Tag: Material Handling

Overseas Jobs Could Be Headed Back to America

The tide could be turning. Following up on a campaign promise to stop the flow of manufacturing jobs overseas, President Obama has proposed closing loop holes in the U.S. tax code and raising corporate taxes on offshore earnings to encourage U.S. manufacturers to keep jobs in America. The President is pressuring Congress to eliminate certain tax breaks that he says encourage U.S. companies to move jobs overseas. At the same time, the President’s recently-released budget initiative proposes to increase corporate taxes on overseas earnings.

Proponents say the President’s plan would not only keep more jobs in America, it would raise more than $100 billion in much needed revenue over the next decade. Current tax laws allow U.S. firms to defer taxes on overseas profits if they invest those profits in their foreign subsidiaries. Critics say that practice encourages businesses to fund their foreign operations at the expense of those located on U.S. soil. And, of course, there’s considerable debate on both sides about what the amount of the tax rate should be if the rules are changed. Many consider the current 35% rate (which few actually pay) unsustainable, particularly in the current economy. Some industry experts have suggested a more realistic 15% to 20% tax rate. The debate is expected to be energetic. If your company has a global reach, you might want to weigh in with your Congressional representatives.

Any move to keep U.S. jobs on U.S. soil will be a positive one for America’s manufacturing industry, American workers, and the U.S. economy. Hard-hit by the economic recession and the problems of Detroit’s Big Three auto manufacturers, the future of U.S. manufacturing has been painted as bleak by many. But the real story is much more complex and, fortunately, rosier. While U.S. manufacturing jobs have moved overseas, particularly to China, to take advantage of lower labor costs; over the past 15 years, the number of Chinese manufacturing jobs has not increased, leading industry experts to believe we’re on the downslope of the outsourcing peak, at least with regards to China. In fact, according to the Material Handling Industry of America, the percentage of workers employed in manufacturing is higher in the U.S. than it is in China. Good news for U.S. workers.

More on Friday

How Force Affects Pushing and Pulling Activities

Pushing and pulling tasks are among the most common industrial activities. Pallets of goods need to be moved from one point to another and equipment needs to be moved to a usage point. Workers at factories, hospitals, distribution centers, grocery stores and many other businesses engage in pushing and pulling activities numerous times a day. The Ergonomics of Manual Material Handling – Pushing and Pulling Tasks provides a useful overview of the costs and consequences of neglecting ergonomics in common industrial tasks that involve pushing and pulling. Click here to read the white paper published by Darcor, an industry leader in the design and manufacture of ergonomic casters and wheels, and Ergoweb, an ergonomic web resource.

While often taken for granted, wheeled carts and equipment are integral to the operation of nearly all manufacturing and distribution facilities as well as many businesses. Musculoskeletal disorders from pushing and pulling injuries cost American businesses billions of dollars each day in medical, insurance, disability and downtime costs. Ergonomically-designed carts, wheels and casters can significantly decrease the incidence of musculoskeletal disorders.

To be effective, ergonomic design for push/pull tasks must consider:

  • Human factors such as height, weight, age, gender, strength, posture and physiological capacity.
  • Task factors including distance moved, forces required to initiate and sustain movement, direction and nature of movement and task duration.
  • Cart/equipment factors such as size, weight, stability, caster/wheel specification and handhold type, height and orientation.
  • Floor/ground factors including surface characteristics, slope and contaminants.

Contrary to popular belief, horizontal push force is more significant than load weight in pushing and pulling tasks. Proper wheel or caster selection and equipment design can enable workers to move thousands of pounds safely and efficiently. Caster/wheel choice alone can reduce push force significantly. Rolling resistance refers to forces that resist movement and defines the amount of force a person must generate and apply to move wheeled equipment.

This force — called the starting or initial force by ergonomists — is always greatest at the start, just before movement begins. Fortunately, starting force must only be exerted briefly. Once acceleration is achieved, less force — called the sustained or rolling force — is required to maintain movement. The final major force that affects cart movement is turning force which can occur while the cart is in motion or during positioning.

Next time: How ergonomics mitigates force.

Ergonomics Opponents Girding for Battle

California Democratic Representative Hilda Solis was confirmed yesterday as President Obama’s Secretary of Labor by a Senate vote of 80-17. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is already said to be marshalling its forces. With a very pro-labor Solis at the helm, the chamber is anticipating a pitched battle over reinstatement — and probably toughening and expansion — of ergonomics laws instituted under Clinton but quickly wiped off the books by Bush.

Solis hails from California, the only state with ergonomics laws that have any bite to them — though Michigan is struggling to pass similar measures. California forces employers into compliance when workplace practices are found wanting. Business leaders and chamber executives fear that Solis will use the tough California model to craft national laws mandating ergonomic practices. Solis has been a persistent champion of labor rights and national ergonomics laws since her election to the U.S. House in 2001.

Solis can expect to have the President’s backing. On the campaign trail last year, Obama discussed the need to address musculoskeletal injuries, telling the Charlotte Observer that OSHA “must attack this problem with all of the tools at its disposal — regulations, enforcement, training and compliance assistance.” He is expected to reverse the Bush administration’s stance on national ergonomic standards.

