DJ Products, Inc.

With the economy down and unemployment up, jobs are a hot topic this election. As industry starts to feel the economic pinch, plants are closing, workers are being laid off and some companies are facing bankruptcy. But there are jobs aplenty in the material handling industry and the associated industries of logistics, fulfillment and warehousing.

There’s a severe shortage of qualified industrial workers in America, particularly in material handling fields, that holds promise for job-seekers. The material handling industry is expected to be “50% short in terms of employees needed by 2010,” said Virginia Wheeler, executive director of the Material Handling Industry of America’s (MHIA) Education Foundation. The growing worker shortfall guarantees job security well into the next decade for people going into material handling jobs in warehouses, fulfillment centers, logistics operations, and factories.

“Our industry is begging for people,” said Dan Quinn, MHIA VP for education. He feels America’s high schools are undercutting the value of the trade jobs that built and continue to build America. “A lot of schools measure themselves on the percentage of students who go on to college,” Quinn criticized. “Schools should embrace the concept that non-college-bound students are still valuable contributors to the economy and society.”

The reality is that many high school students are not interested in pursuing a college education for a wide variety of reasons. Many simply prefer hands-on, physical work to sitting at a desk. Many are anxious to get out on their own and lack the interest in four more years of schooling. Many do not have the financial resources to consider college but must provide for themselves immediately after high school graduation. As the recession deepens, finances are expected to play an increasing role in education/work decisions. Some high school juniors and seniors, like Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s future son-in-law, have already been forced to drop out of school to help support their families. Some employers are offering their employees the opportunity to complete their high school education through GED programs.

It’s unfortunate that many high school guidance counselors are so focused on college that they ignore the positive opportunities available in material handling industries. Raising awareness of job opportunities is one of the primary challenges facing the material handling industry, said Alan Howie, author of Fundamentals of Warehousing and Distribution. “. . . the essential problem is we have to get the message out there that . . . work in the material handling industry is much more than a manual labor job. It’s a career in a high-tech industry. Our challenge is to build awareness of all of this in the schools and colleges.”

In our last post we talked about automation and how it is changing the face of the warehousing and distribution industries (see our Aug. 4 post). Automation allows businesses to handle greater volumes in shorter time periods. However, a major challenge in automating operations is the accommodation of unique customer requirements. Obtaining a customer’s business can depend upon your ability to meet their unique requirements. Doing so while maintaining a cost-effective operation can require both ingenuity and skillful management of material handling resources.

Tom Kozenski, VP of product strategy for optimization firm RedPrairie, suggested in a July 2008 Modern Materials Handling article that there are two ways to handle customer requirements: increase labor or engineer them into the normal workflow. “The first brings your operations to a grinding halt,” Kozenski said, citing the extreme cost. “The second allows you to differentiate your business from the competition.”

One way of engineering customer requirements into the workflow is to coordinate the delivery of components or raw materials to the production or assembly line with their use, Kozenski noted. Delivering materials to the assembly line in the same sequence that they will be used increases efficiency and production and, thereby, cost effectiveness. A combination of powered CartCaddies and pushers allows for maximum customization of this process.

On an assembly or production line, electric CartCaddy power tugs can be used to push or pull carts loaded with customer’s specific components or raw materials. Carts can be preloaded and delivered to the line in sequence. In a vehicle assembly plant, for example, CartCaddy power tugs can be used to deliver windows, doors and other components to the appropriate point on the assembly line for sequenced installation. In a fulfillment operation, batched orders can be carted and delivered for sequenced processing. Highly maneuverable, ergonomically designed CartCaddy products maximize the load a worker can move safely, thereby limiting the number of workers involved in material delivery.

The CartCaddy electric tug or CarCaddy vehicle pusher can then move carts, equipment or vehicles from station to station down the line. CartCaddy products are available to move equipment across the floor on wheeled tugs or on a rail.Â

Warehousing and distribution centers are being forced to perform more quickly than ever before and meet a growing list of unique customer requirements. Automation is the key to success.

“To get more throughput while decreasing cycle times, more facilities are turning to the strategic use of automation for picking, conveying, storage and sortation,” wrote Modern Materials Handling editor Bob Trebilcock in a May 2006 Modern Materials Handling article on warehousing systems.

Over the past decade, automated systems have moved from simple stock locator systems to islands of single-task automation to the unified, integrated systems being installed today. Automation is speeding up every aspect of warehousing, including inventory control, receiving, material movement, picking, packing and shipping. Automation allows greater volumes to be handled in shorter timeframes. Today, automation allows customization of an end-user’s needs to be accomplished with amazing speed, accuracy and efficiency.

Engineering a customer’s requirements “into the workflow” and performing them as a matter of course, is the most efficient and cost-effective way to meet specific customer requirements, Trebilcock writes in a July 2008 Modern Materials Handling article. Some examples of using automation to meet unique customer requirements:

• Pick-to-light solutions ensure order-picking accuracy and maintain throughput.
• Synchronizing material delivery to the production line in the same sequence as component assembly and packing saves time on the order assembly line.
• Automatic print and apply processes save labor in applying shipping labels and guarantee accurate shipments.

Anything you can do to automate your warehousing or distribution operation will improve speed and accuracy for your customers and allow you to handle a higher volume while still meeting unique customer requirements.