Tag: Material Handling

Ergonomics Opponents Girding for Battle

California Democratic Representative Hilda Solis was confirmed yesterday as President Obama’s Secretary of Labor by a Senate vote of 80-17. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is already said to be marshalling its forces. With a very pro-labor Solis at the helm, the chamber is anticipating a pitched battle over reinstatement — and probably toughening and expansion — of ergonomics laws instituted under Clinton but quickly wiped off the books by Bush.

Solis hails from California, the only state with ergonomics laws that have any bite to them — though Michigan is struggling to pass similar measures. California forces employers into compliance when workplace practices are found wanting. Business leaders and chamber executives fear that Solis will use the tough California model to craft national laws mandating ergonomic practices. Solis has been a persistent champion of labor rights and national ergonomics laws since her election to the U.S. House in 2001.

Solis can expect to have the President’s backing. On the campaign trail last year, Obama discussed the need to address musculoskeletal injuries, telling the Charlotte Observer that OSHA “must attack this problem with all of the tools at its disposal — regulations, enforcement, training and compliance assistance.” He is expected to reverse the Bush administration’s stance on national ergonomic standards.

The chamber considers national ergonomics standards to be “the mother of all regulations,” charging that they would cost businesses millions of dollars, which they call unconscionable at any time, but particularly given the current economy. In stumping against ergonomics regulations, the Chamber cites not only prohibitive expense, but suggests potential for substantial abuse. Opponents of ergonomics laws fear that businesses will be held legally liable for employee musculoskeletal and repetitive motion injuries that happen off the job.

“Let’s fact it: We all go through things in our lives as simple as bad sleeping habits or exercise or recreational activities that would cause our bodies to feel discomfort,” Mare Freedman, director of labor law policy for the chamber told Rob Hotakainen, a reporter with McClatchy Newspapers.

Supporters of national ergonomics laws cite rising health care costs and continuing workplace hazards that take a serious toll on U.S. workers as compelling reasons for instituting national ergonomics standards. Freedman said the chamber doesn’t dispute that providing a safe and healthy workplace is good business practice; however, the group thinks efforts should be voluntary, not mandated. Supporters of ergonomics, charge that many employers won’t act unless forced.

The Cost of Ignoring Ergonomics

Back in industry’s dark ages, equipment was designed to do a task without much thought to the comfort or safety of the worker who would be operating it. Back injuries, tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome and other stress and repetitive motion injuries were an aggravating and often debilitating part of the job. The toll wasn’t just on the workers, industry paid a price in decreased productivity, poor product quality, increased medical and workers’ compensation costs, low morale and high absenteeism. The annual price tag for workplace injury and illness is estimated at $171 billion.

That’s a pretty hefty price tag considering that America spends about $170 billion a year on cancer and $164 billion on cardiovascular disease, the country’s two biggest killers. According to an American Medical Association study, each year in America there are 6,500 deaths from workplace injuries and more than 60,000 deaths from workplace-related diseases. Non-fatal workplace injuries number 13.2 million annually with 862,000 illnesses. That’s a staggering price in human suffering and industry dollars. The total cost of workplace injuries is nearly equal to the combined annual profits of America’s 20 largest companies.

But that’s just part of the picture. Workers’ compensation claims already cost American businesses $60 billion annually, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. More than 50% of those claims are for back injuries from lifting, pulling, pushing and straining, says the National Council on Compensation Insurance. In fact, workplace back injuries, which involve lengthy and costly treatment, affect more than 1.75 million workers each year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Add in the estimated time-lost cost per injury of $26,000 per incident and the prevention of a single injury can result in an immediate savings of $26,000.

This staggering cost and the desire to provide American workers with healthier and safer working conditions gave rise to ergonomics and the beginning of a radical change in the way industry approaches equipment design.

Next time: The rise of ergonomics in industrial design.

Making the Most of Your Space

A few years back, when business was booming, the answer to the need for increased space because of increased business was simple – upgrade to a larger facility that can handle the increase of inventory.  Now things aren’t quite so simple, increases in margins remain slim and there is constant competition to attract and keep new customers, so many business are leery about taking on greater overheads to try and meet customer demands – instead businesses are being forced to recreate the space that they are in an effort to hold the necessary inventory to satisfy customer demands.

