DC Velocity - June 2010

inbound

Seko DC lets the sun shine in

Rainy Portland, Ore., might seem an unlikely site for a solar energy project, but that didn’t stop Seko Worldwide from giving it a try. Seko, an international freight forwarder and technology solutions provider, recently installed a solar voltaic system at its 33,000-square-foot warehouse and office facility in Portland. The system, manufactured by Grape Solar of Eugene, Ore., now generates approximately 80 to 90 percent of the electricity needed at the site.

It appears Seko won’t have to wait long for a payoff either. Excess electricity is sold back to Portland General Electric via a usage-metering system that balances the electricity produced by the utility against the electricity produced by the solar panels to produce a net credit or deficit. What’s more, said Paul Burkhart, owner of Seko Worldwide in Portland, federal, state, and local financial incentives covered nearly 80 percent of the solar installation’s cost. “All projections indicate we will achieve an ROI in just three years. After that, we will enjoy virtually free electricity,” he said in a statement.

PHOTO COUR TESY OF GREATER LOUISVILLE INC.

fun and (LogistX) games

Forget curling, the caber toss, and log rolling. If you’re looking for a truly exotic sport, why not give the Pallet Puzzle Sprint, Pick/Pack Hurdle, or Box Put a try?

You can if you work in the Louisville, Ky.; Cincinnati, Ohio; or Indianapolis, Ind., area and can field a team to compete in the third annual LogistX Games. The competition, which pits teams of warehouse associates representing shippers, carriers, and third-party logistics companies against each other, includes the following tests of skill and might:

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Pallet Puzzle Sprint. Three-person teams each take 36 dif-ferent-sized corrugated boxes from floor locations, assemble them, and stack them on a pallet. The first team to finish wins.

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Pallet Jack Relay. Three-person teams compete in a timed pallet jack relay race through an obstacle course while keeping the boxes on the pallet.

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Pick/Pack Hurdle. Three-person teams move boxes from the pallet to a warehouse racking system while memorizing positioning and SKUs in a timed race.

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Forklift Marathon. Drivers pick up a pallet containing four small boxes and maneuver the load through an obstacle course to place it on a trailer.

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Box Put. During the Pallet Puzzle Sprint event, teams will have packed one box with fragile, bottled liquid items (bottles of Kentucky bourbon, in the event we watched) using packaging material they select from a predetermined list of options. During the Box Put event, one team member throws the box for distance and accuracy without breaking the contents.

The games are fun, but that’s not their sole aim, says Kevin Grove, a senior vice president and partner at the real estate firm CB Richard Ellis Louisville who originated the concept. “There’s a serious purpose, and that is to publicize the importance of logistics and distribution, and to encourage more investment and development in this vital economic sector,” he said in a statement.

Eight teams from each city will compete, with the top three from each city advancing to the finals. The Cincinnati and Indianapolis games take place this month, but Louisville held its preliminary games last September. You can watch highlights of that competition on DCV-TV, www.dcvelocity.com/ dcvtv/viewercontributed/86367829001/. (Be sure to catch the “half-time show.”)

Many a warehouse manager keeps a well-worn copy of Rules of Thumb: Warehousing and Distribution Guidelines on the desk or in a back pocket. The pamphlet, developed and published biennially by the consulting firm Gross & Associates, provides general guidelines for estimating the costs of various material handling equipment configurations.

If your copy is getting a little dog-eared, we have good news. A new edition—the 11th—has been released by the supply chain and transportation consulting firm TranSystems, which acquired Gross & Associates in 2008. The current edition includes new categories, like security and warehouse technology, as well as price estimates for 140 types of warehouse equipment and supplies.

Rules of Thumb is available in a handy pocket-sized booklet, which can be ordered at no cost at www.transystems.com/rules. The company has also developed an online version that will calculate costs for you. To use the online calculator, go to www.transystems.com/rules and follow the prompts.