 40 foot and 45 foot high cube containers, both having an extra foot of space. These containers maximize import efficiency, warehouse throughput, transportation cube and trailer equivalent capacity. And anybody that’s manually unloaded one during the summer already knows, halfway through that unload, it feels like the container keeps getting longer and longer. 

And now let’s talk about the refrigerated containers. Or as transportation folks call them reefers. These containers maintain controlled temperatures for frozen foods, produce, pharmaceuticals, dairy, and meat products. And these aren’t just cold steel boxes. These are rolling refrigeration systems. They require temperature monitoring, airflow management, fuel systems, maintenance, and constant inspection. One reefer malfunction can destroy an entire load, thousands of dollars in freight, or millions in pharmaceutical products.  

Containers certainly improve productivity, but they also introduce risk. We have to respect dock locks, the dock plates, trailer movement devices and chassis, shifting freight and stacking stability. 

Ocean containers especially can become dangerous environments. Improperly loaded freight can shift violently when doors open. And overloaded warehouse containers can roll unexpectedly, tip over or create severe ergonomic strain. Sometimes the container itself is the hazard. 

From a D container rolling through a grocery warehouse, to a refrigerated 45-foot High Cube crossing the Pacific Ocean, containers help move the entire world. Like we’ve said many times. every product has a journey. And almost every journey starts with a container. Look around you. Everything you see has probably been on a container, or at least a trailer, and came through a warehouse.  

I’m Marty and thanks for listening to another episode of Warehouse and Operations as a Career. Stay productive and never stop learning. Yall stay safe out there.

Marty here, and thanks for stopping by Warehouse and Operations as a Career! I had a listener comment that on several episodes I had said something like early is on time and on time is late, and if you’re on time you’re late. They stated that I placed way too much weight on the time clock. And I guess somewhere I had written or said that I had learned more by always being early, setting in the breakroom and listening to or talking with the other shift coming or going. They stated as long as they punched in a minute before the shift their manager shouldn’t be concerned with their schedule. They went on to share that their management wanted them on the floor, dressed out, and ready for the preshift meeting but the timeclock was in the breakroom. At least a two minute walk from the gathering point. Well, let me clarify my thoughts there. I think you should always be you. And you’ll probably be fine. But, if you are an early one, one collaborating with others, and being inquisitive, I assure you, you will earn more throughout your career. But seriously, everyone does have the right, at least to themselves, to, well, be you. And I support that 100%. 

So, after going down that path, it made me think about that first 30 minutes of our shift, and then the last 30 minutes as well! I’ve always believed that hour is the most important two pieces of my shift.  

Now a lot of people and managers think the middle of the shift is where everything happens. That’s where the work gets done, the trucks get loaded, the orders get selected, the freight gets moved, and the productivity numbers are at their peak. And that’s true. But I feel that experienced operations people know something else. You can usually tell how a shift is going to go within the first 30 minutes, and unfortunately, a lot of accidents and poor decisions happen during the last 30 minutes. Those two windows can determine the safety, productivity, morale, and professionalism, what am I wanting to say, Culture, of the entire operation. And it really doesn’t matter what position we hold. 

Whether we’re unloading trailers, selecting orders, operating forklifts, working sanitation, dispatching trucks, handling inventory control, or leading teams, how we start and how we finish matters. A lot. I’m going to say it defines the shift or its culture.  

Let’s start with the beginning of our day. And honestly, I think the shift actually starts before we ever clock in. It starts when the alarm goes off, and with how much sleep we get whether we prepared our lunch, laid out our clothes, filled up the gas tank the night before, or whether we woke up already behind schedule. We’ve all done it. Wake up late. Rush through traffic. Walk into the building frustrated. Grab a scanner or piece of equipment and jump right into the shift without mentally arriving yet. And when that happens, we carry our chaos into the operation with us. 

Now I know life happens. Kids get sick. Traffic backs up. Life is expensive. Some people are working two jobs. I understand all of that. But there’s also something to be said for preparation and routine. Professional associates learn that the shift before the shift matters. I really do believe that showing up ten or fifteen minutes early changes things. It gives us time to breathe. Time to mentally prepare, to stretch, to review assignments and to attend startup meetings without rushing through the door halfway distracted. 

And our startup meetings matter. I know sometimes we look at them as repetitive, and think oh no another safety topic again. We’re listening to the case counts, the trailer counts, and our productivity and error numbers again.  

But don’t those meetings set the tone? That’s where the communication begins and where the expectations are shared. And, in my opinion, strong startup meetings can prevent injuries and operational concerns before they ever happen. Here’s something I learned years ago. A chaotic first hour usually creates a chaotic day. When batteries aren’t charged, and equipment inspections aren’t completed, and maybe the dock doors are blocked with the previous shifts freight, or our assignments aren’t understood and our leadership is scattered trying to find everyone, or attitudes are negative. It’s going to be long day.  

We all know that one late start can affect productivity for an entire shift. That one missing pallet can create indirect time for us. And that one forklift issue not caught during our pre-trip can become a safety incident later. And oh my goodness, can’t attitudes spread quickly inside the warehouse. One negative or rushed person at startup can affect ten more people before first break. But positivity and preparedness spreads just as quick. I that’s why leadership being visible during startup matters so much. 

Associates notice when supervisors are engaged and they notice when leadership is walking the floor. And it’s easy to pick up on when management already looks stressed before the shift even starts. 

And new employees especially pay attention during those first thirty minutes. That’s when the culture gets introduced to them. All the posters and slogans are cool, but the new boot learns through our behavior. They watch how equipment gets inspected, and whether safety rules ar being followed, how people are talking to each other, and whether procedures actually matter. And many times, they’ll mirror what they see. 

Ok, now let’s move to the other side of the shift. The last 30 minutes. And honestly, this may be one of the most dangerous periods of the day inside warehousing and transportation. Because by then, fatigue has entered the picture. Our feet may hurt and our backs may ache. People are mentally tired. Production numbers are on our mind and the clock starts becoming everyone’s focus. We’ve all heard it, said it, or thought it before. Just one more pallet. Just hurry up and finish it. Ot thought I’ll clean it up tomorrow. Or it’s close enough. And that’s when shortcuts begin. Maybe someone skips wrapping a pallet correctly, or someone rushes backing out of a trailer or someone jumps off equipment instead of maintaining their three points of contact. Maybe someone ignores a spill because the sanitation team will get it later or a forklift operator stops paying attention to pedestrians because mentally they’re already in the parking lot. And unfortunately, many injuries happen right there, at the end of the shift. Not because people are bad employees. But because they’re tired. The scary part about fatigue is many times we don’t even realize how distracted we’ve become. That’s why experienced operations leaders are or should be walking the floor during the last hour of the shift. This is when our  energy levels change, our awareness and patience changes, and urgency can become dangerous. 

I was told once to watch my team and don’t let them mentally clock out before they physically clock out. Once that happens, safety and quality begin dropping fast. You can literally see it spread across the dock. People stop communicating. Housekeeping slips. People start parking their equipment anywhere. And paperwork gets rushed or not completed at all.  Sometimes people become so focused on leaving on time that they stop focusing on working safely. 

Now don’t misunderstand me. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to go home. We all work hard. But professionalism and us being That employee means finishing strong too. Not just starting strong. 

Oh and here’s another bullet point I wanted to throw in there. The last thirty minutes are not just about ending our shift, they’re about preparing the next shift. Remember another one of those quotes we’ve all heard at a start up meetings, how it’s our responsibility to set the plate for the next shift! And I’ll use another one of the words we learned 2 weeks ago, I think this says a lot about our ownership. Do we leave equipment plugged in? Do we report damaged the pallets? Do we clean up shrink wrap and debris, leaving our work areas clean and organized or do we leave chaos for somebody else to fix? We all know that if batteries are dead, or equipment is damaged, and replenishments weren’t completed, or if paperwork is missing or incomplete, the next team starts behind before they even begin. 

