June 2022 Logistics Manager’s Index Report®
LMI® at 65.0 Growth is INCREASING AT AN INCREASING RATE for Inventory Levels Growth is INCREASING AT A DECREASING RATE for Inventory Costs, Warehousing Utilization, Warehousing Prices, Transportation Capacity, Transportation Utilization, and Transportation Prices Warehousing Capacity is CONTRACTING The Logistics Managers’ Index reads in at 65.0 in June, down 2.1 points from the May reading and slightly below the all-time average of 65.3. This is the first time since July 2020 that it has been below the all-time average. While this does still represent a healthy rate of expansion in the logistics industry, it is a far cry from three months ago when the index hit an all-time high reading of 76.2. The steep decline is reflective of what we have seen in the overall economy in the last three months, moving from the record-setting expansion of the last 18 months to the greatly subdued level of growth observed throughout Q2. We are also seeing a different type of growth now than we were previously. Up until 2022, we saw high demand for transportation and warehousing and difficulty building up inventories, June’s report is the opposite. Inventory Costs lead the way at 83.8, and Inventory Levels are up (+2.5) to 71.8, marking the fifth time in six months that metric has come in over 70.0 – something that had only happened twice before 2022. Meanwhile, Transportation Price is down 61.3, below the all-time average of 74.0, and more importantly, slightly below Transportation Capacity’s reading of 61.7. when these two lines invert, it often means a serious economic shift has taken place. This is the first time Transportation Capacity has been above Transportation Price since the locked down days of April 2020. Warehousing metrics remain elevated, although it is worth noting that Warehousing Prices are down (-9.1) to 78.4. Researchers at Arizona State University, Colorado State University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rutgers University, and the University of Nevada, Reno, and in conjunction with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) issued this report today. Results Overview The LMI score is a combination of eight unique components that make up the logistics industry, including inventory levels and costs, warehousing capacity, utilization, and prices, and transportation capacity, utilization, and prices. The LMI is calculated using a diffusion index, in which any reading above 50.0 indicates that logistics is expanding; a reading below 50.0 is indicative of a shrinking logistics industry. The latest results of the LMI summarize the responses of supply chain professionals collected in June 2022. Overall, the LMI is down (-2.1) from May’s reading of 67.1. The slowdown in the rate of expansion is the product of the continued slowdown in the transportation market. However, the overall logistics industry continues to expand, driven primarily by high levels of inventory growth and the associated costs. While Transportation Capacity has now expanded for two consecutive months (although at a slower pace in June than in May), Warehousing Capacity continues to contract, the slight expansion we observed in the back half of May did not translate to further growth in June. In a story that we have been tracking over the last few reports, no agreement was reached between the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore and Warehousing Union (ILWU) before the July 1st deadline, meaning the current contract between the two parties has expired. Over 150 industry groups pushed President Biden to encourage a quick resolution – seemingly to no avail (although Biden did meet with both parties in mid-June). Although both parties have stated that business will continue despite the absence of a new deal, an eight-day strike occur at the previous impasse in 2015. Shippers will attempt to route cargo to other entrances, but East Coast ports may already be at capacity[1]. The biggest stopping points with the negotiations are pay and the push towards greater levels of automation. Workers are eager for higher pay given the increased volume of the last few years, and ports are interested in greater automation to shield them from the types of labor shocks they saw over the same period[2]. Interestingly, labor strikes are already taking place at German and Dutch ports, slowing down the flow of products like automobiles and furniture. Analysts warn that even if strikes were to let up, it would still take months to work through the backlog. Globally, only 30-40% of containers are currently being delivered on time[3], and it seems likely that prolonged strikes will cause this number to drop even lower. As has been the case for the last two years, the problems extend beyond the ports and further down the supply chain. For instance, some firms have reported waiting weeks for intermodal rail to ship containers out of the Southern California ports. Much like we saw in 2021, the backups extend to the switching hubs in Chicago (where BNSF containers are experiencing 20% higher dwell times year-over-year). In another repeat of last year, BNSF has announced it will be limiting new orders to get this backlog under control – a move that will back goods up at the port even longer. This demonstrates the limited capacity of intermodal to cover for increasingly expensive trucking. 29,000 boxes are waiting to get picked up from the Port of Los Angeles – triple the normal amount and further evidence that capacity is still not where it needs to be to get supply chains back to normal levels of operation[4]. Despite slowing economic growth the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach both reported their third-busiest month ever in May 2022[5], with the former predicting increased year-over-year volume in mid-July as back-to-school inventories flow in[6]. The Port of Oakland is following in the footsteps of its Southern California counterparts, reducing the “free” time that containers may sit at its terminals from seven days to four days in an attempt to clear congestion[7]. The federal government is also attempting to address congestion due to stagnant containers, introducing a new regulation that will make it more difficult for shipping
New Study: Ports Stoppage would be devastating hit to manufacturers’ competitiveness
Cost the economy half a billion dollars a day and destroy 41,000 U.S. jobs As negotiations between the Pacific Maritime Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union near a critical deadline, manufacturers sound the alarm about the potential economic consequences of a port stoppage if a disruption were to occur over two weeks at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the nation’s largest port complex. According to a study by Inforum Economics, a 15-day disruption would cost the U.S. economy nearly half a billion dollars a day—for a total of $7.5 billion—and destroy 41,000 jobs, including more than 6,100 in manufacturing. As the industry continues to grapple with historic supply chain challenges, inflationary pressures, and rising transportation and energy costs, manufacturers are calling on the parties to reach an agreement immediately to avoid this continued uncertainty. “The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach support a major share of cargo relied upon by American businesses and consumers, supporting supply chains across the entire country. With supply chains already stretched thin, inflation at its highest level in four decades, and concerns of a recession rising, any disruption would mean a devastating hit to our economy and to manufacturers’ competitiveness,” said National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons. “The disruption would be felt immediately. Manufacturing jobs will be lost if parts and supplies don’t arrive. New equipment, machinery, and products can’t be built when ships are backed up and there is no one available to unload and process cargo. Our overseas customers won’t wait for us to fix these disruptions, either—they’ll simply find other suppliers, weakening U.S. manufacturing competitiveness in the process. “This is why the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union must not allow a disruption at these ports. Manufacturers, our millions of employees and the countless others whose lives and livelihoods depend on the products we make are counting on the PMA and the ILWU to reach a resolution and keep the ports running.” Background: At the time of publication, the PMA and ILWU are engaged in labor negotiations. The NAM commissioned an analysis using the Inforum LIFT economic model to quantify the impacts of a 15-day closure at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. Specifically, it estimates how such a closure would impact U.S. employment, output, and income. These ports have experienced historic disruptions and bottlenecks since late 2020, and nearly 84% of manufacturers now list freight and transportation costs as a key driver of inflation. To view the full report of the National Impact of a West Coast Port Stoppage, click here.
