Material Handling Management articles from December 2003

Material Handling Management archives from December 2003

RFID won't work without metrics; it's not just what gets to Wal-Mart. It's what happens on the way.(Radio Frequency Identification)(Wal-Mart Stores Inc.)(Editorial)
December 1, 2003... ABC Supply (not its real name) was happy with its RFID (radio frequency identification)-based inventory management system. It told the company that it was achieving 99 percent order fulfillment rates. ABC's customers disagreed. The problem?...

OSHA asks for help.(News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Some industry groups were happy recently when they learned the National Safety Council had abandoned its role as overseer of a 13-year effort to draft ergonomics guidelines for the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Before this...

Airport implements RFID tagging.(News Briefs)
December 1, 2003... McCarran International Airport, Las Vegas, announced a contract with Matrics Inc., a pioneer in the advanced development and standardization of low-cost, high-performance, UHF Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) smart label technology, to...

Security takes center stage.(News Briefs%)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Bangkok, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell electronically unlocked and held up the Savi SmartSeal sensor system device before world government and industry leaders. The product is at the core...

MHEDA elects new president.(News Briefs)(Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Loren G. Swakow, vice president, Scott Lift Truck Corporation, Elk Grove Village, Illinois, has been elected the 50th president of the Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association (MHEDA, www.mheda.org). Swakow graduated from Carthage...

Bar code label software study.(News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Off-the-shelf packaged bar code label generation software (sold separately or bundled with hardware) accounted for nearly 80 percent of bar code industry revenues in 2002. However, by 2007, this percentage is expected to decrease as integration...

Awards announced by MHEFI.(News Briefs)(Material Handling Education Foundation Inc)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The Material Handling Education Foundation Inc. (MHEFI), has announced the establishment of a new scholarship program, named in honor of Robert R. Reisinger. It was established to honor Reisinger's long and dedicated career upon the...

Ergonomics Guidelines revised.(News Briefs)(Book Review)
December 1, 2003... The Ergonomic Design Guidelines for Engineers manual, published by Humantech (www.humantech.com) has been revised to include new and improved assessment methods, software and tools. The new 333-page manual, including a compact disc toolbox,...

WERC names new executive.(News Briefs)(Warehousing Education and Research Council )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Robert Shaunnessey has been named executive director for the Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC). Shaunnessey was a founder and partner with Sterling Logistics. Before that, he served as president and CEO of Records Management...

Task force to study Reusable Pallets, security.(News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The Reusable Pallet and Container Coalition (RPCC) has established two task forces, one to study the impact of reusable pallets and a second to examine secure supply chain management. RPCC named Jon Holthaus of Worthington Steelpac Inc. to...

London office for agency.(News Briefs A.B. Isacson Associates Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... A.B. Isacson Associates Inc., a global leader in business-to-business marketing public relations for industrial and high technology sectors, announced the opening of a European office in London. The new office provides strategic and more...

Glossary of Supply Chain Terminology.(News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Industrial Data and Information Inc. announces the publication of Glossary of Supply Chain Terminology For Logistics, Manufacturing, Warehousing, and Technology, a resource for professionals in the supply chain field. This glossary is for...

Associations making news.(News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Longtime industry expert, Tom Miller, has been named chairman of the board for AIM Inc., the global trade association representing the automatic identification and data collection industry. Miller, executive vice president, Intermec...

ANSI standards for Monorails released.(News Briefs)(American National Standards Institute)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The Monorail Manufacturers Association Inc. (MMA), www.mhia.org/mma, an affiliate of Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA), has released two approved American National Standards Institute (ANSI) specifications. Specifications for...

Sealed Air seeing stars.(News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Sealed Air announced that its Korrvu retention packaging and Cryovac Simple Steps heat-and-serve packaging have won awards for packaging excellence in the Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP), 2003 AmeriStar Package Awards Competition....

Pallets and logistics strategy.(News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Pallets are about as basic to material handling as it gets. With increasing recognition of the important relationship of pallet strategy and supply chain optimization, interest in pallets is increasingly making its way from the loading dock to...

