Material Handling Edge Blog 
 A blog for young professionals in the forklift, conveyor and general material handling industries.  

I just got done reading an articleabout recent vertical reciprocating conveyor  (AKA freight elevator) regulations. As it turns out in Massachusetts there was a fatal VRC accident and that spurned the government to issue an emergency order to restructure the regulations for the equipment.

The article states that:

“The new regulations cover everything from requirements for the performance of work or construction on the VRCs, to the necessary permits needed to build one, to floor and wall height requirements around the elevator and dozens of others. “

Owners of existing elevators will have a year to bring them up to code, provided that there are no obvious safety hazards currently.

Legislation like this is a double-edged sword. Sure safety is of the utmost importance, but this also places a significant burden on material-handling end users in a time where they really can’t afford extra expenditures. It seems to me a bit unfair that the state is burdening all small businesses for the mistakes of one. Safety comes first I guess.

There is a silver lining for MHEDA Members though, those end users are going to need help getting up to standard and they’re going to need to go to a material handling distributor to get it. Happy hunting!

I was reading through the Wall Street Journal the other day and I happened upon an interesting article by Michel Sanserino and Cari Tuna titled “Companies Strive Harder to Please Customers.” While it’s not the most fascinating of headlines, the content of the article is certainly interesting.

It gives profiles of how several major companies like Sprint Nextel, Cheesecake Factory and US Airways are ramping up customer service efforts in order to stay competitive in the face of this dismal marketplace.

For instance, Sprint has changed the way its call center workers are rewarded. Instead of being rewarded for keeping calls short, they are now rewarded for solving problems on a customer’s first call. Because of this the amount of times an average subscriber calls customer service in a year is down from eight to four. The company also saw its ACSI score rise 12.5 percent in the first quarter.

It’s amazing to see what a small shift in service philosophy can do for a company. That’s why, in the next MHEDA Edge we’re focusing on service (both customer service and service departments). We’ll be presenting all kinds of strategies on how to maximize a material handling service department and provide top-notch customer service.

What I would like to hear from all of you is this: What strategies is your company implementing to help cope with the recession? How have you changed things  up? What are you doing now that you weren’t this time two years ago? Leave a comment or e-mail me dan@MHEDAedge.org. I’d love to write about it.

With the recent social networking boom, there are plenty of new Web sites out there that can help material handling professionals increase business. However, as with any business venture, you have to proceed with caution.

Recently, one of the reporters over at The MHEDA Journal sat down with David Gewirtz, a cyberterrorism advisor to the International Association for Counterterrorism and Security Professionals to talk about the “dark side” of social networking.

Some highlights include:

“Social networking also carries risks when it comes to an individual’s professional life, as well as the company he or she works for. When communicating information online, says Gewirtz, don’t post anything that could potentially damage your employability: confidential information, company gossip, presenting your employer in a negative light—any of these posts could land you in serious trouble. “With social networking, anyone can become a company spokesperson simply by the things they say online,” Gewirtz says. “A random statement read by the wrong person could be interpreted as company policy. That can come back to haunt the employee, not to mention the corporation.”

 

And

“David Gewirtz advises that when it comes to your business and professional life, if you wouldn’t put it in a press release, don’t put it on Twitter or Facebook. Think before you type. Ask yourself: “Is this something that is going to reach out and haunt me in the future?”

 

In the article, he brings up some very good things to think about. Everything you do in your online life can impact your professional life. There is no “privacy” on the Web. As the police might say, “Anything you say or do can and will be used against you in the court of public opinion.”

So I was checking out my colleague Chris Powers’ blog over at www.themhedajournal.org/blog, and his most recent post piqued my interest.  Here’s a bit of an excerpt.

“Earlier this week, the U.S. International Trade Commission issued a unanimous finding that there is “a reasonable indication of material injury to the U.S. industry producing wire decking caused by unfairly traded imports from China.” This finding is the first step toward a finding of illegal dumping of wire deck imports by China.

The initial petition was brought by domestic wire decking manufacturers and MHEDA members AWP Industries, ITC, J&L Wire Cloth, Nashville Wire Products, along with Wireway Husky, on June 5. On June 25, the Commerce Department initiated an investigation, and the preliminary ruling by the Trade Commission was handed down on July 20. You can read more about the specifics of the investigation here.”

Now of course, China is denying any wrongdoing. I believe the party line is “Move along, nothing to see here.” I’m a little skeptical though. This isn’t the first time this topic has been brought up. In fact The MHEDA Journal did an article on the topic in 2008 (scroll to the bottom of the page).

The fact of the matter is these unfair practices are making it extremely difficult for domestic material handling manufacturers to stay competitive, and that’s not right. Obviously the ITC agrees and hopefully, with this finding, a stop will be put to this practice once and for all.

Hello everyone, as you probably figured out from the headline, it’s been a busy day here at MHEDA Edge. I’ve been rushing around finalizing the text for the August issue of the magazine. It’s all done now and I’ve got to say this one was a blast to write.

I’m a bit of a technology junkie, so this month’s tech focus was right up my alley. My favorite article in the August issue is “MH007,” a look at James Bond-like gadgets for material handling salespeople. There’s also going to be an article on using LinkedIn properly and a look at the ultimate material handling road trip.

Today I’m also letting my readers be the first to know about Flip for MHEDA. It’s a contest that will be announced August, 1 in The MHEDA Connection and also in this issue of the Edge. It’s a contest for the best material handling-themed video and the winner receives a Flip Video Ultra Series Camcorder absolutely free. Keep an eye out for details in upcoming MHEDA publications.

