The manufacturing industry is back on the rise after the loss of 6 million factory jobs between 2000 and 2009. The rise has been significant (520,000 jobs since January 2010), but small compared to the hit in the first decade of the millennium. The US currently has about 11.9 million manufacturing employees – a number… Read more
The manufacturing industry sets the tone for the economies in most countries. Growth in this industry is therefore exciting and encouraging, but it often requires upgrades. Two successful companies that found up-to-date solutions to manage their growths are Minnesota-based Nordic Ware and Canadian drug store distribution center Value Drug Mart. The Company Consumers may recognize… Read more
The second annual Manufacturing Day is slated for October 4th, 2013. The Modern Materials Handling article “Manufacturing Day’s sponsor base adds four industry associations” stated, “Manufacturing Day is an annual national event, executed at the local level, that supports hundreds of manufacturers across the nation that host students, teachers, parents, job seekers and other local… Read more
Many manual material handling (MMH) operations managers wait until a problem arises before he or she seeks out ergonomic change. This mistake is not only more expensive in the long run to fix, but it also costs the company valuable production time that could be saved through ergonomic improvements. According to “ROI of Ergonomic Improvements:… Read more
Last year, Intermec released research on the greatest challenges facing warehouse managers and how many hours of productivity their employees are losing every year. The results are staggering, the reasons surprising, and the solutions reachable. Small to medium-sized warehouses with 50 workers were calculated to lose around 3,000 hours every year. Larger corporations lose even… Read more
Several years ago, Modern Handling Management started collecting information through their Annual Census of Distribution. The results gave key insights into what kinds of traits world-class facilities share. While some of their common threads are simply about company size, many of them are things that smaller companies can implement for prestige and success. As MH&L… Read more
Just-in-time operations have transformed not only the warehouse and manufacturing, but also how goods flow through US ports. While inland ports have existed for about 20 years, new ones are being designed and built to keep up with changes. The congestion that was building in seaports prompted the need to expand, but land cost and… Read more
Insurance premiums and worker’s compensation are two of the most costly elements in manual material handling. Many companies have experienced costs so steep that their businesses were devastated. State Compensation Insurance Fund’s website publishes “Ergomatters,” a series of articles pertaining to specific ergonomic factors that influence the likelihood of injury on the job. One of… Read more
Knowing that, generally speaking, women are not as physically strong as men, one would guess that women in physical jobs are injured more often than men. While the statistics show this to be true, it is not necessarily a question of strength. Research shows that there are several other contributing factors to the trend that… Read more
Warehouse managers everywhere are paying attention to greener ways to run their warehouses for less. Since lighting accounts for 65-70% of a warehouse’s energy bill, it’s no surprise that lighting is a major factor in cutting energy cost and usage. In addition to the impact lighting has on energy, it is also a primary factor… Read more