Women In Trucking Association announces its July 2022 Member of the Month
The Women In Trucking Association (WIT) has announced Nona Larson as its July 2022 Member of the Month. Nona is the Director of Customer Experience at PACCAR Parts, a division of PACCAR, Inc. Nona was also a 2022 Top Woman to Watch in Transportation. Since Nona was a kid, she has always wanted to know how things work. She grew up playing with Tonka trucks and working on cars with her dad. It was a source of confidence for her to know how to fix her car. Nona’s desire to understand how things work led her to engineering. Nona majored in chemical engineering and started her career in the aerospace industry. She made the switch to the trucking industry when a friend called her about an opportunity at PACCAR’s Technical Center. Nona is proud of her ability to identify talent in technical areas and help women establish themselves in their career of choice. After making the move to PACCAR, Nona realized she could make a real difference in encouraging women as they advanced in their careers. “I strongly believe in the power of team building and bringing people together with diverse backgrounds. It’s important to avoid stereotypes when building a team so that you create opportunities for non-traditional workers, which contributes to better collaboration and results.” Nona has had an exciting career in engineering leadership roles and advocates for women entering the transportation industry, particularly in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) and management roles. “I can relate to women beginning or growing their careers in the transportation industry. Helping women find a path to meet their ambitions is an area I care strongly about. There are so many opportunities for women in the trucking industry and it’s very gratifying to see so many women making their mark in this business.” Nona’s husband is also an engineer and their son followed in his parent’s footsteps. A few years ago, they had a fun family project, rebuilding her son’s 1977 Datsun 280 Z sports car. Nona’s specialty is paint and corrosion and they converted the garage into a paint booth. And because many of the parts are no longer available, they put their engineering skills to the test and made their own to complete the restoration. When Nona isn’t working on projects, she’s playing music. She sings and plays the piano, saxophone, guitar, and other string instruments. Nona’s advice to other women is to be true to yourself. “You can only be one person 24/7 and that is yourself. You can put on a suit or change your style for a presentation, but it’s important to always remain true to yourself.”
Carolina Handling begins construction on new Atlanta facility
Carolina Handling, the exclusive Raymond Solutions and Support Center for Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, and Florida’s central time zone, has begun construction on a new 82,508-square-foot facility in Fairburn, Georgia. Scheduled to open in early 2023, the new building at 92 Howell Avenue in Fairburn Business Center positions Carolina Handling to better serve the metro Atlanta area where a large number of its customers are located and to strengthen support for more than 100 technicians who are part of the company’s North Georgia service team. The intralogistics solutions provider is expected to hire 70 new field service technicians throughout its five-state service area in 2022. The new Fairburn facility will replace Carolina Handling’s Tucker, Georgia location, where the Charlotte, NC-based company has operated for almost 40 years. The new facility in South Fulton County will feature an expanded warehouse, state-of-the-art office, and meeting space, and will offer close proximity to Interstate 85 and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, according to Mike Gainor, executive vice president of sales. “Carolina Handling experienced extraordinary growth in 2021 and we expect that trend to continue in 2022 and beyond,” Gainor said. “Our new Fairburn facility will allow us to accommodate ongoing growth and maintain the elite level of responsiveness and service for which we’re known.” In 2021, Carolina Handling was recognized for Best Service Performance among all dealers in The Raymond Corporation network. The company also was named a Raymond Dealer of Distinction for the 31st consecutive year for exceeding benchmark standards in sales, customer service, and retention, as well as individual market share performance. In addition, to lift truck solutions, Carolina Handling offers design, engineering, and implementation services to help customers achieve more space, speed, safety, and efficiency with integrated automation technologies through its Intralogistics Solutions Group.
