The Material Handling Blog

Recently, I attended a meeting where a consultant was presenting his recommendations for a project that involved adding automation to an existing process. One of the key points that jumped out at me was that his justification for this project was focused entirely on the elimination of people. While the consultant suggested that the project would probably go forward because it was a strategic initiative on the part of the customer, I could only think about a more than 100-year-old poem entitled, The Calf-Path ... Continue Reading >>

Project management is more or less the art of making things happen, or moving a project forward to completion. Sounds simple enough, right?

In my last blog article, What's the True Cost of Your Corporate Safety Program , I discussed the importance of corporate safety training and some of the most popular OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) citations in 2010. Now I'd like to review some of the costs that occur when workplace safety standards are not followed, which often results in violations with costly penalties that can reach upwards of $500,000, and in some cases, even jail time.

The topic of robotic, or automatic, mixed pallet building has come up quite a bit recently, so I thought I'd share some of the benefits and challenges that go along with it.

Today's economic climate has put enormous pressure on companies to obtain quicker returns on their investments, so as manufacturers research and develop new material handling equipment , this issue is becoming increasingly important. Customers want solutions that offer not only a strong return on investment but do so faster than ever before. The material handling industry is responding with new equipment, technology, and systems that enable complete supply chain visibility , thus allowing customers to see how their investments are impacting their overall operation. The following are just a few of the trends and technologies helping to make this possible. Read More >>

The following is list of just some of the safety solutions Southern Wine and Spirits uses to protect their workers and products.

Planning, implementing, and managing change is undoubtedly a difficult task if left to circumstance; nevertheless, these responsibilities are something many of us face.

Whether you believe the peak oil theory or not, the cost of crude oil continues to rise causing a major affect on a variety of supply chain costs. Last year, I listened to an economist talk about the influence of rising oil prices, and how it will change the logistics industry as we've known it in recent years. At the time I was skeptical of his predictions . Today with gasoline prices at $4.15 per gallon and rising, I'm starting to believe what he had to say. Here's why.......

In the past several months, I have been making the (more or less) smooth transition between my previous career as an engineering manager in the aerospace sector and my new role in the material handling industry with Bastian. While originally it was somewhat scary to move from one industry to another, I was pleased to discover the many connections between my previous career and my new one.