Warehouse pallet tracking - The mystery of the Impossible Triangle

Man pulling pallet truck through warehouse

Effective warehouse tracking consists of more than just pallets. Read more about the Impossible Triangle in the warehouse.

The coining of the title ‘The Bermuda Triangle’ in reference to baffling disappearances of ships and planes in the Atlantic Ocean can be traced back to 1964. 50 years on and interest in the Bermuda Triangle is still strong; so strong in fact that a poll of over 20,000 people in 2010 determined that 41 percent of those polled believe the area is dangerous, despite there being no scientific evidence to support the theory.

Similarly to its Bermuda counterpart, warehouses also experience unexplained disappearances – however, most commonly it is time in the form of driver hours that vanish and not physical assets. These mysterious losses of time in warehouse environments that reduce warehouse productivity are attributed to the aptly named Impossible Triangle.

So how can you calculate the number of driver hours that are lost to the Impossible Triangle?

Make a note of exactly how many driver hours you are paying for each week. Label this number ‘Figure One’.
Note down how many pallet moves your team performs per week. Label this ‘Figure Two’.
Determine how long it takes to move a pallet on average. Label this ‘Figure Three’.
Multiply the number of pallet moves (Figure Two) by the average time to a move a pallet (Figure Three). The calculated figure should equal the number of driver hours that you pay for (Figure One).

In most cases – much to the surprise of warehouse operators – the estimated figure is often close to only 80 percent of expected total driver hours per week. Is this true of your calculated figure?

If so, this means that approximately 20 percent of your driver hours are being lost through inefficiencies on the warehouse floor, but where? To answer this question warehouse operators across the world are turning to the RFiD Discovery suite of solutions for warehouse and logistics tracking systems. We don't just offer effective asset tracking, but look at the complete picture – helping to prevent the loss of time and money to the Impossible Triangle.