The Golden Technologies lift chair distribution center in Laflin, Pa., is experiencing a makeover that will improve product shipping efficiency while also lending a hand to its hard-working employees.
When Golden moved into this new primary lift chair distribution center a year ago, it doubled its warehouse space from 50,000 to 100,000 square feet. High ceilings in the warehouse also provide vertical storage space for lift chairs.
Before the new improvements, “each Golden employee walked anywhere from 17 to 22 miles every day, moving lift chairs from our freight trucks to their designated location on the floor and then to the loading docks,” said Dave Leiby, Golden’s VP of finance. Leiby was the team leader of the improvement project.
“With our new system of power conveyors, racking and a re-organization of the entire floor, movement of product through the building will be much more efficient and faster,” Leiby said. The new system also includes a special forklift so employees can access lift chairs stored 15 to 25 feet off the warehouse floor.
A computer system will keep track of where lift chairs are being stored so they can be easily located to ship.
“We will have eight computer display screens located throughout the floor so that our employees can easily find where a chair is located,” Leiby said. “When a chair on order is located, it is put on the powered conveyor, which sends it to the loading docks. The new warehouse features nine loading docks.”
While Golden employees will be walking fewer steps every day, providers will benefit from the new system’s overall efficiency, Leiby said: “We’ve committed a major financial investment into this building and these renovations, all with one goal in mind – to increase productivity and maximize overall efficiencies in order to better serve our customers.”