Wreaths Across America recognizes Hawkeye Sponsorship Groups for their commitment to their local Veterans and Communities
Throughout the month of July, a national nonprofit Wreaths Across America (WAA) will be celebrating its annual Giving in July campaign. It is a month dedicated to recognizing the volunteer Sponsorship Groups and individuals who “give back” to their communities while helping to share the mission to Remember, Honor and Teach, all year long. Through this national program, WAA has given more than $17 million in local contributions over the last 14 years and has helped support local charitable efforts that include helping living veterans, combating homelessness, and feeding those in need. In Iowa last year, the following local Sponsorship Groups ranked at the top in the state for their efforts to raise funds for local philanthropic efforts while raising wreath sponsorships for local service members laid to rest in their communities. Midwest Honor Flights in Adel and Sioux Center Abigail Adams Chapter DAR in Adel Quad Cities Veterans Outreach Center in Blue Grass Blue Grass American Legion Post 711 Ames Elks Lodge 1626 in Newburgh in Adel “I have long said it would be disingenuous for us as an organization whose mission is to Remember the fallen, Honor those that serve and their families, and Teach the next generation the value of freedom, if we do not support other like-minded programs doing just that in their communities,” said WAA Executive Director Karen Worcester. “Our Group Sponsorship Program is a year-round effort, but through Giving in July we hope to remind people that veterans and our current military service protect us 365 days a year and it is never too early to make a difference in your own community.” Wreaths Across America is the non-profit organization best known for placing wreaths on veterans’ headstones at Arlington National Cemetery. However, in 2022, the organization placed more than 2.4 million sponsored veterans’ wreaths at 3,100 participating locations nationwide. Throughout the calendar year, you can tune in to Wreaths Across America Radio, 24/7, to learn more about the mission and those who support it across the country, as well as the hundreds of local charitable efforts nationwide that are funded through wreath sponsorships. The organization’s mission – Remember, Honor, Teach – is carried out in part each year by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies in December at Arlington, as well as at thousands of veterans’ cemeteries and other locations in all 50 states and beyond. This year, on Wreaths Across America Day, December 17th, 2022 more than 3,100 cemeteries will participate in National Wreaths Across America Day, including these locations in (state) (top five cemetery locations). Since being formalized as a 501 (c)3 in 2007, WAA has partnered with hundreds of local charities, community programs, and civic groups throughout the country to remember and honor our nation’s veterans and active-duty military throughout the year. Giving in July celebrates these local “give back” efforts and highlights the opportunity to ‘do good twice’ through the sponsorship of veterans’ wreaths. You can help a deserving group in your area by sponsoring a veteran’s wreath. Each $15 sponsorship goes toward a live, balsam wreath that will be placed on the headstone of an American hero as we endeavor to honor all veterans laid to rest at noon on Saturday, December 17, 2022, as part of National Wreaths Across America Day. To sponsor a wreath, go to www.wreathsacrossamerica.org and sponsor a wreath today. Click here to find a local participating cemetery near you.
Yellow Corporation opens three new Professional Truck Driving Academies
Yellow Corporation is continuing its commitment to train the next generation of safe, professional semi-truck drivers as it expands its company-sponsored Driving Academies with three new locations. “We’re thrilled to own and operate a total of 20 permanent Driving Academies, which are free to all students,” said Tamara Jalving, vice president of safety and talent acquisition at Yellow. “In the last year, we have opened eight new Academies, with more scheduled to open later this year in other parts of the country. Training our own drivers is simply the best way to tackle the driver shortage in America.” Addressing the nationwide shortage of qualified professional truck drivers, estimated at 80,000 by the American Trucking Associations, is at the forefront of Yellow’s Driving Academy strategy. The program is tuition-free, which makes the Academies valuable for students and their local communities. “We plan to bring in new drivers and certainly more diverse candidates as we aim to train 1,000 new drivers this year,” said Darren Hawkins, CEO of Yellow. “We’re introducing a wider and broader audience to the trucking industry, not just recruiting talent from other trucking companies.” The latest Academies to open are in Columbus, OH, Tracy, CA, and Maybrook, NY. These facilities are home to Yellow’s largest regional distribution centers, making these ideal locations for student apprentices to learn. Once enrolled, students will learn the operations side of the business, complete an initial 160 hours of training, and spend an additional month honing their driving skills with a Yellow-certified safety trainer to best position them for their commercial driver’s license (CDL) exam. After graduating and obtaining a CDL, each qualified driver will be offered a position behind the wheel at Yellow. Each of Yellow’s Driving Academies is certified as a Department of Labor apprenticeship program, which is designed to provide paid on-the-job instruction for workers as they prepare for a highly in-demand job. “We need to grow the overall population of applicants for commercial driver’s licenses,” Hawkins explained. “That’s what we’re doing and that’s the intention of our Driving Academies.” Yellow also has career opportunities available for sales professionals, dock employees, diesel mechanics, and terminal leadership coast-to-coast. Click here for more information. In addition to the new Driving Academies in Columbus, Maybrook, and Tracy, other Yellow Driving Academies are located in Atlanta/Marietta, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Fort Worth, TX, Hagerstown, MD, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Memphis, Nashville, Pico Rivera, CA, Portland, Salt Lake City, South Bend, IN, and Detroit. Learn more about the Yellow Driving Academies at https://www.myyellow.com/us/en/careers/driving-academy.
Emerson helping Albioma become a fully renewable energy provider
The multi-million-dollar project will enable the conversion of the Réunion Island power station to biomass, reducing emissions by 84% Global technology and software company Emerson has been selected by Albioma (PAR: ABIO), a French independent energy provider, to help transition its coal-fired Bois Rouge plant to 100% renewable energy. As part of Albioma’s wider mission to transition all of its existing fossil fuel plants to renewable energy, Emerson’s automation systems and software will enable the coal-fired power station to convert to biomass feedstock. The multi-million-dollar project is the latest example of how Emerson technologies are helping customers accelerate their transition to more sustainable energy. The power plant, one of three that Albioma operates on Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean, will be converted to use 100% biomass wood pellets. The overhaul of the 108-megawatt facility will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 640,000 tons of CO2 equivalent per year, an 84% decrease in direct emissions compared to current operating levels. “Our aim as a company is to reach almost 100% renewable energies by 2030 at the latest, and the complete discontinuation of coal at our flagship site represents a major milestone in this green revolution,” said Pascal Langeron, chief operating officer, Reunion Island of Albioma. “Emerson is an automation partner with whom we have a trusted relationship and whose extensive experience and expertise in biomass power plants will be crucial to this project being completed on schedule.” The Bois Rouge plant consists of three generating units. Two units are already controlled by Emerson’s Ovation™ distributed control system, which will be modified for use with biomass feedstock, and the third unit will be replaced with a new Ovation system. The units will also be modernized with new turbine protection and health monitoring systems, safety systems for the boilers, and upgraded boiler control elements and instrumentation. To ensure the project is completed within the available timeframe – a critical requirement of Albioma – Emerson will provide its Project Certainty methodologies, digital technologies, and software expertise. In addition to delivering local engineering support for the project, Emerson will provide its Remote Virtual Office (RVO) collaboration platform – a secure virtual engineering and testing environment that will enable Albioma to access Emerson’s resources and ongoing support to reduce project risk and costs. “Emerson has a vital role to play in the global transition to a sustainable energy future by supporting customers in their conversion projects,” said Bob Yeager, president of Emerson’s power and water business. “Our automation technologies, software, solutions, and biomass project expertise will help Albioma operate Bois Rouge at peak performance, while also benefiting the environment by achieving a very significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.” Work on the transition project will begin during a planned outage in June 2022 and is scheduled to be completed within five months.