Often our teams are measured by what we leave behind for others. I think strong facilities operate like connected shifts, not separate teams competing against each other. 

And I want to add that leadership plays a huge role in both the first and last thirty minutes. Like we discussed earlier, a disengaged startup creates confusion, just like a disengaged close creates carelessness. I’m just going to say it. Associates need to see leadership on the floor, they need communication and consistency. Sometimes just seeing a supervisor engaged on the floor at the end of the shift changes the entire energy of a department. 

At the end of the day, warehousing and transportation are fast-moving environments. We deal with freight, equipment, deadlines, productivity, customers, and pressure. But sometimes the smallest moments create the biggest outcomes. The first thirty minutes. And the last thirty minutes. I think the best associates understand it, because the best leaders teach it. And the strongest operations build cultures around it. Because how we start creates momentum and how we finish defines our professionalism. And in our world, both matter. 

Did anything we talk about today change how you’re going to walk into or out of your shift tomorrow? If so or if you have any thoughts you’d like to share please do so on our Facebook or Instagram feeds and of course you can send us an email as well!  

Yall be safe out there this week and I hope you’ll join us again next week.

Welcome back to Warehouse and Operations as a Career. I’m Marty and I’ve received a couple of different questions about forklift attachments over the last couple of months, so I thought we’d find a few answers for them. So today let’s talk about a few different tools we can see in warehousing, manufacturing, food distribution, and the paper, beverage, chemical, recycling, and even import/export operations.

We are talking about the clamp, the barrel clamp, the roll clamp, and the slip sheet or push-pull attachment. I think it’s important to state that a forklift by itself is already a powerful piece of equipment. Add an attachment to it, and we have changed the whole game. We have changed what that forklift can do, the way the load moves, and the operator’s responsibilities. And we have changed the risks. Some facilities love attachments, while other facilities discourage their use or only allow a very small group of trained operators to use them. They can certainly, in the right environments, increase productivity, however, in the wrong environment you’ll find it’s easy to damage product, slow down the productivity, and even present safety concerns as well.

Forklift attachments came about because freight does not always come to us on a perfect 48 by 40 pallet. Warehousing, Manufacturing and Shipping had to evolve. Companies wanted to move more product, reduce damage, save money, use less packaging, and handle odd-shaped freight more efficiently. Companies have been building forklift attachments for decades, tracing their beginnings back to the late 1940’s as a way to let a conventional lift truck push, pull, clamp, lift, and rotate different types of loads for a host of reasons. They were created to solve problems.

A clamp attachment allows us to handle loads without forks going under a pallet. You may see carton clamps in appliance warehouses, paper goods, electronics, wine, packaged food, chemicals, and plastics. Think about big boxes of paper towels, refrigerators, washers, dryers, or cartons that are stacked and shipped without pallets. The clamp applies pressure from both sides and allows the operator to lift and move the product. My first experience with a clamp was unloading, stacking and storing washers and dryers. A unique experience to say the least.

A paper roll clamp is common in paper mills, printing operations, and packaging plants. These clamps are made to handle large rolls of paper without damaging them. That takes skill. Too much pressure can crush or deform the roll. Too little pressure and the roll can slip. That operator has to understand the equipment, the product, the weight, the diameter, and the clamp pressure. One of my accounts used these, although I’ve never picked up one of those big, heavy rolls, I enjoyed watching them. The skill and focus were mesmerizing to me!

A barrel clamp or drum clamp is used where drums, barrels, or round containers are moved. You may see these in chemical operations, food ingredient facilities, beverage plants, oil and lubricant operations, recycling, waste handling, and manufacturing. The goal is simple, safely grab and move a round container that does not sit on our forks the same way a pallet does. This is an amazing tool.

