Tag: Material Handling

Material Handling Headed for a Workforce Crisis

Not a single one of America’s top players in material handling and logistics wanted their sons and daughters to be working in a distribution center as adults. That was the shocking result of a show-of-hands poll Benoit Montreuil, president of the College Industry Council on Material Handling Education, took during a speech at last summer’s Material Handling and Logistics Summit. The straw poll of industry leaders caused Montreuil to take a hard look at the future of material handling and the workforce issues that will help define that future.

Montreuil believes America’s growing workforce crisis, which he said is not industry specific, is rooted in three issues:

  1. As Baby Boomers retire, there are fewer workers to replace them. America’s workforce is shrinking.
  2. America’s next generation of workers prefers white collar jobs to jobs in factories and distribution centers. To cut costs, many businesses are outsourcing labor jobs to foreign countries. Immigrant laborers comprise the largest segment of factory and distribution workers, a trend that is growing.
  3. Material handling and logistics jobs are perceived to be dull, entry-level jobs requiring little skill and garnering bottom-rung pay.

The obvious short-term solutions are to import more foreign workers eager to work in America under current conditions and for present pay levels, undertake a major marketing initiative to change the negative image of material handling and attract a new workforce, and computerize and automate our operations to minimize manpower needs. However, Montreuil warned that long-term solutions will require a change in the material handling industry’s paradigm.

Next time: The future of the material handling industry.

Watch Our Trailer Caddy in Action

You’ve seen those guys at the truck shows who strap a rope around their chest and pull a mega-ton truck across the ground, their muscles bulging and popping with every step. Well, you can do that too, and you’ll only need one hand! With the aid of the DJ Products’ TrailerCaddy, anyone can move multi-ton trailers with ease. Just click here to watch a You Tube video of our TrailerCaddy in action.

The DJ Products TrailerCaddy is a powered mover designed to push or pull trailers that require lifting on one end before maneuvering. Designed to move equipment short distances, the TrailerCaddy makes it possible for any employee to move an equipment trailer, RV, camper or boat across a show room floor, from one point to another in the plant, into position at a trade show or to a new position in the lot. The TrailerCaddy does not require bulging muscles or super-human strength. The caddy does all the heavy lifting. All your employee does is steer.

Our powered TrailerCaddy is less bulky and more maneuverable than traditional electric pullers. This cost-efficient electric puller will decrease fuel and maintenance costs. Maximum operator control and maneuverability, particularly in tight spaces, means minimal damage to surrounding parts and equipment. Ergonomically designed for easy use, the TrailerCaddy decreases accidents and prevents worker injury associated with muscle strain. You’ll save in decreased medical expenses, insurance costs and workmen’s compensation claims. Visit our website for complete information about the TrailerCaddy.

Michigan Proposes Ergonomic Regs to Curb Injuries

In response to concern about workplace injuries, Michigan plans to institute new state regulations targeting repetitive-stress job injuries. Under the proposed rules, employers would be required to offer ergonomic training and work to correct reported injuries. State regulators would have the power to punish employers for repeated worker injuries. Critics are concerned that the rules will place another financial burden on Michigan’s already struggling economy.

California is the only other state with similar regulations, despite the fact that repetitive-stress job injuries are estimated by OSHA to cost America more than $20 billion annually, or about one-third of the total workers’ compensation costs paid by employers. “It’s a significant issue, even though the standard is fairly minimal,” said Doug Kalinowski, director of MIOSHA. “It’s been very contentious.”

In 2001, repetitive-stress injury regulations proposed by federal regulators were estimated to cost employers $5 billion. Those regulations were blocked by Congress. Michigan’s Small Business Association is concerned that the costs of training and reporting procedures will place a significant burden on small businesses and make it harder for them to compete nationally. Larger companies that have ergonomics programs in place would be exempted under the proposed rules.

Manufacturers are similarly concerned. “It’s a pretty broad issue and there are a lot of costs involved,” noted Amy Show of the Michigan Manufacturers Association. “We don’t know what true costs are going to be until we know how strict the department is going to be in enforcing this.”