This may mean changing storage racks, warehouse aisles and converting office space in order to make room for additional product storage and this restructuring of space may also mean that the equipment being used may no longer be as effective with the more constrained spaces.  Traditional forklifts can be bulky and may need a good deal of space to  maneuver  around a warehouse  – if you decrease the amount of room for travel there may no longer be enough room for a large forklift to effectively operate.

Though upgrading to smaller, safer and more efficient equipment will bring about an initial investment, unlike assuming a new lease for a larger space, this investment will immediately begin to pay for itself.  The powered carts and lifts from DJ Products allow a single employee to move heavy loads around in the smallest places easily – meaning that your employees won’t struggle at all in the smaller and more cramped spaces and that your business will maintain the same level of productivity despite the fact that your employees have less space to move around in.

Your new equipment will cost less to operate and allow your employees to get the job done quicker, which is exactly the formula you need to attract and keep more customers without having to move into a larger facility.

Is OSHA Underreporting Injuries?

At a recent Congressional hearing, critics charged that OSHA is underreporting injuries. In questioning the competence of the federal agency designated to protect the health and safety of American workers, critics cited several independent studies, contending that nearly half of all workplace injuries go unreported to OSHA.

Independent studies cited both reviewed the impact of changes to OSHA’s injury-reporting rules and compared injury data reported to OSHA by employers with that reported to state workers’ compensation plans. In one study, a Michigan State University professor of medicine noted that while workplace fatalities have not declined over the years, reported injuries have declined significantly. He found the data suspect. According to the professor, a decline in injuries should have resulted in a similar decline in fatalities. 

The significant data discrepancies between OSHA and state worker’s compensation plans were attributed to numerous possible causes, including the underreporting of injuries to employers by immigrant workers concerned about job retention, reclassification of workers by employers into non-reporting job descriptions, managers discouraging injury reporting, and several other causes. Reports came just shy of charging employer fraud, criticizing OSHA for relying solely on employer statistics.

OSHA defended its reporting procedures, pointing out that in addition to employer submitted data, each year its agents conduct 250 record-keeping audits of employers. OSHA said audits indicate that 90% of employer-submitted data on injuries and illness is accurate. Defending OSHA before the House Committee on Education and Labor, OSHA assistant secretary Edwin Foulke, Jr. said, “In Fiscal Year 2008, of the almost 57,000 violations issued so far, 80% have been categorized as serious, willful, repeat or failure-to-abate, the highest percentage ever recorded by the agency. We are also effectively targeting our inspections.” While Foulke noted that violations were found on 78% of the construction worksites inspected this year, he contended that OSHA’s diligence is responsible for the lowest workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities in U.S. history.

MHEDA Convention Focuses on Positioning Your Business for Success

Powerful Positioning is the theme of this year’s MHEDA Annual Convention and Exhibitors’ Showcase. Scheduled for May 2 to 6 at the J.W. Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa in Palm Desert, California, the annual gathering of the Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association offers a chance to learn, network and find out what’s new in the industry. This year’s MHEDA convention will offer 16 exciting presentations from industry leaders geared to help you position your material handling business to weather the current economic storm and emerge stronger, better and more successful than before.

Here are snapshots of some of the presentations we’re looking forward to:

  • Economic Trends and the Impact on Your Business by Alan Beaulieu. His twin Brian Beaulieu was a hit at MHEDA’s 2008 convention. Trend researcher and economist Alan will update the Beaulieus’ economic forecast for the industry and provide specific, practical management objectives you can incorporate in your current and future business plans.
  • The Customer Empathy Solution by Ross Shafer. To earn your customer’s loyalty, it’s no longer enough to merely serve his needs. Today, quality customer service must succor the customer’s emotional state through every phase of a transaction. Author, motivational speaker and a regular on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Shafer will explain how to develop customer empathy and turn it into long-term customer loyalty. His talk is sure to feature hilarious excerpts from his latest book, “The Customer Shouts Back — 10 Things You Must Know If You Want Their Lifetime Loyalty.”
  • Inside the White House and Hollywood … Getting to the Top with Character by Steve Ford. Son of President Gerald Ford and Betty Ford, actor Steve Ford will share his personal insights on leadership, adversity and making life choices. Given his unique personal experiences on stage and behind the scenes at the White House, Ford’s views on the importance of family and developing a personal moral code should be interesting.
  • Relationship Economics — How to Build and Nurture Business Relationships by David Nour. Although it may sound like “sales reps are from Mars and customers are from Venus,” building strong relationships with customers builds business. A social networking strategist, Nour will focus on the art and science of relationships and how to incorporate these methodologies into the pursuit of customers.