Then we have the slip sheet attachment, often called a push-pull attachment. This one is interesting. This is a pretty common tool in distribution and storage environments. A lot of times product will be shipped on slip sheats. Instead of using a wooden pallet, the product sits on a thin sheet, often cardboard, fiberboard or plastic. The attachment grips the lip of that sheet, pulls the load onto wide platens, and then pushes it off at the destination. Manufacturers describe slip sheet handling as a way to ship, receive, and warehouse on inexpensive slip sheets rather than pallets, especially for bagged products, canned products and bottled items. I’ve seen all kinds of product shipped on slip sheets.

So, why would a company use the slip sheet or push pull? Money, space, weight, sanitation, less pallet cost, less room needed for pallet storage, and overall, less wood in the facility. In some operations, especially export, grocery, beverage, and manufacturing, slip sheets can make sense.

But, and this is an important point. Just because an attachment can do something does not mean every operator should be using it. Our training makes it clear that attachments change the forklift. The capacity, its operation, and maintenance plates or decals must be changed when a forklift is equipped with an attachment, and an unloaded forklift with an attachment must be treated as partially loaded. And we need to remember that modifications or additions affecting capacity or safe operation require prior written approval from the forklift manufacturer. That is a big deal. When we hang a clamp, push-pull, rotator, or barrel clamp on the front of a forklift, we are adding weight. We are changing the load center. We are changing visibility. We may be changing the way the forklift turns, stops, tilts, and reacts. And we are definitely changing the responsibility of the operator.

A standard forklift operator already needs to know their data plate, load capacity, load center, travel speed, dock safety programs, pedestrians, horn use, ramps, trailers, and stability triangle. Add an attachment, and now that operator also needs to know clamp pressure, product damage points, hydraulic functions, attachment inspections, load shape, grip points, and how that attachment affects the capacity.

Ok, the question of pay comes up. Having these experiences may bring more pay to the table. Not always, but it can. In many operations, an operator who can run a sit-down forklift is valuable. An operator who can run a sit-down forklift with a clamp, a slip sheet attachment, a roll clamp, or a drum clamp may be even more valuable. Why? Because fewer people can do it well. It requires more training, more patience, and more judgment. But more pay should also mean more accountability. We cannot say, I want the extra wages, but then not accept the extra responsibility. Attachments are specialty tools. Specialty tools require specialty habits. Let’s talk about some of the dangers.

With a carton clamp, the big risks are product damage, dropped loads, crushing, poor visibility, and over-clamping. If the operator clamps too hard, they can crush the freight. If they do not clamp hard enough, the load can slide out. If the load is not square, stable, or properly positioned, it can shift during travel.

With a paper roll clamp, the risks include roll damage, dropped rolls, unstable travel, and poor positioning. A paper roll can be heavy, round, and unforgiving. Once it starts moving, it can keep moving. That means the operator must think ahead.

With a barrel or drum clamp, we add the risk of round containers, liquid movement, chemical exposure, spills, and environmental concerns. A dropped drum is not just damaged freight. It may be a hazmat situation. It may become a slip hazard. It may require evacuation, cleanup, reporting, and investigation.

With a slip sheet attachment, the danger is often in the technique. Push-pull work is not the same as sliding forks under a pallet. The operator has to grab the lip of the sheet, pull the load correctly, keep the product stable, and push it off without tipping, tearing, or shifting the load. Industry sources note that push-pull attachments require specific training, as do all attachments, and can reduce forklift capacity because of the attachment weight, and add complexity compared with normal pallet handling.  And that is why some companies discourage their use. It may not be because the attachment is a bad thing. It may be because the facility does not have enough properly trained operators or maybe because the product damage is too high. It may be because the loads are just so inconsistent. To be honest, these tools, especially the slip sheet, just don’t make sense in all situations. I know of a lot of produce houses that discourage their use because of so much product damage. They don’t save a lot of unloading time if you spend any saved time picking up damaged product! And in our world, as we’ve learned speed can get us in trouble. A clamp operator cannot be rushed, a slip sheet operator cannot be careless, and a barrel clamp operator cannot assume every drum is stable. These jobs require focus.