Leo Clement.(News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Leo Clement, Eastern Canada regional manager for Orion Packaging, succumbed to cancer in October. Clement, a long time resident of Ottburn Park, Quebec, was a veteran of the stretch wrapping industry for more than 25 years.

Managers making news.(News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... George Reyher has been named account manager, Latin America, for FKI Logistex Alvey Systems. In his new position, Reyher will focus his efforts on refining and expanding the company's presence in the Latin American marketplace, including its...

Companies making news.(News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Paragon Technologies Inc. a supplier of material handling solutions including systems, technologies, products and services, announced its board of directors has formed a committee to address all strategic alternatives available to the company....

Automation market to exceed $30 billion.(News Briefs)
December 1, 2003... The overall future of automation products serving the discrete industries looks bright over a five-year period, according to a new ARC Advisory Group study. The total automation business to worldwide discrete industries is expected to grow at a...

Reader feedback.(News Briefs)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2003... To George Weimer: I am the sales and marketing manager for a small manufacturing company located in Newton, IA. Our claim to fame is Newton's Maytag. Thombert has manufactured industrial polyurethane wheels and tires in Newton since after...

New tech center opens.(News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Witron recently opened the doors to WITEC, a technology center at its headquarters in Germany. This project was designed and realized within six months, a true benchmark of rapid implementation. Witron has created a showcase of its picking...

Siemens Center of Competence.(News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Siemens Energy and Automation has announced the opening of its Chemical and Pharmaceutical Center of Competence, based in Spring House, Pennsylvania, focusing on working more intimately with international and national chemical and...

WERC guide to storage systems.(News Briefs)(Warehousing Education and Research)(Book Review)
December 1, 2003... The Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC) has published an updated edition of A Complete Guide to Pallet Storage Systems. This long-time best seller is the perfect primer for determining how best to combine storage type and...

Proven products.
December 1, 2003... There are many reasons Crown is the preferred choice. Today it seems many brands claim to be number one. At Crown, we prefer to let our customers decide. And that's just what they've told us. Many insist that our products perform better,...

Safety and productivity in the workplace.(Ask the MHM Editorial Advisory Board)
December 1, 2003... This month we asked board members about: balancing safety with the need for productivity; the role of automation; worker training; and OSHA audits. Here are their replies: David Rogers, vice president logistics, Rockwell Automation:...

Software simulates manufacturing process.(The Cutting Edge)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Flexsim 2.5 is a three-dimensional, object-oriented software that allows users in manufacturing, material handling, warehousing and supply-chain, healthcare and business processes to accurately build models to simulate their processes. Flexsim...

An expert hand with RFID.(The Cutting Edge)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The Acsis RFID Expert System is an analytical software-based diagnostic modeling tool that analyzes, records and troubleshoots challenges that limit RFID systems' performance. The System is a combination of software and services that enables...

Keeping it on the level.(The Cutting Edge)
December 1, 2003... The EyeLevel safety device helps determine if a lift truck fork is level before it enters a pallet. The device is mounted on either the mast or the carriage of the truck. The construction is based on a pivot motion, with aligning pins to...

Know how to package for the unknown.(Transport Packaging)
December 1, 2003... Since I prefer life the way it is presented through a telescope rather than a television screen, I've spent an inordinate amount of time on aerology (especially the study of Mars) this past year. I figure I'd better get my looks in now because...

Calendar.(Calendar)
December 1, 2003... January 11-14 NRF 93rd Annual Convention & EXPO. Sponsored by the National Retail Federation. Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, NY, NY. Visit www.nrf.com. January 26-27 RFID ROI 2004. London. Visit www.access-events.com. January 26-29...

Drowning in data.(Controls & Systems)(Column)
December 1, 2003... Decisions, reports, data collection... ever feel like you're drowning in data? You're right. According to a recent study from the University of California, Berkeley, worldwide information production has increased by 30 percent each year...

