Warehousing and Material Handling Practices in Ghana: A Tale of Tradition and Modernity

Abstract

The paper investigates warehousing and material handling practices in the civil service of Ghana. The purpose is to ascertain the level of transition from fully manual operations to the integration of technology in warehousing and material handling operations in selected Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs). Data were collected from 40 MMDAs cross the current 10 regions of Ghana. The study noted among others that, most warehouses lacked basic mechanical equipment for effective and efficient operations. Warehouse automation was completely non-existent in all selected Assemblies. In the case of material handling, the research discovered that very little effort has been made to equip employees with the requisite handling equipment for the execution of tasks. The study further revealed that there was virtually no in-service training on effective material handling practices in the civil service of Ghana. Indeed, practitioners most often use their bare hands and feet in handling all forms of materials including hazardous chemicals. The study also indicated that, on few instances where some handling and protective equipment were made available, most employees refused to use them citing reasons that bother on culture and tradition. The study concludes that it is imperative for authorities to put in place policies to protect practitioners in the execution of tasks. Thus, there should be an efficient change management system to ensure a gradual paradigm shift from obsolete warehousing and material handling practices to a much-integrated system where aspects of manual, mechanical and automated systems are combined.