So where do we see these attachments? You may see clamps in receiving, shipping, production staging, appliance warehouses, paper product warehouses, grocery distribution, consumer goods, and retail distribution. I’ve seen roll clamps in paper mills, printing plants, packaging plants, and ports. You may see barrel clamps in chemical plants, food manufacturing, beverage, oil, recycling, and sanitation-related operations. And you may find slip sheet attachments in export loading, food and beverage distribution, manufacturing, agricultural products, electronics, cosmetics, and operations trying to reduce pallet cost.

If you are an associate, forklift attachments can be an opportunity. They can make you more marketable and make you more useful to your facility. They can help you move from basic forklift operation into a specialty equipment role. But do not just jump on one. And we all know never to get on or even touch a machine or piece of powered industrial equipment that we have not been trained on and certified to operate right. Ask our managers for training. Ask to have the data plate explained to us. Ask how the attachment changes the machine’s capacity. Ask what the inspection checklist looks like. Ask what products are approved to be handled. Ask what clamp pressure should be used. Ask what damage has happened before. Ask what near misses have occurred. Another words, communicate, ask questions, and learn. Be a professional. Be THAT employee.

And if you are a lead, supervisor, or manager, do not assume a certified forklift operator is automatically qualified to use every attachment in the building. That operator needs equipment specific and workplace specific training. And the attachment needs to be part of the inspection program. The data plate needs to match the truck and attachment. The operator needs to know the limitations. OSHA’s or your countries powered industrial truck guidance reminds us that the data plate gives the operator critical information such as forklift weight and capacity, and operators should read it to understand the truck’s capabilities and limits.

I think it’s important to note here that a forklift attachment is not just an add-on. It is a new responsibility bolted to the front of the truck. Yes, it can help us move freight better and it can reduce pallet use, and it can protect product, and in certain environments It can improve efficiency, even open doors for operators who want to learn more and earn more. But it can also reduce capacity, block visibility, damage freight, create spills, drop loads, and hurt people when used incorrectly.

So the message for today is simple. You don’t need to fear forklift attachments, but we have to respect them, learn them, and inspect them, and understand what they change. And never forget that the more specialized the tool, the more professional that we, the operator needs to be.

Well, I hope I answered a few of the questions on attachments.  Until next time, keep learning, keep asking questions, and keep building your career one safe move at a time. And please keep in mind that the safety of ourselves and our team is our first responsibility.

In our world of warehousing, transportation, and supply chain operations, titles or what we call ourselves can vary widely. You may be in sanitation, running a scrubber and setting the plate for the next shift or you may be a yard spotter moving trailers or maybe you’re on a forklift racking pallets, or an order selector chasing cases, a clerk managing paperwork, a dispatcher coordinating loads, or an inventory analyst balancing numbers that keep millions of dollars accounted for. All different roles with different responsibilities. But there is one thing that ties every successful associate, supervisor, and leader together. Welcome back all, I’m Marty with Warehouse and Operations as a Career and today I’d like to talk about Ownership. 

Ownership is not given to us with a certificate, a vest, or a title. It’s not written into our job description. It’s a decision, one we make every single shift. I think ownership is the mindset of saying this is my job, and I’m responsible for how it’s done. Or if something goes wrong, I don’t look around, I point at myself. If something can be better, I want to be part of the solution. In my view, ownership means you don’t separate yourself from the outcome.  I own that responsibility. Whether you’re loading a trailer, counting inventory, or scheduling freight, your work represents not just you, but your team, your company, and our industry. 

Let’s talk about us on the floor for a minute.  Let’s see, we’ll start with sanitation. Ownership here means more than just cleaning. It means understanding why that aisle must be clear of debris, and why spills must be handled and cleaned up immediately, why a clean facility prevents injuries, contamination, and lost productivity. Understanding all that, ownership says, I’m not just cleaning, I’m protecting people and freight. And regarding the Forklift operator, ownership isn’t just about moving product from point A to point B. To me it’s about performing your pre-trip inspection like your safety depends on it, because it does, and handling product like it belongs to you and always being aware of your surroundings. Ownership says this machine, this load, and this environment are my responsibility. And pretty much the same with the order selector. Ownership shows up in accuracy, we all know how one mis-pick can affect a customer, a driver, and our reputation. And then there’s the productivity, our cases per hour can impact the entire operation. Here, if its mine, ownership says if it leaves my pallet, it’s going to leave right. 

Are you starting to see a theme develop? What’s up next, the spotter or yard hauler. Ownership here is just as critical. It means knowing where every trailer is and why its spotted there, checking equipment before moving it or setting refer temps, and of course communicating clearly with the dock. Ownership says nothing moves in this yard without awareness and intention. 

And in positions like a clerk or dispatcher, or inventory control, or more office type settings, ownership in these roles is often invisible, but incredibly important. It means accuracy in documentation, clear communication with drivers and teams, staying ahead of problems before they hit the dock, and understanding discrepancies, not just reporting them, and digging into root causes, really just protecting the company’s financial integrity and responsibilities. I think that ownership is saying If information flows through me, it flows correctly. And If the numbers are off, I don’t guess, I’ll investigate. 

Ok, enough of all that. Now let’s talk about leadership. Ownership doesn’t stop when you get promoted. I think it becomes even more important. A supervisor or manager who owns their role understands how the team’s success is their success and that the team’s failures are also their responsibility. And how the culture, safety, productivity, and morale all fall under their watch. Ownership in leadership is addressing issues immediately, not later, and like we learned last week, coaching instead of criticizing, and setting expectations clearly and consistently. And an important part is holding people accountable, but holding yourself accountable first.  A leader with ownership never says that’s not my department or that’s not my problem.  Instead, they say Let’s figure it out, or how do we fix this? Or something like what can we do better next time? 

And of course ownership is one of the strongest drivers of safety in any facility. Like we learned in episode 362. You can have posters on the walls and safety meetings every day along with all the training programs in place, but if individuals don’t take ownership? None of it sticks. Ownership in safety says I’m responsible for going home safe and helping others do the same. 

We’ve talked before about, what gets measured gets managed. That’s one of my many mentors favorite quotes. I’ve always believed ownership drives performance. When an associate owns their numbers, they know their cases per hour, and understand their goals, that person is always looking for ways to improve. They don’t wait to be told. They take the initiative. I’m convinced that ownership turns average performance into consistent performance, which in turn takes consistent performance into top performance levels. 

On another note, have you ever heard anyone say that’s not my job? That mindset will stall a career faster than almost anything else. Now, are there job descriptions? Absolutely. Are there responsibilities? Of course. But ownership, has to understand something bigger. We are part of a system, and every role impacts another, success is shared and so are failures.  

Now, Ownership doesn’t mean doing everything. It means caring about everything. It means being willing to step in when needed, help a teammate, and raise your hand when something’s off. It’s important to remember that the operation doesn’t run on job descriptions. It runs on people. 

Here’s something I probably don’t talk about enough. In my opinion Ownership builds trust. When you consistently do what you say, take responsibility, and deliver results. People notice. And our Supervisors and Managers notice. But even more importantly? Your teammates notice. They know they can count on you. And in this industry, being someone, others can count on is everything. That’s how we grow and increase our earnings. Remember how I feel about being that employee.  

And speaking of growth. If you’re looking to move up to that lead, supervisor, or manager role, ownership is the pathway. And you know I don’t believe leadership is just about titles, authority, or even pay increases. It’s about responsibility. 

And we’ve talked about the best leaders? They were the associates who owned their roles early on in their career, they took pride in their work, and they solved problems before they were asked. I always felt that my ownership told my leaders that I’m ready for more.   

In today’s global supply chain, whether it’s truckload, LTL, air freight, or ocean shipments, ownership matters. One missed detail can delay shipments, cost thousands of dollars and impact customers across the country or the world. Ownership at every level ensures accuracy, efficiency, and reliability. From the warehouse floor to international logistics, ownership is what keeps our supply chain intact. 

