4 DC VELOCITY MARCH 2017 www.dcvelocity.com
inbound
Here’s our monthly roundup of some of the
charitable works and donations by companies in the material handling and logistics
space.
; Marengo, Ill.-based forklift manufacturer UniCarriers Americas Corp. (UCA) and
its employees will support Make-A-Wish
Illinois and help grant wishes for local children with life-threatening medical conditions. Funding will come from a donation
by the company and a series of fundraising
events organized by UCA employees, such
as bake sales, chili cook-offs, raffles, and
silent auctions.
; Atlanta-based parcel delivery giant UPS
Inc. has awarded more than $2.3 million to
nonprofit organizations to promote global
volunteerism, through its UPS Foundation.
The grants will support initiatives like disaster preparedness and recovery, youth literacy and skills development, and veterans training. Recipients include the Points
of Light Foundation, the National Youth
Leadership Council, and Toolbank USA.
; Freight brokerage firm Total Quality
Logistics of Cincinnati achieved a record-high participation rate of 75 percent in its
2016 annual employee giving campaign,
TQL Cares. The company attributes the
high participation rate to its inaugural use
of the Benevity charitable giving software
platform, which allows employees to allocate their contributions to the charities that
are most meaningful to them.
; Greene, N.Y.-based industrial lift truck
supplier The Raymond Corp. donated two
hand pallet trucks to the Greene Central
School District middle and high schools.
The schools will use the equipment to transport parcels, food preparation items, and
miscellaneous maintenance supplies.
; Positioning solutions specialist Trimble
Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif., made a gift-in-kind that will expand the University of
Massachusetts-Amherst’s training and
research programs in 3-D building design,
digital fabrication, and the sustainable built
environment. The gift will establish the
1,300-square-foot Trimble Technology Lab
in the new Design Building at the college.
Logistics gives back As a warehouse or DC manager, it’s your job to oversee day-to-day
operations and make decisions about equipment purchases. But do
you ever seek input from people like lift truck operators who are
directly affected by those decisions? It’s worth asking them, since they
know what happens where the rubber meets the road (or in this case,
where the forks meet the racks).
According to Raymond Handling Concepts, a Pacific Northwest
dealer of material handling equipment and systems, there’s a lot lift
truck operators would like management to know but don’t always
feel comfortable saying. Raymond spent some
time asking operators what’s important to
them and came up with a short list that might
surprise you. Here are their responses, in no
particular order:
1. Safety matters. Forklift operators want to
be safe—they’d like to go home at the end of
the shift with all of their fingers and toes intact.
2. They take pride in their work. Good operators take pride in their workplace and want
their fellow drivers to adhere to the same high standards they do (even
if it means more drug testing or auditing to weed the bad ones out).
3. They appreciate new equipment. New lift truck technology, ergonomic design, and safety features all help operators be more productive, comfortable, and efficient.
4. Forklifts and rack systems must be compatible. Racking that’s too
narrow or aisles that prevent trucks from passing each other constrain operators’ ability to work as efficiently as possible.
5. They don’t want to be kept in the dark. Inadequate lighting reduces productivity and leads to accidents and product damage.
The complete article can be found in the “Learn” section of Raymond
Handling Concepts’ website, www.raymondhandling.com.
Logistics professionals from around the country will gather in Orlando,
Fla., in April to attend the Shippers Conference & Transportation
Expo organized by the National Shippers Strategic Transportation
Council (NASSTRAC). At the event, which takes place April 9–12,
attendees will hear from industry leaders on subjects ranging from
budgeting and contracting to the “uberization” of freight.
A transportation expo runs concurrently with the show. More than
70 exhibitors are expected to be on hand to showcase their wares.
The conference opens with a general session titled “Kick-off
Keynote: Lessons From the End Zone.” Thirteen-season NFL veteran Phil Villapiano will relay the story of how he took the lessons he
learned on the field (“Attitude is everything.” “Be ready to improvise.” “Never give up.”) and harnessed them for a successful career
in logistics.
For more info and to register, go to http://www.nasstrac.org.
What your forklift drivers want you to know
NASSTRAC conference kicks off with
“lessons from the end zone”