The proposed rules would only apply to general industry. Construction, agriculture, mining and domestic employment are specifically excluded. But the construction industry and labor representatives believe that if the rules are adopted, it will only be a matter of time before they are expanded to include construction. “There are many within the building trades, or ironworkers, that suffer from repetitive-motion injuries,” said William Borch, president of Ironworkers Local 25 in Saginaw, Michigan and one of the labor representatives who reviewed the proposed rules.

“The problem is that … these types of injuries are not an imminent danger [to life], even though they can be career-ending types of injuries and cause long-term pain and suffering,” Borch said. Considering the risk to workers, Borch felt the proposed rules provided minimum standards. “It doesn’t seem like a lot to ask,” he said.

Advocates of the proposed rules argue that the implementation of ergonomics creates a safer work environment, increases productivity, minimizes downtime and decreases workers’ compensation costs — all formidable inducements to embracing ergonomics.

ProMat 2009 to Demonstrate Supply Chain Solutions

Well having spent 20 bitter, cold winters in Chicago shoveling endless mounds of snow, I have to admit that when I got my invitation to ProMat 2009, I was underwhelmed about the offer to “join us in January in Chicago.” However, you can’t fault Chicago for its exciting city life, excellent restaurants, magnificent skyline and ever-patrolling army of snowplows, so I’m game for another frosty experience in the Windy City. And who could miss the Material Handling Industry of America’s annual international exposition? ProMat 2009, Solutions that Make the Supply Chain Work, promises to provide an invigorating look at the hot new trends and innovations in material handling and logistics.

ProMat will showcase more than 800 solution-packed exhibits from top equipment and technology providers in the material handling and logistics industries. It’s your opportunity to not only talk to the pros but see their solutions to industry applications in action. Given the country’s current economic problems, I think we can all benefit from solutions that promise to streamline operations, increase productivity, reduce costs, improve customer service and improve our bottom line.

I’m particularly looking forward to Forrest Sawyer’s moderation of the keynote discussion on building the workforce of the future. We’ve discussed in this space before the workforce challenges that will face our industry in the coming years: retiring boomers, declining worker population, increased workforce diversity, life/work balance and a move toward more technical skill sets. These issues aren’t going to go away and we, as an industry, need to develop strategies for embracing the challenges of the future.

We’ve also talked in this space about the globalization of material handling, logistics and industry in general. With buyers and sellers from more than 90 countries in attendance, ProMat offers an opportunity to start making connections so you’ll be ready to flex your global wings.

Education is always a major focus of the annual MHIA show. This year’s Knowledge Center will bring 100 Educational Seminars to the show floor, all free to attendees, as is the keynote discussion. Seminars will focus on the latest material handling and logistics trends and innovations for manufacturing, distribution, and supply chain operations.

ProMat 2009 will be held from January 12-15, 2009 at McCormick Place South in Chicago, Illinois. Plan to go and learn about emerging trends and leading edge developments in the industry. See solutions in action and talk to their purveyors. Network with other professionals from across the country and around the globe. ProMat 2009 is your chance to learn, explore and rekindle your passion. For complete information and registration, visit the ProMat website.

What Is the Future of the Material Handling Industry?

The future of the material handling industry is at a crossroads in America. A declining workforce, decreased interest in blue collar jobs and negative perceptions about pay and job satisfaction threaten the future of material handling. The short-term solution for survival is to hire an increasingly immigrant workforce, mount a PR campaign to revamp our image, and automate to minimize manpower strain, says Benoit Montreuil of the College Industry Council on Material Handling Education (see our April 18 post). “I believe that each of these three solutions has merits in specific settings,” said Montreuil, “but that it will be insufficient for addressing the scale and scope of the emerging crisis.”

If we are to survive as an industry, material handling must change its basic paradigm, warns Montreuil. He believes that by automating many of the steps in warehousing and logistics, we have stripped workers of the opportunity to think, make decisions and have input into their jobs, the very things that provide job satisfaction. When workers are merely required to follow a pre-determined pattern, as in pick-to-light solutions, they become little better than robots, says Montreuil. By removing the challenge from the job, he believes, we are losing our most important resource — the intelligent, innovative worker.

