Labor-saving manual cargo handling! How to solve labor shortage issues in the logistics industry?

日本国内の物流は様々な課題を抱えているといわれています。その主たるものが荷役作業における非効率です。

この記事では荷役作業の効率を飛躍的に高める新時代のマテハンを紹介します。物流の効率アップに興味のある方はぜひご覧ください。

Issues and Causes in Japanese Logistics

結論からいえば、日本の物流における最大の課題は労働力不足です。

労働力が年々不足する中で現場では業務の効率化が求められていますが、未だに解決策を見出せずに旧態依然とした「手荷役」を継続しているのが実態です。

少子高齢化が進み、生産年齢人口が減少することによって日本全国で労働力が不足しているという状態は周知の事実でしょう。これに加え、物流業界においてはトラックドライバーの担い手不足が事態に拍車をかけています。

Data showing labor shortage among truck drivers

According to the Cabinet Office, the “working-age population” between the ages of 15 and 64 peaked in the mid-1990s and has been declining since then, falling from approximately 74 million as of 2020 to approximately 45 million by 2065, a decrease of approximately 29 million.

(Source: Cabinet Office data )

 

Furthermore, the following graph prepared by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism shows that the job-to-job ratio for truck drivers (including part-time truck drivers) is extremely high compared to all occupations. This means that truck drivers are almost twice as scarce as other occupations.

(Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, “Guidance for Improving Logistics Efficiency Related to Food Products” )

Meanwhile, logistics needs continue to expand

While labor is in short supply, logistics needs continue to expand. According to a survey by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the number of parcels handled in 2020 will be approximately 4.8 billion, which represents a sharp increase of 111.9% over the previous year.

(Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, “Survey and Tabulation of the Number of Parcel Deliveries in 2020” )

The logistics industry has entered a phase in which it must urgently implement significant improvements in operational efficiency in order to respond to both labor shortages and expanding needs.

Why is there an extreme shortage of truck driver positions? It is said that the main reason is the heavy workload.

 

Truck Driver Shortage Caused by "Cargo Handling Operations

According to data released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in 2015, truck drivers spend an average of 13.5 hours per operation (if they have a truck on hand), of which about 33%, or 4.5 hours, are spent “on hand” and “cargo handling.

The inefficient and harsh working environment is particularly deterring younger workers, and the labor shortage in the logistics industry is accelerating.

(Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, “Results of Survey on Trucking Situation (Overall Version)”)

What is cargo handling?

The main cause of logistics inefficiencies and heavy labor is “cargo handling operations. Cargo handling operations refer to the entire process of handling cargo in the logistics process. It begins with unloading the cargo from the truck and continues through to the delivery of the cargo. It is mainly divided into the following nine steps. This series of work accounts for about one-third of a truck driver’s time.

1. 積卸し
   トラックなどに荷を積み込んだりおろしたりする作業です。
2. 運搬
   荷を運び、場所を移す作業です。
3. 積付け
   荷を整理して積み上げる作業です。パレットに積む場合はパレタイズとも呼びます。
4. 入庫
   倉庫や物流センターなどに一時的に荷を保管することです。
5. 格納
   入庫された荷を倉庫内の棚や所定の位置に整理する作業です。
6. 仕分け
   出荷先や種類などに応じて荷を分類する作業です。
7. ピッキング
   荷を出荷単位に取り出す作業です。
8. 荷揃え
   荷を出荷用のトラックなどに積み込む作業です。
9. 出庫
   出荷先に向けてトラックなどで荷を運び出す作業です。

How to save labor in cargo handling - "Slit Container," a material handling system for efficient cargo handling

Slit Container” is a new material handling system that streamlines cargo handling and solves logistics problems. Slit Container is a container bag made of membrane material that allows forklifts to move, load, and unload cargo without using pallets. The special patent-pending specification allows moving, storing, and transshipping without touching the cargo inside, and after use, it can be folded compactly for immediate retrieval.

Slit Container Features

スリットコンテナを使えば、パレットを用いずに荷物をユニット化できます。ユニット化した荷物はそのままフォークリフトで吊ることで積み降ろしができるようになっており、卸した後はスリットコンテナをその場で抜き取れます。

これにより回収漏れや、回収漏れ防止管理によるコスト増加を防ぎ、さらに未使用時にはコンパクトに折りたたむことで積載効率の低下も防ぎます。

Advantages of using slit containers

The use of slit containers for cargo handling operations offers four main advantages

Advantage 1 : No dismounting

The ability to unitize loads eliminates inefficient and labor-intensive bulk unloading.

Advantage 2: No manual transshipment

Transshipment can be done with ease using a forklift instead of manual labor.

Advantage 3: No burden of loading and unloading work for drivers

Labor and time can be saved by eliminating manual loading, unloading, and manual transshipment.

Advantage 4: No pallet shipping waste

Slit containers are lightweight, compact, and foldable, and can be hung by a forklift for loading and unloading and immediately collected after use. Compared to pallets, slit containers do not weigh down loading efficiency and do not incur collection costs.

 

Slit Container Operation Procedure

Slit containers can be easily operated in the following steps to achieve immediate efficiency. This 2-minute video shows how a slit container is actually used to load and unload cargo. You can see that cargo can be efficiently loaded and unloaded without using pallets.

 

summary

物流業界における最大の課題は人手不足であり、この事態を生んでいる主な原因は荷役作業の非効率です。

この解決策となるのが太陽工業の「スリットコンテナ」です。パレット不要で荷役作業を飛躍的に効率化し、人手不足を解消して大幅なコスト削減も同時に実現します。

詳しいご案内は以下より差し上げます。お気軽にお問い合わせください。

Inquiries about slit containers

物流事業統括本部
〒154-0001
東京都世田谷区池尻2-33-16

〒532-0012
大阪市淀川区木川東4-8-4

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東京：03-3714-3133
大阪：06-6306-3084