by George Soriano
Workers at YCH Group are humming to a new beat as the company rolls out a newly minted Satellite Automated Cart Storage System.
The highly-efficient proprietary Warehouse Management System (WMS) was witnessed first-hand by National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) Secretary-General Lim Swee Say and 40 other union leaders from the NTUC Transport & Logistics Services Cluster (TLSC) at a Learning Journey hosted by YCH at their Tampines LogisPark facility.
This is a productivity drive by YCH to boost the standards of logistics and supply chain management in Singapore and Asia Pacific.
The Radio Frequency Controlled system has increased the speed rate of storage and retrieval of pallets to 1-1.5 minutes ' a dramatic improvement compared to conventional systems that take about 4-5 minutes to complete the same tasks.
This $1 million-worth technology also improves space optimisation by more than 30 percent as the system does not require any built-in aisle, freeing up more storage space.
It also minimises workplace hazards and significantly reduces margin of human error and operator stress.
Apart from the new system's positive contributions to make workers' jobs Easier, Smarter and Safer (ESS), YCH Group also worked with its union, the National Transport Workers' Union (NTWU), and its cluster to apply a Progressive Wage Model (PWM) to help its material handlers move up their career ladder by up-skilling them.
Dr Robert Yap, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, YCH Group, said, 'Operations staff now have the opportunity to up-skill and learn about new technologies and workflow processes, thereby increasing the value of their work and contribution to the company."
The new system will impact 70-80 workers, both existing and new entrants who will soon enjoy multi-skilling career opportunities with salary enhancements.
Traditionally, material handlers work their way up to become Assistant Supervisor, to Supervisor and Senior Supervisor.
With the PWM in place, two more career pathways are added for the material handlers:
To promote the Singaporean Core, the Logistics Specialist pathway is newly created for new entrants who are Singaporeans/PRs with at least O Level or Nitec qualifications to start as a Logistics Assistant.
Ms Jessie Yeo, Cluster Lead for the NTUC Transport & Logistics Services Cluster, praised YCH's latest initiative.
'It is also assuring that they are concerned about their workers' development with the implementation of the Progressive Wage Model to help their workers grow in career and wages. They are the first unionised company in the logistics industry that has put in the place the PWM, and we hope that more companies can be inspired by the benefits that will come their way,' she said.