The alternative paradigm that Montreuil envisions is a material handling industry that relies on highly-skilled, certified logistics professionals operating in self-sufficient teams in distribution centers, factories and logistics applications around the world. These professionals would be “trained to exploit all the physical handling and transport technologies,” says Montreuil, combining automation with manual operations to achieve maximum efficiency. In his utopia, Montreuil sees a material handling industry that offers “career paths for their talented workforce.”

Efficient Wheel Design Reduces Friction

Friction occurs when two surfaces come into contact, as when a wheel rests on a floor. Friction is the force that resists movement between the objects. Under theoretically perfect conditions, the ideal wheel environment would be a hard, smooth wheel rolling over a hard, smooth surface. In real life, perfect conditions never exist. In a typical work environment, using a hard wheel will often result in higher rolling resistance, as well as increased noise and vibration.

Both static and dynamic forces affect friction. The initial push force necessary to place an object in motion is the static force. Static force is generally greater than dynamic force which is the exertion necessary to keep the object moving. Wheel design must consider bother static and dynamic force.

In a wheel or caster system, there are three places where friction can affect force:

  • at the point where the axle and wheel interface;
  • if a swivel caster, in the swivel housing; and
  • at the ground/wheel interface, particularly at any points where the wheel will slide or pivot on a surface.

The efficiency of a wheel or caster in reducing friction is dependent not only upon the appropriate design of the wheel itself, but also on the materials used in its construction and the placement of the wheels on the equipment to be moved.

Prepare for Red Tape; Regulation Is Back in Vogue

As President-elect Obama prepares to take office, there’s a lot of talk about “accountability,” particularly in the face of the large handouts to the banking and now auto industries. It looks like Detroit’s auto makers are going to pay the price for the rather arrogant behavior of the nation’s financial institutions that were quick to take Uncle Sam’s money (actually your money and my money) but haven’t been so quick to tell us what they’ve done with it. Further handouts are coming burdened with rules, regulations and (this being the government) mountains of paperwork to ensure that the government’s money is being used the way they want it to be.

After years of deregulation, which economists say is partly to blame for our current predicament, the pendulum is starting to swing in the other direction. For at least the next decade or so, economic experts expect the U.S. to embrace increased government regulation. In fact, angry citizens, many of whom feel they’re being robbed to support bad business decisions and executive excess, are demanding greater regulation and more stringent government oversight.

Once his team settles in, industry experts expect to see the government sticking an ore in wherever and whenever the President thinks the economy or a particular industry needs a shove. And because of the government’s tremendous investment in the country’s banks and businesses, the President will consider it his right, perhaps even his duty, explained economic analyst Chris Kuehl in a recent Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, International newsletter. “The Fed is already more engaged in the U.S. banking system than ever before, and that involvement will likely expand,” warns Kuehl. “The Treasury Department is already a part owner of most of the major banks in the country, a leading insurance company, and perhaps, in time, the Big Three auto companies. That gives the U.S. government a major stake in the performance of its largest companies, which will mean direction and advice.”

So sharpen your pencils, add an extra box or two of paper to your office supply order this month and prepare to add a chair in the boardroom for Uncle Sam. It looks like the red tape is going to be flowing again!

Why Attend Trade Shows and Conferences?

Why should you attend trade shows and industry conferences? When the economy is tight and sales are down, how do you justify the expense of attending a trade show or conference, particularly when gas, airline and hotel expenses are climbing? My dad would tell you what every smart businessman knows: keeping up with industry developments and trends isn’t a perk, it’s a necessity.

I can remember when my dad attended MHEDA trade shows in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s. For a man who worked 15-hour days 6 1/2 days a week, the annual trade show was his idea of a vacation. He always took Mom along to share the fun. She’d pall around with the other wives on day tours then meet Dad for dinner with other business friends. Dad spent his days boning up on new developments and new products, jawing with suppliers and  distributors, and picking the brains of other business owners — the 1960s version of networking. He always tried to work in an educational conference or two each year, and became a MHEDA presenter later in his career.

Dad placed a high value on education and keeping abreast of current developments and future trends. He preached planning for the future as the best way to grow your business. He believed in the power of networking, both as a resource for solving business problems and as a tool for growing your business. Industry trade shows and conferences give you the opportunity to stay current in your business, learn about future trends and network with industry peers. There couldn’t be better reasons to attend.

