Material Handling Management articles from February 2003

Material Handling Management archives from February 2003

Make regs work for you: you can take responsibility or wait until it's thrust upon you. (Editorial).(Editorial)
February 1, 2003... I know what you're thinking. So this is MHM's Regulatory issue. How exciting. If it's excitement you want, don't pay any attention to what goes on in the regulatory world. Just continue with your cookie-cutter approach to material handling...

OSHA reviews seat belt policy.
February 1, 2003... OSHA's current policy regarding seat belts on powered industrial trucks is under review for possible change. The Industrial Truck Association (ITA) has made its opposition known in a recent letter to OSHA's director. Currently, OSHA...

Material handling online.
February 1, 2003... Check out the new TOTALsupply-chain Evaluation Center -- called the "Rolls Royce of decision support tools." This new addition to Penton's supply chain portal provides a collection of templates that will assist buyers in making educated supply...

Mead Westvaco Corporation.
February 1, 2003... Mead Westvaco Corporation announced that it is closing its Westvaco Brand Security (WBS) business and merging the wholly owned subsidiary's brand-protection services into the company's core packaging business. WBS, as well as other company...

The Raymond Corporation. (Companies Making News).
February 1, 2003... The Raymond Corporation announced that its Greene, New York, facility has met the requirements to upgrade its quality systems to the ISO 9001-2000 standard. Fewer than 10 percent of ISO 9001 registered companies in the U.S. have met the ISO...

Retrotech Inc. (Companies Making News).(acquires Woodson Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Retrotech Inc. has acquired Woodson Inc. Under terms of the agreement, Retrotech will own all of Woodson's system drawings, software and PLC code that are unique to its product lines.

Manhattan Associates. (Companies Making News).(Internet Capital Group sells Logistics.com )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Manhattan Associates has acquired certain assets of Logistics.com from Internet Capital Group for a one-time cash payment of approximately $20 million.

S&P report card on capital goods. (News Briefs).(industrial equipment )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Despite signs of recovery in the U.S. economy, the capital goods sector is still mired in a recession that began in mid-2000, with the timing of its recovery uncertain, according to a Standard & Poor's Ratings Services report published in...

More companies join Smart and Secure Tradelanes. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The Smart and Secure Tradelanes (SST) initiative to improve the security and productivity of ocean container shipments now has about 35 partners, including major multi-national manufacturers, carriers, best-of-breed technology and service...

Rite-hite receives award. (News Briefs).(innovation award)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... At the Preventica trade show in Marseilles, France, a jury of regional Sickness Assurance Board professionals awarded Rite-Hite Corporation the Innovation Award for its Global Wheel-Lok vehicle restraint. According to Danny Mulder, European...

CEMA reports slight increases. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The Conveyor Equipment Manufacturers Association (CEMA) reports that its October 2002 Booked Orders Index was 131, up two points (an increase of two percent) from September 2002's index. The October index, however, represents a decrease of 29...

December Business Conditions improve. (News Briefs).(packaging machinery industry)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The packaging machinery sector improved during the November 15-December 20, 2002, time period, with all four measures rising above 50, and two staying above 60, according to the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute's (PMMI) Business...

FDI dissolved. (News Briefs).(Food Distributors International )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Food Distributors International (FDI), which has served the food industry for 96 years, is gone. According to John R. Block, president, wholesalers will become part of "an even more vigorous Food Marketing Institute [FMI], and foodservice...

Middle-market executives optimistic. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... According to a survey by global accounting firms Grant Thornton and Wirthlin Worldwide, eight out of 10(79 percent) U.S. middle-market companies are optimistic about the future of their business over the next six months, and half plan to...

Orders for Material Handling Equipment improve. (News Briefs).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Material Handling Equipment Manufacturing (MHEM) shows new orders down 13.5% for the 12 months ending November 2002 and virtually even for the quarter ending November 2002 compared to the same periods in 2001, as released by the U.S. Department...

Schneider Electric. (Managers Making News).(appoints new president)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... David D. Petratis has been appointed president and COO for the U.S. business of Schneider Electric.

ITC Manufacturing and Powder Coating. (Managers Making News).(appoints Jim Bradshaw president)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... ITC Manufacturing and Powder Coating has named Jim Bradshaw company president. He joined the company two years ago as vice president, sales and marketing.

LiftTek Elecar. (Managers Making News).(new appointments)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Brian Lamb has joined LiftTek Elecar as vice president of sales and business development in the Americas. Tim Sevick has also joined the company as vice president of engineering, responsible for managing engineering resources and projects. In...

KWS Manufacturing Company. (Managers Making News).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... KWS Manufacturing Company has new leadership. Mark Osborn has been appointed president; Bill Mecke, P.E., vice president; Jarod Pratt, national sales manager; and Lola Haught, sales manager, catalog sales.

A new lift. (The Cutting Edge).
February 1, 2003... It's no secret that lifting boxes is a factor in employee back injuries. The Dual Lift and Solo Lift promise to transform how boxes are lifted, stacked and delivered. Hand placement can have a significant effect on what happens to an employee's...