Of course, in addition to the featured talks, MHEDA conventions always offer a good selection of down-to-earth, useful educational workshops. This year is no exception with sessions tackling profitability, credit and collections, negotiations, pricing optimization, website optimization, and salesmanship. If you haven’t signed up for this year’s MHEDA convention, click here to register.

U.S. Manufacturing Not Dead Yet

Despite dire reports that U.S. manufacturing is dying, the old boy still seems to be alive and kicking.

  • Sure the recession has U.S. manufacturers flailing, and the failure of the Big Three automakers is a definite blow to the country’s manufacturing power; but it’s far from the death knell some have predicted.
  • Sure global recession has decreased domestic and foreign demand, but faith in history tells us that’s a temporary problem. The turnaround may not materialize as quickly as we’d like, but demand will increase; it always does.
  • Sure manufacturing employment figures are declining, but statistics don’t tell the whole store. The decrease is due in part to improved manufacturing efficiency and automation, not merely the effects of decreased supply and demand in a recessionary economy.

The most important clue that there’s still plenty of life left yet in U.S. manufacturing is that increased efficiency.

U.S. manufacturers have been able to harness technology to produce goods more efficiently with fewer workers, making marked gains in productivity in the process. This increased productivity will make it more attractive for manufacturers to bring manufacturing operations and jobs back to U.S. soil (see our May 13 post). It’s a move the Obama administration is poised to encourage by closing tax loopholes that the President believes have exacerbated the outsourcing of American manufacturing jobs overseas.

The climate is right for such a show of faith by manufacturers. Americans are clamoring to have American goods produced on American soil by American workers. Legions of Americans are making a point to Buy American and eschew foreign-made products and the businesses that sell them. For the first time in decades, U.S. workers, pushed by the Detroit reality, are showing a willingness to scale back their demands and work with manufacturers to make American salaries more competitive in the global market. The economy is tightening up competition, weeding out the weak players and giving the strong a more open playing field. Real estate is cheap and opportunities to purchase near turn-key operations abound for savvy shoppers.

Taken together, the time is ripe to bring U.S. manufacturing — and jobs — back home. U.S. companies that are able to take advantage of the current climate and move jobs back to the U.S. stand to reap untoward benefits in public relations and worker and customer loyalty.

Changes Coming to U.S. Workforce

If the current economic downturn has revealed any truths, it’s that the basic premise upon which employer-employee relations has been based in America is changing and must continue to evolve. Business owners can no longer afford to assume the role of in loco parentis. The cost of comprehensive health care and lifelong pensions has simply become too great for employers to be expected to take care of their employees the way they did 50 or even 20 or 10 years ago.

Gone are the gold watch days when people could expect to find a job fresh out of high school or college and stay with the company until retirement 30 years later. Employees no longer feel that kind of loyalty toward their employers any more. And technology is changing so rapidly that business owners can’t guarantee that today’s job will be needed five years from now. Naturally, these aren’t new ideas. Like all things, the business world is always evolving; technological advances seeming to speed change with each coming year. What’s new is that long-standing employee groups like the United Auto Workers are finally realizing that the employer-employee patterns that worked for their grandparents simply aren’t viable in today’s workplace.

With unemployment at a 25-year high, jobs may be scarce now; but work will return. But when it does, jobs are likely to be different. Both employers and employees should prepare themselves to face a workplace that may be vastly different from the one we enjoyed before the economy fell apart. In its May 25, 2009 issue, Time magazine addressed these issues, predicting a workplace that is “more flexible, more freelance, more collaborative and far less secure.” According to Time, the next generation of business owners and managers will bring new values to a business world where women will control an increasingly bigger slice of the pie. With the demise of the steel industry and potentially terminal illness of the auto industry, Time also sees jobs leaving the Midwest in droves and moving to Texas and the Southwestern states or Georgia and Florida.

Job expectations, business education, career paths, benefits, retirement, work-life balance, environmental savviness, management style, office spaces and manufacturing are all in for some major upheaval. Next time we’ll explore coming changes in the business world.

Material Handling Industry Must Seek Growth in World Markets

Navigating the U.S. economy has been a bumpy ride of late for industry and consumers alike. There is hope for a smoother future, particularly in material handling, but the road to success may lead outside America’s borders.