MHEDA is offering two fall events geared to revitalize your material handling career and make your business more productive:

The Young Distribution Professionals Conference August 3-6 at the Eaglewood Resort & Spa in Itasca, Illinois targets material handling professionals with less than 10 years in the distribution industry. The conference is designed to help rising managers increase their knowledge of distribution and expand their distribution career skills. There will be ample networking opportunities to interact with peers in the distribution and other material handling industries. A host of engaging speakers will focus on the development of leadership and management skills.

Parts & Service Management Conference September 11-12 at the Crown Plaza Chicago O’Hare in Rosemont, Illinois targets parts and service managers, branch managers and operations managers. The conference will focus on daily issues that arise in material handling parts and service departments. Sessions will teach attendees how to identify key performance indicators in their departments with an emphasis on profitability and customer service.

Ergonomic Wheel Design Improves Productivity

In our last post we talked about the importance of wheel design in reducing friction. But why is that important? The answer is that any design element that decreases the force that must be exerted by the operator to manipulate a piece of equipment increases efficiency and decreases the risk of potential injury. The result is greater productivity. This is the goal of ergonomic design both in the design of equipment and the environment in which it will be used.

When a wheeled piece of equipment is used, the operator must first overcome inertia and friction. The initial force necessary to start an object in motion is far greater than the sustained force necessary to keep it moving. Once in motion, optimum sustained, or rolling, force is achieved when a steady, constant velocity is achieved. Any need to decrease or increase velocity requires increased force to combat inertia. This is particularly noticeable during turning and maneuvering when significant force must be applied to change direction. Stopping a piece of wheeled equipment requires the same high level of force as starting it. As when accelerating, the operator must overcome high levels of inertia and friction to decelerate.

The four physical elements required to move a piece of wheeled equipment — starting, rolling, turning and stopping — can place tremendous stress on the operator’s musculoskeletal system. If performing these tasks manually, workers frequently overexert and strain muscles while applying the necessary force to start or stop a piece of equipment. Turning and positioning equipment can cause operators to assume asymmetric body postures during exertion which can cause musculoskeletal injury.

Ergonomically designed carts and tugs seek to achieve the optimal wheel size, type, placement and composition to decrease the force an operator must exert to move a piece of equipment.

Lifting Tips that Prevent Back Injury

In our last post we talked about the exorbitant cost of back injuries to industry. In both human and financial cost, back injuries take an expensive toll. Application of ergonomic principles to the work space and use of ergonomically designed equipment can reduce potential back injury significantly. But sometimes materials must be manually lifted and moved.

It’s important to train workers in proper lifting techniques. Musculoskeletal injuries, particularly to the lower back, can result when items are improperly lifted. The key to developing good lifting habits is to think about what you plan to do before picking up an object. Practice these safe lifting tips:

  • Size up the load and check surrounding conditions. Get help with the lift if the object looks heavy or awkward. Make sure you have good footing and enough space to maneuver easily. If the object must be carried, may sure your path is free and clear of obstacles.
  • Balance your body. Your feet should be shoulder width apart and beside each other. To provide maximum balance and leverage, your feet should be positioned somewhat behind the object to be lifted.
  • When lifting, don’t stoop. Bend both knees and keep your back straight but not vertical. Tucking in your chin will help you keep your back straight.
  • Use your hands and fingers to grip the load. Called a palm grip, this grip provides maximum security. Remember to tuck in your chin before you lift.
  • Use your body weight to get the load moving. Lift by pushing up with your legs, your body’s strongest muscle group.
  • Keep arms and elbows close to the body while lifting to provide better balance and maximize lift force.
  • If you must carry an object, carry it close to your body and don’t twist. Shift your foot position and turn your whole body to change direction.
  • Remember to watch where you’re going.
  • Bend your knees when lowering an object. Avoid stooping which places unnecessary strain on your lower back. Place the object on the edge of a shelf, bench or other surface and slide it back into position. Keep your hands and feet clear as you let go of the object.

Even when lifting or moving light-weight objects, it pays to develop good lifing and carrying habits. Your back will thank you!