Taking the charge out of belting. (The Cutting Edge).
February 1, 2003... A new formulation of urethane power transmission belting minimizes static electric charge buildup on conveyors and other machinery. The Static Dissipative Belt made of Cyclothane-SD is a second-generation conductive urethane. Earlier belts were...

Extended safety zone. (The Cutting Edge).
February 1, 2003... A little more room can offer big benefits. This I-Zone Area Detection System, for example, gives you a seven-foot safe area under open doors. For highspeed dock doors, the system uses infrared technology to sense when people are in the area,...

Faster conveyor installation. (The Cutting Edge).
February 1, 2003... Changing the placement of your conveyor often means a lot of rewelding and bolting of support components. A new mechanical design, from WA. Schmidt, promises to eliminate that problem and speed conveyor installation. Typically, conveyors...

Predicting a change. (Transport Packaging).(business climate in Canada)
February 1, 2003... Here in Cleveland we keep an eye on the weather to our north -- in Canada. Changes that impact our lives most often come from that quarter. Sometimes the wind coming across the lake is chilly and laden with snow. At other times it's a welcome...

Don't be held hostage! (Controls & Systems).
February 1, 2003... How many of you have old PLCs controlling various processes? How many of those controls are from Rockwell Automation? Surprise! You may be held hostage to a lawsuit. The control world is experiencing a questionable legal predicament that...

Material handling in a regulated world.
February 1, 2003... Lawmakers at the federal, state and local levels can have a profound effect on your material handling projects and processes. Information is your best defense. "Ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking it." This is an early 15th...

OSHA: kinder, gentler? The emphasis is on voluntary versus enforcement. And ergonomics is no longer a dirty word.
February 1, 2003... Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao and John Henshaw, assistant secretary of labor for Occupational Safety and Health, are hard at work changing OSHA's goals--or, at least, its image. Now enforcement is a strategy of last resort, after all...

Regulations provide direction in packaging: whether you view the conundrum of regulation as the container half full or half empty, there's sound reasoning for most standards and requirements.
February 1, 2003... The choice is clear - and clearly yours: You can view regulatory issues, be they local, federal or international, as burdens or opportunities for your business. As lawyer and packaging writer Eric F. Greenberg says, "Anticipation, study and...

Keeping automation safe.(acceptance of electronic records and signatures for product quality, safety and regulatory compliance)(FDA regulation)
February 1, 2003... Controls and systems vendors tend to automatically comply with all regulations. Security is an exception. There are no regulations or rules, but vendors are working to make their products secure anyway. Controls and systems vendors...

Rely on software to meet regulations.(warehouse and manufacturing)(FDA and EPA)
February 1, 2003... Both warehouse software and manufacturing software are ready to help you meet the challenges of governmental regulations, product recall, auditing and industry practices. Warehouse and manufacturing software comes into play in a myriad of...

Opening up wireless. (News).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Changes are continual in the wireless industry, as companies and standards groups work to bring it to maturity. Recent changes promise to allow innovative technologies that will improve performance specifically by making it easier to use the...

Case history: going mobile. (Technology ROI: Wireless).
February 1, 2003... When you're handling 60,000 shipments per day, speed is essential. The best way for FedEx Freight to boost its already fast delivery speed was to go wireless. "Everything is in flow," says Randy Gardner, infrastructure manager. "And that...

RFID: not a perfect world.(radio frequency identification )
February 1, 2003... Even at the best of times it's a messy, imperfect world -- and these are far from the best of times. And nowhere is that more true that in the area of radio frequency identification (RFID). At the most fundamental level, RFID is a lot more...

Factory world for losers? (Manufacturing Management).
February 1, 2003... What do you advise your kids to focus on in terms of careers? If you're like most folks these days, you don't tell them to do what you've done all your working life. Manufacturing and industry have not been hot topics in school since I was...

How regs affect you.(OSHA compliance)
February 1, 2003... This issue is about regulations and their impact on you in material handling. Compliance, however, addresses any kind of legal action or happening (such as elevator legislation or postal edict) that might change the way you do business. And...

Material control: two indicators you should study. (Market Trends).
February 1, 2003... What You Don't Know Can Hurt You Many factors impacted Cisco Systems' bottom line in its recently reported $2.7 billion loss; however, those losses would have been much smaller if management had recognized double orders being made and...

Watch your step. (Product News).
February 1, 2003... When it comes to safety, every step matters. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, portable ladders have been a factor in 25,383 non-fatal injuries. OSHA recommends that people have at least one hand free to...

A clear view. (Product News).
February 1, 2003... For a clear line of sight across a factory floor, the A26 Low-Profile Disconnect Enclosure series keeps enclosure height to a maximum of 60 in. These off-the-shelf units are available in freestanding, wall- or machine-mount versions....

Explosion-proof dumper. (Product News).
February 1, 2003... Lift and Seal system accepts a drum at floor level, then elevates and discharges product into a mixer at 222.5 in. above floor level. The unit provides a dust-tight seal between the drum and pour cone. Additional features include a 60-degree...

Conveying production agility. (Case Study).
February 1, 2003... "You've got to be fast on your feet," says Bruce Wakefield, manufacturing engineer for Mann+Hummel, referring to the need to produce new designs to meet automotive requirements. The South Bend, Indiana, plant develops and produces...