• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Webinar Library
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Managing an Aging Warehouse Workforce

Managing an Aging Warehouse Workforce

May 20, 2015
SupplyChainBrain

In the next couple of years, the number of U.S. workers age 55 or older will reach 25 percent of the entire workforce - 40 percent in Europe - and many of them will be overweight or obese, says Schmitz. "Both of these trend lines are going in a bad direction and companies will have to address them at some point," he says.

That time may be now for the warehousing and logistics sectors, because many jobs are very physically demanding. “The turnover in the warehouse area already averages 50 percent a year,” says Schmitz. “The most physical jobs usually are done only by young, fit males and even they don’t necessarily like the work. They prefer alternatives where they don’t come home at night very tired and with an aching back.”

Fortunately, there is a way to make these jobs easier and more attractive, says Schmitz. “We make lift-assist devices, which are a lower-cost solution that allows a worker to pick up a 40-lb. box or bag and move it as if it were weightless,” he says. “They can de-palletize or re-palletize that carton and manipulate it in all sorts of ways without any strain.”

This technology, he adds, is the key to enabling older workers to stay on the job and be more satisfied. It also can make the warehouse more efficient by opening these jobs to women and other warehouse workers. “When you have many more people who can qualify for that job, you can call on them during peak times or improve worker rotations, he says. “And there are some employers who want to keep long-time workers until retirement, but are having to let them go because they can’t do the work,” he says. “The answer is to make the jobs less physical.”

To view the video in its entirety, click here

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Logistics Technology HR & Labor Management Supply Chain Security & Risk Mgmt All Warehouse Services Warehouse Management Systems Food & Beverage
KEYWORDS All Warehouse Services Dr. Volker Schmitz Food and Beverage HR & Labor Management inventory management IT IT supply chain IT supply chain management Logistics logistics & supply chain logistics IT solutions logistics management President SC Security & Risk Mgmt Schmalz Inc. supply chain supply chain jobs Supply Chain Management supply chain management IT supply chain management SCM Supply Chain Management: human resources and labor management Technology Warehouse Management Warehouse Management Systems wms warehouse management
  • Related Articles

    Managing an Aging Warehouse Workforce

    How to Get an Efficient Warehouse Without a Big Budget and High-Level Automation

    How to Get an Efficient Warehouse Without a Big Budget and High-Level Automation

  • Related Directories

    SnapFulfil

SupplyChainBrain

Truck Freight Volumes Continued Decline in Fourth Quarter — U.S. Bank

More from this author

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter!

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • DOCUMENTS BEARING THE INSIGNIA OF US CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION LIE ON A TABLE

    New CBP Regs Call for Greater Diligence by Brokers in Reporting Security Breaches

    Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
  • A WORKER IN A WAREHOUSE, SUPERIMPOSED WITH GRAPHICS SHOWING SUPPLY NETWORK

    Enabling Intelligent Visibility With Supply Chain Analytics

    Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
  • The blank stare of a child's eye who is standing behind what appears to be a wooden frame

    The Alarming Continued Rise of Modern Slavery in Supply Chains: How Procurement Can Help Reverse the Trend

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
  • A GROUP OF WORKERS RANGED IN AN OFFICE, OF DIVERSE RACE, GENDER, AGE AND PHYSICAL ABILITY

    Podcast | The Supply Chain Workforce of the Future Is Already Here

    HR & Labor Management
  • A YELLOW AND BLACK TRAFFIC SIGN THAT READS "VOLATILITY AHEAD"

    Four Strategies for Addressing Supply Chain Disruption

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM

Digital Edition

Scb nov 2022 sm

2022 Supply Chain Innovator of the Year

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • New Revenue for Cloud-Based TMS that Embeds Orderful’s Modern EDI Platform

  • Convenience Store Client Maximizes Profit and Improves Customer Service

  • A Digitally Native Footwear Brand Finds Rapid Fulfillment

  • Expanding Apparel Brand Scales Seamlessly with E-Commerce Technology

  • How a Global LSP Scaled its Security Program and Won More Business

Visit Our Sponsors

Orderful Yang Ming Alithya
Barcoding Blue Yonder BNSF Logistics
CoEnterprise Data Capture Deposco
E2open GAINSystems Generix
Geodis GEP GreyOrange
Here Honeywell Intelligrated IFM
Infor Inmar Keelvar
Kinaxis Korber Lean Solutions Group 2H
Liberty SBF Locus Robotics Logility
LogistiVIEW Lucas Systems MCA Connect
MPO Nvidia Old Dominion
OpenText ORTEC Overhaul
Parsyl PMMI QIMA
Redwood Logistics Ryder E-commerce by Whiplash Saddle Creek Logistics
Schneider Dedicated Setlog Holding AG Ship4WD
Shipwell Tecsys TGW Systems
Thomson Reuters Tive Trailer Bridge
Vecna Robotics Verity
Verusen
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2023 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing