Features

BY TOM GRESHAM The turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a kind of perfect storm in warehouse and distribution centers, skyrocketing the already growing demand for e-commerce to new heights while exacerbating the existing labor shortage and making it more difficult to meet that demand. As a result of the pressures that have accompanied the pandemic, automation is seeing ...

The Best Practices, Approaches and Technologies that Reduce Injury Risks  BY SARA PEARSON SPECTER “Safety first.” It’s something all supply chain organizations strive for, yet some facilities have better safety records than others. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, annual warehouse fatalities doubled—from 11 to 22—in 24 months between 2015 and 2017. Further, the warehouse injury rate is ...

BY NICOLE NELSON During COVID-19, so many companies and people have gone the extra mile to help out where help is needed. Whether it is providing PPE, a financial donation, a fundraiser, or a random act of kindness, these people are looking out for the greater good of both the industry and the people involved in it. Financially, physically and ...

BY MARY LOU JAY The COVID-19 pandemic devastated the supply chains of many sectors, and many companies are still feeling the aftershocks. As they try to get back to normal operations, businesses are pondering what they need to do to build supply chains that are, if not quite invincible, at least more resilient. These six strategies could increase their chance ...

BY SANDY SMITH As the spring 2020 season was upon us, magazines were touting some interesting new apparel trends: white dresses, neon colors, bootcut jeans and warm-weather leather. Then COVID-19 shut down retailers, sending us all to our sweatpants and T-shirts and leaving those white, leather, bootcut items unsold. A study by Boston Consulting Group, released by the Sustainable Apparel ...

CREDIT: DOOSAN INDUSTRIAL VEHICLE AMERICA CORP. BY SHERYL S. JACKSON When the Industrial Truck Association (ITA) launched the first national forklift safety day seven years ago to raise awareness of the importance of forklift operator training programs, the media coverage reached 20 million people, based on the circulation or audience numbers of the press outlets running articles or airing coverage. ...

BY KATIE KUEHNER-HEBERT Having an ergonomically designed warehouse and training workers how to safely perform physical tasks can improve their wellbeing and productivity—as well as potentially minimize workers’ compensation costs. Indeed, about a third to as much as half of all workers’ comp claims are associated with manual material handling tasks, according to CNA Insurance Co. Moreover, manual material handling ...

BY MARIA LEGGETT, MHI DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION Are your employees safe? They may have protective gear, complete all the required safety training, and operate in a clean work environment. Yes, they may be physically safe, but are they psychologically safe? That might sound like a soft term but consider this: Are your employees empowered to speak up when they see ...

Welcome to this special issue of MHI Solutions, which celebrates the 75th anniversary of MHI.

From 1850 when Sir William Fairbairn patented the industrial crane to 2020 when COVID-19 tested every joint in the supply chain, these are some of the milestones in the material handling industry.