RFID: Wal-Mart has spoken. Will you comply?(Radio Frequency Identification)(Panel Discussion)
December 1, 2003... Radio frequency identification (RFID) has become a very hot topic in the last few months with Wal-Mart's compliance announcement to suppliers. Recently, the Department of Defense (DoD) followed Wal-Mart's lead. It has even adopted the same time...

IP reads paper to the core; International Paper's RFID-enabled warehouse establishes inventory certainty, eliminates lost product, reduces operating costs and decreases inventory.
December 1, 2003... International Paper developed a warehouse tracking system (WTS) using radio frequency identification (RFID) to manage inventory at its Texarkana, Texas mill and warehouse. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The WTS uses the EPC Global's Electronic...

AIDC in material handling.(Technology ROI)(automatic identification and data collection)
December 1, 2003... Anyone who's been through it recently will tell you that determining return on investment (ROI) is a complex, time-consuming, frustrating and often thoroughly rewarding process. Sound like a contradiction? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

Which giant sucking sounds?(Manufacturing Management)
December 1, 2003... When Ross Perot coined that phrase in 1992, we were just getting started with NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), and the presidential candidates (Clinton and Bush Sr.) had to contend with the remarkably entertaining and popular Mr....

New threat in California.(Compliance)
December 1, 2003... California's a mess. The economy is shot; the governor has been recalled; a new governor has been elected; and forest fires have wiped out a bunch of homes. And if you're the owner of a vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC), SB 1886 is a...

Reports from events across the country: Pack Expo looks outside the box.(Market Trends)
December 1, 2003... While radio frequency identification (RFID) is not often thought of as packaging, it was most certainly a hot topic at this year's Pack Expo Las Vegas. At least the idea of, and ways to implement RFID, were on many show-goers' minds. Keynote...

Vendor, serve thyself.(Market Trends)
December 1, 2003... Don't meet Wal-Mart's RFID compliance demand with a knee-jerk response. That was the consensus of a group of logistics execution system vendors speaking at a seminar held in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and sponsored by LESA, the Logistics...

Industrial Truck execs go on the record: lies ... damn lies ... statistics.(Market Trends)
December 1, 2003... The Industrial Truck Association (ITA), based in Washington, DC, doesn't buy into that characterization of facts and figures--at least not theirs. This is an organization that devotes a lot of time and resources to getting its facts straight....

Taking stock and getting lean.(Market Trends)
December 1, 2003... The topics of inventory management and lean manufacturing were popular ones at the APICS-Educational Society for Resource Management International Conference and Exposition in Las Vegas. In his presentation "A New Model for Solving, and...

Ergonomically correct workstation.(Product News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Workstation is designed with T-Slotted aluminum extrusions to make the work area ergonomically correct for several operators. The station can be quickly redesigned as processes change. Standard components include tool hangers, AkroBins, swing...

Multiple-line ink jet coder.(Product News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The Multiline ink jet coding system can be configured with a selection of three different printheads that produce bar codes, text, and graphics in heights of 0.5, 0.9, or 1.9 in. The unit prints at speeds up to 325 feet per minute with various...

Tamper-resistant safety switches.(Product News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The ISIS Safety Switch System uses "Multi-Magnet" technology to achieve 6 mm switching in a tamper-resistant, resin-filled ABS or stainless steel body with an IP 67 protection rating. Available in a range of voltages, the ISIS control units...

Adjustable support stands.(Product News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Support stands come in four heights: fixed (increased range of height from 17 inches to 99 inches); adjustable (from 12 inches to 97 inches); short support (lower heights from 7 inches to 18 inches); and tall stand (taller heights up to 99...

Fleet management software offers safety checklist.(Product News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The Vigilant G2 lift truck management system is designed to help operators comply with OSHA requirements. To use the system, a supervisor or a mechanic creates a checklist using web-based software. The checklist is uploaded to lift trucks via a...

