inbound
Sometimes, you really need a cookie. Life at sea aboard a cargo ship demands
weeks away from shore, and the galley menu can get a bit monotonous.
Ocean shipping giant Maersk Group recently came up with a high-tech solution to the challenge when it used a flying drone to deliver a box of cookies
to sailors on the 610-foot chemical tanker Maersk Edgar as it cruised off the
Danish coast.
The cookies were a simple test cargo,
of course. Future deliveries could include
crucial items such as medicine and spare
parts that ships otherwise could only
obtain through lengthy detours to port.
A drone fitted with a video camera or
GPS locator could also perform dangerous tasks such as hull inspections and
surveillance for pirates.
To perform the cookie delivery test,
Maersk used an eight-bladed octocopter
drone with a 41-inch wingspan and top speed of 36 miles per hour. Built by
French company Xamen Technologies, the drone could carry just 4. 5 pounds
of payload. Larger models can carry five times as much weight but are not
yet approved for operation in explosive environments such as tankers. Visit
the Maersk site to watch a video of the test flight ( www.maersk.com/en/
hardware/2016/03/flown-out-by-drone).
When you really, really need a cookie
Forklift safety will be a hot topic on Capitol Hill again this spring. On June
14, members of the Industrial Truck Association (ITA), which represents
lift truck manufacturers and suppliers of component parts and accessories,
will take part in the third annual National Forklift Safety Day. This annual
event provides an opportunity for the industry to educate customers, pol-icymakers, and government officials about the safe use of forklifts and the
importance of proper operator training.
The main event will be held at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill Hotel, 400
New Jersey Ave., Washington, D.C., from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The program will
feature speakers from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA), forklift industry representatives, and a House representative with
jurisdictional oversight over the Department of Labor and OSHA. Forklift
manufacturers, dealers, and distributors around the country will also hold
local events promoting forklift safety.
ITA says it hopes National Forklift Safety Day will provide greater awareness of safe practices as well as encourage safer behavior in warehouses,
distribution centers, manufacturing plants, and other environments where
forklifts are in use.
Interested in attending? More information will be posted soon at www.
indtrk.org/national-forklift-safety-day. You can also contact ITA about
National Forklift Safety Day by submitting a query at www.indtrk.org/
contact or by calling (202) 296-9880.
National Forklift Safety Day slated for June 14
Most logistics professionals need
years of college training to hone
the skills demanded to run a
modern distribution center. Last
month, however, a high school in
Patterson, Calif., opened a facility that puts its graduates on the
fast track to landing a job in the
region’s burgeoning logistics sector. Developed from a modest,
classroom-based business logistics
program over a three-year period,
the new Patterson Supply Chain
and Logistics Training Center
includes four classrooms and three
working warehouses.
Students in the program develop DC experience by working in
the receiving, storage, and shipping
warehouses. All in all, they expect
to receive and ship out thousands
of books per year in a partnership
with First Book, a nonprofit dedicated to providing new books to
children in need.
To ensure the program is teaching marketable skills, the school
has built partnerships with corporations such as Amazon.com Inc.
and Restoration Hardware Inc.
that have recently opened large
warehouse operations in the city.
Expansion plans include adding
a programmable robotic arm and
a virtual reality forklift simulator, so graduating students know
they will have the qualifications to
step directly into a logistics career
pathway.
To learn more about the program, watch our video interview
with Patterson Superintendent
of Schools Phil Alfano at www.
dcvelocity.com/dcvtv/news/
4608514536001/.
Reading, writing, and
… warehousing?