It’s time to get over our obsession with immediate results
What does losing weight, learning to play an instrument, and growing a company all have in common? They take time. Often, a lot of time. However, we are in an age of instant gratification. Whether due to advances in technology, or a decline in our attention span, the drive to get results faster has sped up to an almost breakneck pace. And what’s the drawback to this? We dismiss new ideas and opportunities too early and shortchange their ability to deliver transformative outcomes. Take, for example, something simple like a marketing campaign. The team takes weeks to put together a concept, develop materials, launch it, and then a couple of weeks go by and the “numbers” aren’t reaching expectations. The campaign is quietly dropped into the dustbin. Is this the right move? I’d argue, it’s not – and for two reasons. One, time is usually arbitrary. In this scenario, what are you really going to know in two weeks? Ok, two weeks is too short. How about four weeks? Twelve weeks? Fifty-six weeks? What timeframe is the right timeframe? Do a quick Google search and you’ll find articles that say one week, others will say 45 days, as some research shows that 45 days is about how long it takes a consumer to retain and recall information. That’s a huge swing in time. Yes, the organizational leaders want to see results, and they don’t want to throw money out the window. Yes, they should have a clear understanding of the goals of the campaign, and how it’s performing against those goals. But time shouldn’t be the determinate – those goals should be. If the campaign is making progress towards the goal, but just maybe not as fast as you’d like, is it still valuable? Time shouldn’t be the only measure of success, and many times initiatives that are more complex and complicated than a simple campaign, require a lot more time for a consumer or an employee to digest. Two, time provides the opportunity for learning. Let’s go back to our campaign example. We launch it and wait our proverbial forty-five days. It hasn’t reached the goal. The decision point here isn’t to determine whether to kill the campaign or not but to understand the WHAT. What is working and what is not. Why it’s working (or not working) so the campaign can be adjusted, re-evaluated, and in turn, reset the proverbial timeline. Learning is a process, and no matter how seasoned your campaign development team is, they need time to learn. The more time they have to evaluate and assess the campaign, the better their ability to understand its performance on a deeper level, aside from clicks or engagement traffic. This also helps them develop better future campaigns, rather than being focused on quick-win, shock, and awe efforts that only meet the timeline objectives. The reality is that we have to get things done. This is always tied to time. This deadline, that deadline. However, if we continue to expect results faster and faster, we eventually cross the line of “reasonable expectations” and lose the opportunity to learn in the process. Is faster and quicker better? Well, don’t forget, slow and steady wins the race. About the Author: Andrea Belk Olson is a keynote speaker, author, differentiation strategist, behavioral scientist, and customer-centricity expert. As the CEO of Pragmadik, she helps organizations of all sizes, from small businesses to Fortune 500, and has served as an outside consultant for EY and McKinsey. Andrea is the author of The Customer Mission: Why it’s time to cut the $*&% and get back to the business of understanding customers, No Disruptions: The future for mid-market manufacturing, and her upcoming book, What To Ask, coming in June 2022. She is a 4-time ADDY® award winner and host of the popular Customer Mission podcast. Her thoughts have been continually featured in news sources such as Chief Executive Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine, Harvard Business Review, Rotman Magazine, and more. Andrea is a sought-after speaker at conferences and corporate events throughout the world. She is a visiting lecturer and startup coach at the University of Iowa, a TEDx presenter, and TEDx speaker coach. She is also an instructor at the University of Iowa Venture School. More information is also available on www.pragmadik.com and www.andreabelkolson.com.
MHEDA members mourns Evelyn McWilliams
The Material Handling Equipment Distributor Association (MHEDA) is mourning the passing of Evelyn McWilliams. She passed away on Sunday, June 19th at the age of 80. In an email sent to members, MHEDA CEO Liz Richards said, “Many of you knew Evelyn who was a loyal and dedicated team member at MHEDA for many years. I worked with Evelyn from 1995 until her retirement in 2007. She was an enormous help to so many of us; she loved MHEDA, its members, and her co-workers. We learned this week that she passed away on Sunday.” On behalf of the staff at Material Handling Wholesaler and Material Handling Network, we send prayers to the McWilliams family and the MHEDA members. Evelyn was a huge asset to MHEDA and the material handling industry. Here is a link to her obituary.
