Clocks are set to spring forward an hour this coming weekend, marking the beginning of Daylight Savings time. Designed to increase daylight hours into the evening at the expense of daylight sunrise, the practice of moving clocks forward has several benefits for several industries, such as more efficient energy usage due to abundance of natural light. DST can, however, cause some logistical issues for certain industries. It’s important to prepare for the change to have a seamless transition from longer nights to longer days.
1. Calibrate machinery. For many manufacturers, automated machinery runs on set cycles throughout the day. Take the time to review all calibrations to make sure machinery is synced with the workday calendar.
2. Review transport schedules. When deliveries or pass-offs of supplies to other links in the logistical chain are scheduled down to the minute, timing is everything. Make sure your trucks and support vehicles have updated travel itineraries to assure goods and services arrive on time. Should you conduct business with areas that don’t observe DST (Arizona or Hawaii, for example), a review of logistics schedules is even more important.
3. Make sure all clocks are synchronized. Imagine the headache if half of your crew works in a part of the building with a clock that didn’t update for the DST change. The result could be payroll numbers that are far off from where they should be, creating a paperwork logjam.
4. Double check building utilities systems. If any building systems are automated, such as an HVAC system, reviewing the controls of these systems can help avoid higher utility costs for heating and cooling. The same applies for parking lot lights or entry/exit door lighting that would otherwise turn on at dusk.
Daylight savings time certainly has its benefits and drawbacks depending on the business, but with a little extra planning and coordination, your company can absorb the time change without issue and continue with business as usual through the summer.