What else did I bullet point here. Ownership doesn’t just affect your job. It affects your life. 

When you take ownership, you build confidence, and develop discipline, all while strengthening your reputation. You stop making excuses and you start making progress in your careers. I look at ownership as the difference between waiting for opportunities and creating opportunities.  

Ok, so how do we practice ownership everyday? I don’t think it is complicated or difficult, but it does take thought and intention. I always speak to my new boots to start with this. Show up on time and ready to work. Know and understand your role, and know it well. And ask questions when you don’t understand something. I urge everyone to take responsibility when mistakes happen, own it and look for ways to improve processes.  I always add or wrap up an orientation by reminding us to help others succeed. That’s part of every job.  Oh, and most importantly, Care about what you do. 

At the end of the day ladies and gentlemen, ownership is a choice. I’m not going to say any choice is a wrong choice, but I do think it has to be our choice. You can do the minimum, just stay in your lane and wait to be told what to do. Or, you can take pride in your work, lead from where you stand and be the example others follow. Another words, be THAT employee we’re always talking about.  

In warehousing, transportation, and supply chain operations, we deal with movement, products, freight, and information. But the most important thing we move forward is people and I think we should say our careers and futures also. And I believe ownership is the driving force behind all of it. So, whatever your role is today, sanitation, forklift operator, selector, clerk, dispatcher, analyst, or leader, lets own it. 

A quick opinion, when you own your role, you don’t just do the job. You define it and choose what it’ll be. We all make so many choices and decisions every day. That’s how we drive our personal and professional lives, and well, our futures and careers. 

If you have any thoughts or experiences with ownership please share them on our Instagram at waocpodcast or our Facebook feed using that @whseops and we’d love to hear from you by email, [email protected]. Until next week, be safe out there. Our friends and family are looking forward to seeing us.

Let’s talk about something that many of us have experienced, but very few of us accepted well or maybe even truly understood. That moment when your supervisor says hey, can you step into the office for a minute? Your heart rate picks up. Your mind starts racing. And before you even sit down, you’re already on the defensive. You’re thinking, what did I do wrong? Why am I getting singled out? This isn’t fair. And just like that, before the conversation even begins, the opportunity for any growth or understanding is already slipping away. I think that’s the human nature in us.  

I’m Marty with Warehouse and Operations as a Career and today I’d like to pause and reshape that entire moment. Because what many call a write-up, corrective action, or warning, I want us to recognize it as something different. I call it coaching. But it has to be presented and accepted as coaching too.  So, we’ll start with a bit of truth. In our light industrial world, warehousing, distribution, manufacturing, and production, we deal in productivity, safety, accountability, and responsibility. Cases have to move, trucks have to deliver, Equipment and machines must be operated safely, and teams have to show up, on time, ready to work. That is just fact. So when something goes off track like attendance, productivity, safety, or our behavior, well, it has to be addressed. Those things can’t be, or shouldn’t be ignored. They shouldn’t be brushed aside. And not just saved for later. I want to know how I’m doing. But how it’s addressed, I feel that’s the important piece.  

So, let’s spend a minute looking at it from the employee’s side. Most associates don’t hear coaching. They hear I’m in trouble. I’m about to get fired. They don’t like me, oh and I love this one. They’re picking on me. And what happens when those thoughts take over, the walls go up. Now the conversation becomes defensive instead of reflective, and emotional instead of anything close to productive, even argumentative instead of productive. And I think that’s where we as associates sometimes fail to capitalize on an opportunity.  

A coaching conversation is one of the few times someone is investing directly in your growth. Think about that. Someone stopped their day, pulled you aside, and said let’s talk about how we can do this better. The way I see things that’s not punishment. That’s opportunity.  

So why do we react the way we do?  I think a lot of it comes down to pride. We don’t like being told we missed something and we don’t like being corrected, and we definitely don’t like it when it’s documented.  