Building a Top-Tier Automation Controls Team, AMT promotes Arthur J. Kahler to Director – Controls Engineering
Applied Manufacturing Technologies promotes Engineering Manager Arthur J. Kahler to Director – Controls Engineering, citing his contributions and hands-on leadership approach Applied Manufacturing Technologies (AMT), North America’s largest independent automation engineering company supporting warehousing and logistics, robot companies, system integrators, line builders, and users of robotic automation worldwide, has announced the promotion of Arthur J. Kahler to Director – Controls Engineering. “Arthur Kahler has demonstrated a hands-on leadership approach to help AMT continue building the industry’s top talent in Controls. His recent promotion to Director – Controls Engineering brings significant strength to our team by providing a highly interactive leadership style to both our customers and teammates,” said Chief Operating Officer Craig Salvalaggio. “Arthur strives to build AMT’s team to be the top in the industry, all with a humble approach to leading people.” In response to his contributions to AMT and its strategic growth plan, Engineering Manager Arthur J. Kaher has been promoted to Director – Controls Engineering. In his new role, Kahler will continue to advance the sales and execution teams as the company transitions to a new generation of leadership. Kahler joined AMT as Senior Engineer – Controls Leader in 2020, bringing more than ten years of experience to the position. In his two and a half years at AMT, Kahler has had a positive influence on the staff of 70 engineers he works with. Kahler commented, “My favorite thing about AMT is the team culture. Everyone is willing to jump in and help and I always feel very supported by my co-workers.” A FANUC Authorized System Integrator and three-time winner of the FANUC Sales Growth Award, AMT offers full-service systems integration, specializing in end-of-line solutions, complex material handling systems, and engineering support such as turnkey industrial controls, robotic programming, and automation consulting. Bringing together best-in-class technologies and custom automation, AMT provides high-quality, cost-effective automation solutions. The company’s solutions have benefited manufacturers in automotive, aerospace, medical, alternative energy, fabricated metal, industrial machinery, rubber and plastics, food and beverage, and many other industries.
NAW Partners with Juncos Hollinger Racing
The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) is excited to announce a new partnership with Juncos Hollinger Racing (JHR). NAW will be on board the No. 77 JHR Chevrolet driven by NTT INDYCAR SERIES rookie Callum Ilott for the remainder of the 2022 season. “It’s an honor to be part of the first-of-its-kind association partnership with Juncos Hollinger Racing,” said Eric Hoplin, NAW CEO. “As a Washington, DC-based association with members across the country, we look forward to delivering valuable membership engagement outside the beltway through this immersive racing program. Our members will network and witness first-hand the speed of execution excellence demonstrated by the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.” NAW members will receive unique access to the JHR team during race events this year to showcase the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and build business relationships through motorsports. JHR will participate in the association’s events to engage members and build awareness about the team and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. “We are excited to partner with NAW and showcase the incredible business value of motorsports partnerships,” said Ricardo Juncos, Co-owner and Team Principal of JHR. “Our team benefits from great distributors. I want to thank NAW for coming on board the No. 77 JHR Chevrolet, and look to building a great relationship throughout this season and onward.”
Emerging Brands Summit launches at PACK EXPO International
The brand-new Emerging Brands Summit, produced by PMMI Media Group, will launch at PACK EXPO International 2022 (Oct. 23-26; McCormick Place, Chicago). This one-day event will feature educational content and tabletop exhibits aimed to assist startup manufacturing companies to grow their operations. Taking place October 23, 2022, at Chicago’s McCormick Place, this new program is for founders and leaders of startup manufacturing companies looking to scale their brand to larger production through either in-house facility build-out or outsourced relationships with contract manufacturers and packagers. Exhibitors will include suppliers of packaging machinery, packaging materials, processing equipment, and contract manufacturing and packaging services. The agenda and speakers will be announced soon. Attendees can sign up for event updates and be notified as speakers are added. Event content is specifically designed for: Companies evaluating in-house and outsourced manufacturing and packaging solutions Founders of high-growth emerging brands looking to scale operations Leaders of product development, operations, or finance “With so much change in the industry over the last few years and the increase in e-commerce and consumer demand in every industry vertical, we felt that it was important to launch a program that can serve as a roadmap to help companies take their operations to the next level,” says Kim Overstreet, director, Emerging Brands Community. “Now more than ever, brands need support and adequate resources to keep up with the rapidly growing demands they are facing.” Emerging Brands Summit registrants will enjoy full access to PACK EXPO International 2022, produced by PMMI, The Association for Packaging & Processing Technologies; the largest packaging and processing show of the year featuring 2,000+ exhibitors across 40+ verticals, including: Packaging and processing Automation and robotics Materials and containers Digital printing and labeling Supply chain solutions “The Emerging Brands Summit could not have come at a better time for our industry and PACK EXPO International offers the perfect platform to launch this critical program,” says Jim Pittas, president and CEO, of PMMI. “We are excited to reunite the industry in Chicago for the first time in four years and the Emerging Brands Summit is a great value-add as we continue to provide as many resources to the industry as possible.” The Emerging Brands Marketplace will consist of tabletop exhibits and will be open to attendees throughout the program and during the networking reception. By participating in the Emerging Brands Summit, attendees will have the opportunity to engage with preferred vendors across processing equipment; packaging machinery; packaging materials and containers; and contract manufacturing and packaging services. Emerging Brands Summit attendees are also invited to display a sample of their product – or a prototype or similar product – at the Product + Solution Showcase located adjacent to the Emerging Brands Summit Marketplace. The Showcase offers a destination for sharing physical product details with peers, solution providers, and experts who can help solve manufacturing and packaging challenges. Additionally, registrants to the Emerging Brands Summit have free access to Braindate – a web-based meeting platform that facilitates knowledge sharing between attendees and/or solution providers. Braindate makes it easy to schedule in-person conversations on specific topics between relevant professionals. “Frain Industries is honored to be a Platinum Sponsor of the new Emerging Brands Summit! With current market trends, there can be some unknowns when investing in machinery,” says Clair Frain, Marketing Manager at