Fragile product conveyor.(Product News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The E-Z Slide Conveyor is designed for fragile products. The conveyor uses a counter-rotating weight drive system; the product remains stationary as it is carried forward, then instantly slides along the tray surface as the drive reverses its...

Lift truck series full-color brochure.(Product News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Hyster Company is offering a full-color, 16-page brochure featuring the H170-360HD pneumatic lift truck series, with dimensions, specifications and color photos. The brochure relates information on the series' heavy duty lifting capabilities,...

Wheel-Engaging Beam.(Product News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The Wheel-Engaging Beam on the WE-18 Wheel Engaging Mobile Lift permits vehicles with individual axle weights up to 36,000 lbs. to be driven onto the beam and then lifted. This means that components that restrict access to the lifting wheel do...

Manipulator/balancer.(Product News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The Ulti-Balance/500 allows the pneumatic-electronic manipulator/balancer to raise or lower up to 500 lbs. with only three to five lbs. of pressure by the operator. The model has a quick-attaching curved panel end effector with four zones to...

High-speed vertical conveyor.(Product News)
December 1, 2003... The VALU-LIFT vertical conveyor is a four-strand, continuous lift conveyor that loads up to 50 lbs. The conveyor's modular construction consists of interlocking molded polymer flights with steel connecting pins. It can also be furnished with...

Chain-driven roller conveyor.(Product News)
December 1, 2003... This modified, loop-to-loop chain-driven roller conveyor is designed with minimum pressure accumulation wheels. Wheels are retained on 1-3/16 in. diameter drive shafts with locking collars, allowing free rotation. The conveyed product can be...

Electric walkie stacker lift truck.(Product News)
December 1, 2003... Toyota's new electric walkie straddle stacker lift truck (with adjustable baselegs) offers a multi-function control handle with large, dual thumb wheels and lift, lower and horn buttons that can be operated with either hand. The truck also has...

LB lever hoist.(Product News)
December 1, 2003... New lever hoist has reduced size and handle length for ease of operation, transportation and storage. A corrosion-resistant load chain is standard. The capacities of the hoist range from 3/4 ton to 9 tons, and include the first 2 3/4 ton lever...

Custom tow-veyor cart.(Product News)
December 1, 2003... Custom tow-veyor cart moves both horizontally and vertically. The cart features two electro-mechanical lifts with 2,500 lbs. capacity each. The front lift is used to hoist the front axle and engine assembly into the vehicle body while the back...

Comfortable low lift pallet truck.(Product News)
December 1, 2003... The MPC-E low lift pallet truck specializes in low level order picking and horizontal palletized transportation. The truck is available in 6,000- and 8,000-lb. capacities. It has been designed to reduce operator fatigue with a removable,...

PowerGlide trolley.(Product News)
December 1, 2003... The PowerGlide is a compact mobile electrification system with a one-piece insulator that contains three or four solid joint-free copper conductors. The trolley's wheels are retractable (by twisting a knob) for quick installation. The trolley...

Reusable corrugated plastic containers.(Product News)
December 1, 2003... Custom reusable corrugated plastic containers (with or without foam dunnage) feature a modular design that optimizes cubic density, allowing more parts to be stored per container and eliminating the need for disposable packaging. The containers...

Compact bar code scanner.(Product News)
December 1, 2003... The BCL 8 industrial barcode reader can read up to 500 scans/second and automatically detects and reads all customary code types. Other BCL 8 features include a large depth of focus and reading field width, metal housing and a protection rating...

Motorized roller conveyor.(Product News)
December 1, 2003... The IntelliROL conveyor uses a motorized roller to power each zone or segment. The conveyor is a modular system that can be customized and reconfigured to meet the user's needs. An optional conveyor shroud encloses and provides additional...

Hydrostatic lift truck.(Product News)
December 1, 2003... The Linde 39X Hydrostatic Drive lift truck is fueled with either diesel or LP gas and has a capacity of 5,000 lbs. According to the manufacturer, new hydrostatic wheel motors that operate at low speed and higher oil volume per revolution means...