But what if we looked at it this way. That correction is not rejection. It’s direction, maybe even guidance. It could be someone saying you’re capable of more, and I’m going to help you get there. Let’s break this into two types of thinking. First up let’s talk about a Fixed Mindset. That would be things like I messed up. This is bad. Or they’re coming after me. And this is going on my record. And then we’d have the Growth Mindset. This person may think something like what can I learn from this? How do I improve? And what does success look like moving forward? Just a shift in thinking like that can change the direction of our career. I firmly believe the associates who grow the fastest, aren’t the ones who never get coached. They’re the ones who listen, adjust, and apply lessons learned.  

Now let’s talk about the management side. Managers, supervisors, leads, this part is probably even more important. Because let’s be real, sometimes we don’t get this right. We rush the conversation or we come in frustrated. We make it feel like discipline instead of development. And when that happens, we lose the associate before we ever reach them.  

There is a difference between coaching and correcting. Correcting says you did this wrong. Coaching says let’s walk through what happened and how we improve it together. See the difference? One shuts people down. The other opens them up. So how do we deliver coaching the right way. First, we have to set the tone. Start with calm, not confrontation. Something like, hey, I want to talk through something with you so we can make sure you’re set up for success. Right away, you’ve shifted the conversation. And we have to stick to the facts. Not our opinions or emotions. It’s always good to share numbers or what we’ve personally seen. Something like, yesterday you clocked in 18 minutes late. Or what else could we say about something, oh, your last three picks were below standard. Or maybe I observed a safety concern with your lift technique right after break. Clear. Direct. and professional. And we have to explain the why. This is where managers often miss the mark. We need to tie it back to something like Safety, or how it impacts the team, or for productivity concerns or even customer service or their expectations. I say all that because I think when people understand the why, they’re more likely to buy in. And I feel as managers we have to invite them into the conversation. We have to listen. This is huge. We may need to help get things started by saying something like help me understand what happened. Now it’s a conversation, not a lecture. Of course we cant just point out the problem, we have to define the solution too.  Something like, going forward, I need you clocked in and ready at start time. And let’s review proper lifting technique together. Here’s what success looks like over the next week. And then we need to end the conversation with confidence. We need to be positive, I know you can do this. I’ve seen you perform at a high level.  Lets get back to that.   

Even though I just said all that, we’re not throwing out accountability. We can’t sugar coat the situation. Coaching is not a free pass. It’s not do whatever you want, or a no consequences ticket, and certainly not a we’ll just keep talking about it scenario. No, coaching is the bridge between expectation and accountability. And if improvement doesn’t happen, then yes, it can move into corrective action. But even then, the goal should still be growth, not punishment.  

Let me tell you something from experience. Some of the strongest leads, supervisors, and managers today have a history of being coached. Myself included. They were corrected, they were guided, and they were held accountable. And they used it, they didn’t run from it, and they didn’t fight it. They grew through it.  

So the next time you hear can you step into the office? Pause. Take a breath. And instead of thinking here we go try this, think what can I learn from this? Because that one question can turn a write-up into a turning point in our career.  

In our industry, we talk a lot about Productivity, Attendance, Safety and Performance. But behind all of that is people. And people don’t grow from silence. They grow from feedback. They grow from conversations. And they grow from coaching.  

So whether you’re the one giving the coaching or the one receiving it, remember this. It’s not about being called out, it’s about communication. Let’s face it, we employees know when we have a coaching, a writeup, or whatever you call it is coming. We know the attendance rules, the productivity requirements, and safety processes, and we know what is expected of us. Yep, we’re always shocked and surprised, generally upset when we’re called out about something. But I think that’s just that human nature thing. I always try and look past it, learn from it, and, honestly, most of my coaching’s, I admittedly deserved. I’d like to say I grew from each and every one of them!   

I hope today’s topic sparks a thought or two and maybe helps us the next time we’re corrected on something at work! Y’all have a safe, productive, and prosperous week out there!