Frain Industries. “Frain’s rental program for packaging and processing machinery makes us an ideal partner for emerging brands and growing CPG companies. The Emerging Brands Summit promises exceptional educational and networking opportunities for professionals who are ready to take their operations to the next level.” The Emerging Brands Alliance; a year-round resource for the emerging brand’s community will also launch this fall. As part of this initiative, the Emerging Brands Grants program can help growing CPG companies scale their operations by providing funds for operational expenses. Grants can be used to enable a variety of projects and resources, such as prototype creation, market research, legal and consultant services, creation of pitch materials for investors, exhibiting fees, custom packaging for e-commerce, and much more. To be eligible for an Emerging Brands Grant, applicants must produce and distribute a packaged consumer product in the U.S. and/or Canada and have annual revenues of at least $100,000 USD but not more than $20 million USD. A total of three $20,000 grants will be awarded, one each in the following categories: Certified minority or women-owned company Self-manufacturing company Any eligible company The grant application, review, and award timeline is as follows: June 15 – Sept. 15, 2022 – Applications accepted Sept. 15 –25, 2022 – Applications reviewed Sept. 25, 2022 – Finalists notified Oct. 23, 2022 – Grants awarded at the Emerging Brands Summit The Emerging Brands Summit will take place in tandem with the PACK EXPO International trade show. Registration for the Emerging Brands Summit is within the PACK EXPO International registration site. By purchasing a registration for the Emerging Brands Summit, attendees will automatically receive a complimentary registration for PACK EXPO International and can attend all four days of the trade show (Oct. 23 -26). To learn more and to register, visit emergingbrandssummit.com. Registration for the Emerging Brands Summit is $195 until Sept. 30, after which it increases to $295. To learn more and to register for PACK EXPO International, visit packexpointernational.com. Registration for the show is $30 until Sept. 30, after which it increases to $130.
Staffing employment bounces back after Memorial Day
Staffing employment increased in the week of June 6–12, returning to a rounded value of 106 after dipping over the Memorial Day holiday. Increasing 1.7% from the previous week, the ASA Staffing Index set a new record for the month of June. Several staffing companies cited temporary-to-hire conversions or a shortage of available candidates as factors preventing further growth. Staffing jobs were up 9.6% from the same week last year. New starts grew in the 23rd week of the year, rising 19.4% from the prior week. About two in three staffing companies reported gains in new assignments week-to-week. The ASA Staffing Index four-week moving average inched down from the prior week but held at a rounded value of 106, as temporary and contract staffing employment for the four weeks ending June 12 was 10.4% higher than the same period in 2021. “Staffing employment remains at historic levels,” said Tim Hulley, ASA assistant director of research. “Fierce competition for talent has translated to sustained demand for staffing and recruiting services.” This week, containing the 12th day of the month will be used in the June monthly employment situation report scheduled to be issued by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on July 8. The ASA Staffing Index is reported nine days after each workweek, making it a near real-time measure of staffing employment trends. ASA Staffing Starts is the number of temporary and contract employees placed in new assignments during the reporting week. ASA research shows that staffing employment has historically been a coincident economic indicator. For more information, visit americanstaffing.net/index. Or follow ASA research on Twitter.
Why non-recruiters are the best recruiters you have
Not every recruiter can be an engineer, or hair stylist, or accountant. They know how to hire these roles, but not how to become them. On the flip side, it’s not as hard for every employee to act as a recruiter. In fact, recruiting power in each employee is often unrealized because we’re so busy relying on recruiters to be the only ones recruiting. There was an incredible program once developed for the service industry. Every manager in this company went through training to both spot and learn how to engage with potential candidates. A calling card was available to hand out to potential superstars and managers could facilitate an introduction to a recruiter. The candidate would always get a call and the managers received a referral bonus if there was a connection with the candidate – even if they were not hired. The company paid managers for this time, and with a 20% success rate, a fruitful pipeline of high-quality candidates emerged. What they learned was that just giving out the cards wasn’t enough – managers needed the training to know what to look for! They needed a little of that magical recruiter eye. If a 20% success rate using resources you already have isn’t convincing enough, here are six more reasons why non-recruiters are the best recruiters you have: They far surpass your post and pray method. We know a lot of recruiters do this – get the generic job ad posted everywhere, then wait. You may get hundreds of applications, but most of them are not the right fit or don’t have the right experience. You end up spending heaps of time reading resumes that are not the right fit. This is not a strategic approach (or an effective one!). You need to do more than passively wait for people to come to you and investing in your untapped recruiting potential is a fantastic way to build your pipeline of better candidates. Your employees, hiring managers, and top performers have a very clear idea of who they want to work beside and what it takes to be successful at your company. Once they know what roles you’re hiring for, give them tools to help you – train them on how to be a recruiter so everyone is looking for talent that makes the workday, the product, and the customer experience better. Everyone wins when you do this and you become less fixated on referral rewards, and more excited about the benefit of the team. Don’t lose sight of that recognition for their efforts to help with recruiting – it is important too. It may not be as motivating to get the right talent if you’re offering a bonus for the volume of resumes over spotted potential talent. You can motivate and inspire your own team helping find key talent in personal and visible ways. Who wouldn’t want to be celebrated for their part in building a great workplace for themselves and their peers? One way to do this is to share broadly the talent each employee has brought into the team and thank them for it. Thank them in front of the company and through gestures that don’t come with strings – this means you shouldn’t hold referral bonuses for months on end to see if the new person works out. Their job was to bring someone amazing into the organization and they did that! If you can work fast to meet these candidates the non-recruiters bring you, they will want to do it more and feel more credible wearing their recruiting hat. You may need to update your processes to be able to move faster to connect with this spotted talent. Don’t make them go through a long process or wonder if you’re going to get back to someone. This will not encourage them to bring you more superstars. Be ready to follow up with every single person the non-recruiters spot and refer! If they have the time, they can be very effective. Think