World market demand for material handling equipment and systems is expected to increase 5% per year through 2012, according to a new study, World Material Handling Products, by The Freedonia Group, Inc. The Cleveland-based industry research firm expects major market gains to come from growth in fast-developing countries in the Asia/Pacific region, Eastern Europe, Africa/Mideast region and Latin America. Growth in these markets is expected to eventually outstrip sales in the U.S., Western Europe and Japan. However, in the near term, the study predicts “renewed strength” in the Japanese material handling market and “acceleration” in the U.S. market driven primarily by automated products such as robots and automatic guided vehicle systems (AGV). 

The Fredonia Group report analyzed the $93.8 billion world material handling industry in 37 major national markets worldwide, predicting global industry growth to $133.5 billion, including price increases, by 2015. Rapid economic growth, increased manufacturing output, greater fixed investment activity and rising motor vehicle production in China, India, Turkey, Mexico and Russia, particularly, will lead demand and sales gains. China, a major producer and exporter to Asian markets, is predicted to account for 30% of total material handling sales growth.

The material handling products demanded by these developing markets will come primarily from U.S., Europe and Japan which are home to the largest and most advanced material handling equipment and systems producers. High-value products, technical expertise, advanced production systems, capital availability and trained labor will give western material handling firms a pronounced sales edge in developing markets. However, that edge may be short-lived. China, with its vast low-cost labor pool, has become a major producer and supplier to Asian markets. While quality and safety issues haunt Chinese-produced products, the country has shown amazing adaptability in other product markets and could become a major world material handling competitor within the next decade.

Next time: Which material handling products will see the greatest growth?

Material Handling Job Site Launched to Attract Workers

NA 2008 recently wrapped up in Cleveland. One of the more interesting developments to come out of the annual trade show sponsored by the Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA) was increased industry interest in worker assist devices. “We’re finding a renewed interest in looking at the worker rather than just the workplace,” said MHIA Vice President Tom Carbott. “Companies that can find talent want to keep their employees safe and productive in the workplace.” Carbott said he expects more exhibitors to mirror this interest at next year’s show in Chicago.

In a related development, in response to industry concerns about attracting workers to careers in material handling, the first job posting website dedicated solely to recruiting students to the material handling industry was introduced. Designed and launched as a cooperative effort by the Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association (MHEDA), MHIA and the College-Industry Council on Material Handling Education the website is meant to serve as a bridge or gateway between students and industry professionals. Dubbed by MHEDA the Gateway Program, the website is located at www.mheda.org.

“The website was developed to attract and recruit students seeking employment in the industry, as well as to strengthen relationships between academia and industry,” explained MHEDA Executive Vice President Liz Richards. “We encourage all professionals in the industry to take full advantage of the resources on the Gateway site, as it is meant for industry-wide use.”

The site targets three groups: students, advisors and industry professionals, providing customized resources and publications of specific interest to each group. Free searchable databases allow users to review resumes and job postings. The site can be used by students and industry professionals to find/fill internships, co-op work opportunities and full-time employment. Employers can also indicate their availability for guest lectures and site visits.

Using Ergonomic Equipment to Reduce Injury Rates

In our last post we talked about the challenges of managing a multicultural workforce in material handling, logistics, warehousing, fulfillment and other businesses. OSHA has reported higher than normal injury and on-the-job death rates for foreign-born Hispanic workers who comprise a growing segment of America’s hourly workforce. While language and cultural differences appear to be at the root of the problem, injury and death rates can be cut by using intuitive, ergonomically-designed, powered equipment to meet your material handling needs.

When communication is an issue, equipment that is easy to operate can improve training speed and reduce potential worker operation errors that can lead to injury. When controls are intuitively designed, communication gaps are narrowed further. What might not be grasped or fully remembered in verbal communication can be intuited by gesture or familiarity with similar equipment. This is not to say that a thorough training and safety program is not necessary, only that easy-to-operate equipment shortens the time between initial training and competent operation. Ergonomically-designed equipment is built around the worker, not the task, making it extremely user-friendly and an excellent choice in multicultural work environments.

Ergonomic material handling equipment that is electric or battery powered can further reduce injury and workplace death rates. In material handling situations, most injuries come from pulling, pushing or lifting loads and are the result of over-stretching or over-straining muscles. Powered equipment removes most of the need for heavy physical exertion from pulling, pushing and lifting tasks. By allowing the equipment to do the heavy lifting, so to speak, fewer situations are presented during the workday that might place workers at risk of injury.

To find out more about ergonomically-designed material handling equipment, visit the DJ Products website.