The chamber considers national ergonomics standards to be “the mother of all regulations,” charging that they would cost businesses millions of dollars, which they call unconscionable at any time, but particularly given the current economy. In stumping against ergonomics regulations, the Chamber cites not only prohibitive expense, but suggests potential for substantial abuse. Opponents of ergonomics laws fear that businesses will be held legally liable for employee musculoskeletal and repetitive motion injuries that happen off the job.

“Let’s fact it: We all go through things in our lives as simple as bad sleeping habits or exercise or recreational activities that would cause our bodies to feel discomfort,” Mare Freedman, director of labor law policy for the chamber told Rob Hotakainen, a reporter with McClatchy Newspapers.

Supporters of national ergonomics laws cite rising health care costs and continuing workplace hazards that take a serious toll on U.S. workers as compelling reasons for instituting national ergonomics standards. Freedman said the chamber doesn’t dispute that providing a safe and healthy workplace is good business practice; however, the group thinks efforts should be voluntary, not mandated. Supporters of ergonomics, charge that many employers won’t act unless forced.

The Cost of Ignoring Ergonomics

Back in industry’s dark ages, equipment was designed to do a task without much thought to the comfort or safety of the worker who would be operating it. Back injuries, tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome and other stress and repetitive motion injuries were an aggravating and often debilitating part of the job. The toll wasn’t just on the workers, industry paid a price in decreased productivity, poor product quality, increased medical and workers’ compensation costs, low morale and high absenteeism. The annual price tag for workplace injury and illness is estimated at $171 billion.

That’s a pretty hefty price tag considering that America spends about $170 billion a year on cancer and $164 billion on cardiovascular disease, the country’s two biggest killers. According to an American Medical Association study, each year in America there are 6,500 deaths from workplace injuries and more than 60,000 deaths from workplace-related diseases. Non-fatal workplace injuries number 13.2 million annually with 862,000 illnesses. That’s a staggering price in human suffering and industry dollars. The total cost of workplace injuries is nearly equal to the combined annual profits of America’s 20 largest companies.

But that’s just part of the picture. Workers’ compensation claims already cost American businesses $60 billion annually, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. More than 50% of those claims are for back injuries from lifting, pulling, pushing and straining, says the National Council on Compensation Insurance. In fact, workplace back injuries, which involve lengthy and costly treatment, affect more than 1.75 million workers each year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Add in the estimated time-lost cost per injury of $26,000 per incident and the prevention of a single injury can result in an immediate savings of $26,000.

This staggering cost and the desire to provide American workers with healthier and safer working conditions gave rise to ergonomics and the beginning of a radical change in the way industry approaches equipment design.

Next time: The rise of ergonomics in industrial design.

Making the Most of Your Space

A few years back, when business was booming, the answer to the need for increased space because of increased business was simple – upgrade to a larger facility that can handle the increase of inventory.  Now things aren’t quite so simple, increases in margins remain slim and there is constant competition to attract and keep new customers, so many business are leery about taking on greater overheads to try and meet customer demands – instead businesses are being forced to recreate the space that they are in an effort to hold the necessary inventory to satisfy customer demands.

This may mean changing storage racks, warehouse aisles and converting office space in order to make room for additional product storage and this restructuring of space may also mean that the equipment being used may no longer be as effective with the more constrained spaces.  Traditional forklifts can be bulky and may need a good deal of space to  maneuver  around a warehouse  – if you decrease the amount of room for travel there may no longer be enough room for a large forklift to effectively operate.

Though upgrading to smaller, safer and more efficient equipment will bring about an initial investment, unlike assuming a new lease for a larger space, this investment will immediately begin to pay for itself.  The powered carts and lifts from DJ Products allow a single employee to move heavy loads around in the smallest places easily – meaning that your employees won’t struggle at all in the smaller and more cramped spaces and that your business will maintain the same level of productivity despite the fact that your employees have less space to move around in.

Your new equipment will cost less to operate and allow your employees to get the job done quicker, which is exactly the formula you need to attract and keep more customers without having to move into a larger facility.

Is OSHA Underreporting Injuries?

At a recent Congressional hearing, critics charged that OSHA is underreporting injuries. In questioning the competence of the federal agency designated to protect the health and safety of American workers, critics cited several independent studies, contending that nearly half of all workplace injuries go unreported to OSHA.

Independent studies cited both reviewed the impact of changes to OSHA’s injury-reporting rules and compared injury data reported to OSHA by employers with that reported to state workers’ compensation plans. In one study, a Michigan State University professor of medicine noted that while workplace fatalities have not declined over the years, reported injuries have declined significantly. He found the data suspect. According to the professor, a decline in injuries should have resulted in a similar decline in fatalities. 

The significant data discrepancies between OSHA and state worker’s compensation plans were attributed to numerous possible causes, including the underreporting of injuries to employers by immigrant workers concerned about job retention, reclassification of workers by employers into non-reporting job descriptions, managers discouraging injury reporting, and several other causes. Reports came just shy of charging employer fraud, criticizing OSHA for relying solely on employer statistics.