about the value of giving them one hour away from their day job to find you two more top performers like them. Giving the non-recruiters time to act as recruiters means paid time, or extra time paid to do this work that is so valuable. Asking people to do work that is not in scope is a terrible experience and does not entice them to say nice things about your brand or the culture. It suggests you don’t value their time! Think about a few hours per week that they can be compensated to call people, go on LinkedIn to ask people if they are interested, or follow up with their professional associations. It will go a long way and help them feel good about helping in this effort. They don’t need a lot to feel appreciated. Make sure you have a planned approach to show them that you value their effort and that you are happy to have them helping bring the best people to join you. Beyond the splashy recognition that you can get into, take notice of the simple things in being thankful for their effort. They are giving their time and expertise to the process and learning how to be a non-recruiter does take a little bit of investment. Spend your money on a solid program that is easy to work with, give time and resources to the training, and help your employees develop the skills to look for what you need – it’s an easy way to show appreciation for the huge scale you can get in your recruiting efforts. As with all programs, you need every stakeholder to be on board for it to be successful. While you’re investing in great programs and recognition for this stretch role outside of the recruiting team, make sure your recruiters are on board with the plans. They are the best teachers and advocates to help make this a success, but they can also derail your efforts mightily. Don’t
Digitalization-Proficiency-Resilience
What a week. Just finished listening to Jim Cramer summarize the Q1 results from the major retailers. Worse than expected, with their stock prices taking a hit. The main reasons for these results are: Unexpectedly high costs throughout Q1 Inventory impairments Sales mix changes Supply chain disruptions Freight Costs Revenues may have been close to expectations. The gross margin and the operating margin, however, both missed. Foot traffic was up but sales patterns changed to more essentials as opposed to big-ticket items. The freight and transportation cost increases were staggering. About $1 billion for Target was not expected. I would expect any distributor of pre-packaged goods to fall under this array of disruption. Most will be taking hits unless they fall under the “Discount Store” umbrella which is doing better at hitting numbers. The important thing here is that “higher cost,” “inflation,” and “supply chain problems” are now only becoming known in the public sector. Consequently, dealers can expect to be exposed to these issues through their distributor customers and hopefully have courses of action planned out to assist customers and avoid collection problems. Are pre-packaged distributors the only customers to worry about? I doubt it. Every business with a significant distribution function will also have to deal with the five “reasons” noted above. And as far as manufacturers are concerned, they are also subject to the five “reasons,” different from the distributor level of disruption, but still disruption that will eat up both time and dollars. One of the major problems deals with the cost and timing of deliveries. Not much you can do about transportation costs unless you move your warehouses closer to both your receiving and customer’s locations. It seems that both manufacturers and distributors are analyzing these options to build or rent more warehouses where a high concentration of customers is located. Another show I was listening to discussed how companies are “handling” the cost increases. They are: Do not pass them on yet. Do so when they really need to. Pass on 100% of the increases as incurred. Pass a % of them on for as many years as it takes to recover 100%. Let us assume many of your customers find themselves dealing with the five “reasons,” which of course could cause cash flow problems for them, and then cash flow problems for you. Consequently, tighter customer credit reviews and a weekly review of AR to spot problems before they get out of hand should be considered. To aid in this process you may want to calculate your Days Sales Outstanding at least weekly to see how the trend is tracking, and which customers are causing any increase. After tracking all that is going on in the lift truck industry, the construction equipment industry, the rental industry, and the construction industry, I believe we are in this trick-bag for many years, and no matter what industry you are in there is a need to get more resilient if you hope to maintain your influence in your market area. Let us face it. Customers will be in a state of flux financially, either because of customer problems or the direct impact of the five “reasons” or some combo of the two. Add on to that the price increases in equipment yet to come plus the higher financing costs lead me to believe dealers can expect pushback going forward when it comes to long-term leases with maintenance. Thus, my title for this month’s column: Digitalization The construction industry and related dealer networks are diving in to cut the time and cost to plan, manage, bill, and complete the work in a timely fashion. These technology cap-X expenditures are making contractors more competitive and profitable compared to how they operated ten years ago. The same should apply to lift truck dealers. Proficiency Upgrading your technology package will allow you to reduce the time it takes to complete a project or daily work requirements. And any reduction in clerical work provides the opportunity to move employees into more meaningful jobs or to just adjust the number of employees. The sales, parts, service, and rental departments will also become more accountable to management to help cut costs or speed up production, which also helps offset pay increases given to employees to keep talent and offset inflation-related adjustments. Resilience Planning and taking steps to manage a new set of business metrics and customer needs ensures that you will be one of the last men/women standing. From what I see OEMs are reducing the number of dealers they have. Why do they do that? To do more with less using their best operators to get the product into the market. If you can take your metrics into the HI-Profit status in the Disc Report, then I would consider your company to be one of the consolidators working with the OEM. And we did not even start on the future of EV of forklifts. One last comment about how banks are dealing this these five “reasons.” Not very well as far as I can tell. Meaning every dealer has to be prepared to comply with bank requirements and any current bank covenants. To walk into a bank meeting and get nailed for violations is not a good place to be. And if your balance sheet and/or free cash flow has deteriorated keep in mind that the new Least Accounting rules will add debt to the balance sheet which could put you in violation of covenants. More on this later. And since costs are bouncing around so much, I thought I would include this formula for calculating selling price based on the cost of the units under consideration. COST/ 100% – PERCENT GROSS PROFIT REQUIRED Cost = $10,000 Required GP = 35% 100-35 = 65 the divisor $10,000/65= $15,384 sell price $15,384 sell price – $10,000 cost =$ 5,385 GP $5,384 /$15,384 = 35% margin Stay in touch with customers and see where they are headed. About the Columnist: Garry Bartecki is
Predicting the outcome of a Sales Meeting is easy. Sort of.