Also, be sure to check out the blog again this Friday as I’ll be talking about how China is importing unfairly traded wire decking and costing US manufacturers big time.

People often complain that the mainstream media focuses too much on the two coasts, neglecting what goes on in the heartland. Well, not today, not on my watch! For today’s entry I’m focusing on the tiny town of Oakes in North Dakota. This 2,000 person town is just over 100 miles SW of Fargo. It is home to a manufacturing plant for MHEDA member JLG Industries.

The economy has hit the company hard and, like many manufacturers, they were considering closing plants. The Oakes plant was to be next on the chopping block. That is, until JLG was able to nail down a military contract valued at over $1 billion. Now the plant is set to remain open and all 61 of its employees will stay employed.

Even though the plant employed 170 people in its heyday, and 61 is a far cry from that, that’s 3 percent of the town’s population that still has a job.

I think this story is reflective of a lot of the economic news we’ve seen lately. Nothing is close to being back where it was two years ago, but plenty of things seem to be better off than they were two months ago. Let’s just hope the trend continues.

To read more about this story, check out wikiMHEDA this afternoon!

By this time most of you have probably heard of the Telephone Doctor, Nancy Friedman. She has a series of free customer service podcasts available for MHEDA members and she has presented at several material handling shows.

Well next month in MHEDA Edge, we got her to write an article for the “Career Track” section. It’s a customer service quiz that’s aimed at letting you know what you’re good at and what you need to work on. Today I figured that I would give you a sneak preview of the article. I’m going to post the quiz questions. So give them a look over, jot down your answers and check back on August 6 to see how you did.

1. “How can I help you?” is not necessary in the initial greeting after your name because:
A. No one cares if you can help.
B. It will erase your name.
C. It’s too many words.

2. When I’m not able to help a customer, I should:
A. Tell them honestly and thank them for their business and hang up.
B. Give whatever information I can, right or wrong. Wrong information is better than no information.
C.Advise the person help is on the way and get someone who can help.

3. When I’m having a bad day, I should:
A. Not bother coming into work.
B. Leave my troubles at the doorstep like the song says.
C. Tell all my co-workers my troubles to get it off my back.

4. Chewing gum at work is:
A. OK.
B. A bad breath refresher.
C. Downright rude and obnoxious. FUGETABOUTIT!

5. A mirror at my desk will:
A. Keep my ego in check.
B. Remind me to smile BEFORE I pick up the phone.
C. Give me bad luck if it breaks.

6. Customer service skills are important because:
A. Everyone needs a refresher.
B. Everyone is bad at it.
C. It’s just common sense isn’t it?

7. Internal customer service means:
A. The IRS is coming.
B. The customer is giving me a stomach ache.
C. Treating my co-workers as customers.

8. When leaving a voice mail message I should:
A. Leave my phone number twice and slowly.
B. Leave a good clean joke to keep them smiling.
C. Not leave a message. Just call back till I reach them.

9. Handling irate customers can be:
A. Easy. I probably wasn’t busy anyway.
B. The opportunity to give the company a second chance to make it right.
C. Fun. I finally get to yell back.

10. Asking questions of the customer will:
A. Aggravate them.
B. Show I’m interested in helping and that I’m being proactive.
C. Be considered being too nosy.

The question is, are you maximizing your efforts on Youtube? Is your LinkedIn profile grabbing attention? Are customers able to easily find and use your online store? If your answer isn’t a resounding YES to all of these questions, you’ve got some work to do.

Fortunately, the new issue of The MHEDA Journal hits the Web today featuring articles about these high-tech topics and quite a bit more. These articles aren’t just recycling information that you already know either; they’re in-depth features on how to MAXIMIZE your online efforts.

So take a few minutes, head over to http://www.themhedajournal.org/ and read up. You may be surprised at what you find.

Today I had a talk with Chris Galvan, director of service operations at The Miner Corporation. Galvan is going to be highlighted in the next MHEDA Edge “Meet A Young Leader” feature. He had quite a story to tell and I really think that all of you will enjoy it.

During the interview, I asked him what advice he had for someone who was just starting out in the industry and he replied,

“Learn something every day and teach something every day.”

Of course, I had heard the first part before, but it was the second part that that I found interesting. He believed that teaching is one of the best ways to grow. I can definitely see where he is coming from. To teach something, you have to have a strong grasp of the subject matter and you also have to be able to articulate that knowledge clearly to the person that you’re teaching. Thus by going through the process of teaching a skill to a co-worker, you also reinforce your existing product knowledge and improve your communication skills, both of which will help you do your job better.

So take some time today and help yourself by helping a coworker!

Hello again everybody, today I once again come to you bearing good news about the economy. According to an article posted on wikiMHEDA, according to two leading market analysts, the slow demand dive in the logistics sector may be coming to an end. The article states:

“Wolfe Research reports that 13 of the 14
freight indicators it tracks are “less worse” in this month’s survey of the
macro freight environment. But Wolfe cautions that freight demand in the
long-term is still very difficult to predict due to the seasonality in the
freight market.”

To read the full text of the article, visit this page.

Now even the text of the article itself cautions that these signs are tentative indicators at best, and a more cynical person than myself might be quick to dismiss them. I, however, see this as another in a series of small signs pointing to a bigger recovery that is waiting a bit further down the road. The question is, how much further is that exactly? The truth is, nobody knows for sure, all we can do is continue ignore the negative press and the doomsayers, put our heads down and do what we do best – work.