OSHA defended its reporting procedures, pointing out that in addition to employer submitted data, each year its agents conduct 250 record-keeping audits of employers. OSHA said audits indicate that 90% of employer-submitted data on injuries and illness is accurate. Defending OSHA before the House Committee on Education and Labor, OSHA assistant secretary Edwin Foulke, Jr. said, “In Fiscal Year 2008, of the almost 57,000 violations issued so far, 80% have been categorized as serious, willful, repeat or failure-to-abate, the highest percentage ever recorded by the agency. We are also effectively targeting our inspections.” While Foulke noted that violations were found on 78% of the construction worksites inspected this year, he contended that OSHA’s diligence is responsible for the lowest workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities in U.S. history.

MHEDA Convention Focuses on Positioning Your Business for Success

Powerful Positioning is the theme of this year’s MHEDA Annual Convention and Exhibitors’ Showcase. Scheduled for May 2 to 6 at the J.W. Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa in Palm Desert, California, the annual gathering of the Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association offers a chance to learn, network and find out what’s new in the industry. This year’s MHEDA convention will offer 16 exciting presentations from industry leaders geared to help you position your material handling business to weather the current economic storm and emerge stronger, better and more successful than before.

Here are snapshots of some of the presentations we’re looking forward to:

  • Economic Trends and the Impact on Your Business by Alan Beaulieu. His twin Brian Beaulieu was a hit at MHEDA’s 2008 convention. Trend researcher and economist Alan will update the Beaulieus’ economic forecast for the industry and provide specific, practical management objectives you can incorporate in your current and future business plans.
  • The Customer Empathy Solution by Ross Shafer. To earn your customer’s loyalty, it’s no longer enough to merely serve his needs. Today, quality customer service must succor the customer’s emotional state through every phase of a transaction. Author, motivational speaker and a regular on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Shafer will explain how to develop customer empathy and turn it into long-term customer loyalty. His talk is sure to feature hilarious excerpts from his latest book, “The Customer Shouts Back — 10 Things You Must Know If You Want Their Lifetime Loyalty.”
  • Inside the White House and Hollywood … Getting to the Top with Character by Steve Ford. Son of President Gerald Ford and Betty Ford, actor Steve Ford will share his personal insights on leadership, adversity and making life choices. Given his unique personal experiences on stage and behind the scenes at the White House, Ford’s views on the importance of family and developing a personal moral code should be interesting.
  • Relationship Economics — How to Build and Nurture Business Relationships by David Nour. Although it may sound like “sales reps are from Mars and customers are from Venus,” building strong relationships with customers builds business. A social networking strategist, Nour will focus on the art and science of relationships and how to incorporate these methodologies into the pursuit of customers.

Of course, in addition to the featured talks, MHEDA conventions always offer a good selection of down-to-earth, useful educational workshops. This year is no exception with sessions tackling profitability, credit and collections, negotiations, pricing optimization, website optimization, and salesmanship. If you haven’t signed up for this year’s MHEDA convention, click here to register.

U.S. Manufacturing Not Dead Yet

Despite dire reports that U.S. manufacturing is dying, the old boy still seems to be alive and kicking.

  • Sure the recession has U.S. manufacturers flailing, and the failure of the Big Three automakers is a definite blow to the country’s manufacturing power; but it’s far from the death knell some have predicted.
  • Sure global recession has decreased domestic and foreign demand, but faith in history tells us that’s a temporary problem. The turnaround may not materialize as quickly as we’d like, but demand will increase; it always does.
  • Sure manufacturing employment figures are declining, but statistics don’t tell the whole store. The decrease is due in part to improved manufacturing efficiency and automation, not merely the effects of decreased supply and demand in a recessionary economy.

The most important clue that there’s still plenty of life left yet in U.S. manufacturing is that increased efficiency.

U.S. manufacturers have been able to harness technology to produce goods more efficiently with fewer workers, making marked gains in productivity in the process. This increased productivity will make it more attractive for manufacturers to bring manufacturing operations and jobs back to U.S. soil (see our May 13 post). It’s a move the Obama administration is poised to encourage by closing tax loopholes that the President believes have exacerbated the outsourcing of American manufacturing jobs overseas.

The climate is right for such a show of faith by manufacturers. Americans are clamoring to have American goods produced on American soil by American workers. Legions of Americans are making a point to Buy American and eschew foreign-made products and the businesses that sell them. For the first time in decades, U.S. workers, pushed by the Detroit reality, are showing a willingness to scale back their demands and work with manufacturers to make American salaries more competitive in the global market. The economy is tightening up competition, weeding out the weak players and giving the strong a more open playing field. Real estate is cheap and opportunities to purchase near turn-key operations abound for savvy shoppers.

Taken together, the time is ripe to bring U.S. manufacturing — and jobs — back home. U.S. companies that are able to take advantage of the current climate and move jobs back to the U.S. stand to reap untoward benefits in public relations and worker and customer loyalty.