Crystal balls. Don’t you wish you had one when you were preparing for a big sales call? Even more when you were in a big sales presentation? Predicting the future is actually pretty easy if you’re armed with three things: Information about the prospect and his business. The right questions. The ability to see the big picture. Susan C. Gatton, a sales consultant who specializes in sales strategies for Fortune 500 Companies says, “A crystal ball is nothing more than taking a broad look at information derived from reading existing stuff and asking powerful questions. Information that (if understood) will predict the future.” Gatton continues, “There are three places to gain crystal ball information. Past, present, and future. Just look at the elements of each time period, and how they affect the prospect and his use of your product and/or service, and presto, you create your own ability to predict the future.” Pretty cool huh? Here is the information you need from each of the three in order to become a successful predictor of the future (of your order): The Past. The past may have pain it’s where experience has come from. Success and failure have their roots in what has already transpired. Your job is to gather historical information so you can understand the best way to communicate your ability to help in the future. Knowing the past is an easy way to gain an understanding of the present. Review the customer’s original needs. Review how they and why they bought before. Review the players and their personalities. Review how the decision was made. Review the problems which surfaced and how they were resolved. The Present. The present is fleeting. No one (especially your prospect) has time to do much more than put out fires and deal with the day-to-day. Stephen Covey differentiates between urgent and important his Habit #3 (Put first things first) is the real path to success. If you are able to get your prospect to see the importance you can get him away from what he perceives as urgent (but really isn’t). Urgent is his situation important is your ability to communicate help. (NOTE: Help first, get the order second.) Collect information about what is working, and not working from the customer’s point of view, and share your company’s perception of these issues. Collect information about the changes which have taken place in the customer’s company, how they have impacted the decision-makers whom your company has worked with in the past, and how that relates to their present situation. Read all company literature, newsletters, annual reports, and industry trade magazines. Become fluent in the prospect’s company and industry. Determine what past problems still exist and maybe prevent present success. Share with the customer the recent changes in the industry, or other experiences, and what the impact of those changes will be on the prospect’s business. Share the changes that your company is going through, and the impact of those changes on the customer. Share your big picture and experience in a way that creates a leadership image. The Future. People love to talk about their dreams. If you can get them going, they may see (and verbalize) how you fit in. Past is important, the present is more important, and the future is most important because that’s where you will develop and live your relationship. You need to know the path your prospect wants to take their road map, and their vision, so you can get on that path, and become part of that vision. Ask about his company’s specific future plans and needs to find out the one big goal or big project for the year. Find out specific plans for achievement. Ask all decision-makers about their future plans. Ask the customer about what changes they see, future industry trends, and what impact they will have. Share your industry trends that will affect how your company will do business in the future, and how those trends will impact your business. Share some of your company’s future plans and show how that will establish (or maintain) a leadership position. Nothing complicated is presented here on the surface it appears to be just basic fundamental blocking and tackling. Almost. It’s fundamentals from the customer’s perspective. It’s information from the prospect’s point of view you know, the only one that matters. I’m looking into my crystal ball and I see big sales in your future. Do you? About the Author: Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of twelve best-selling books including The Sales Bible, The Little Red Book of Selling, and The Little Gold Book of Yes! Attitude. His real-world ideas and content are also available as online courses at www.GitomerLearningAcademy.com. For information about training and seminars visit www.Gitomer.com or email Jeffrey at salesman@gitomer.com or call him at 704 333-1112.
Is Procrastination Bad or Good, and should you trust a procrastinator?
A very famous preacher was procrastinating until the last minute on writing a very public speech he was to give. He went on stage without having the entire speech completed. He was a procrastinator. Then, on stage, at the last minute, he added four more words to it and decided to start his speech with the words: “I have a dream…” What do you think when you hear the word “procrastination?” Is that a positive or negative word to you? We typically think of the word negatively and associate it with laziness, being disorganized, and not being strategic. But did you know that there are positive aspects to procrastination? This article will first show both the negative and positive aspects of procrastination. It will also give you some advice as to how to decide whether to procrastinate or not. But the most important part is showing you how to determine whether you should trust a procrastinator or not and whether you should be trusted based on your procrastination profile. The Bad Side of Procrastination You may find out at the last minute that you need more information, but it will be too late to try and get it, or you will no longer have access to it. You may need access to someone to discuss your project, but that person will not be available in the short window before the project deadline. The schedule may get pulled in, leaving you with insufficient time to complete it before the deadline. You may experience stress as the looming deadline is nearing. That stress could adversely impact your ability to complete the project on time and at a high quality, not to mention the negative impact on your health. Life happens. Something unplanned and unexpected could happen that will have a higher priority over the project, and once you shift your attention to it, you will not be able to complete the project on time. The longer you wait, the higher the probability that you will forget about the project or the deadline and, as a result, miss it. Missing the project due date for any of the reasons above could impose significant and negative consequences on you. The Good Side of Procrastination The more time passes, the more ideas you may come across, which would make sense in the context of the project. On the same token, you may have more time to think of more (and better) alternatives if you must offer a few in your deliverable. With time, you may come across information that may not have been available early on and is available now. Information you use may be more relevant and timelier. You give information and ideas already in your head more time to incubate. You cannot force old ideas to combine into fresh ones, and you must give them time, and procrastination will give that processing time. You have more time to ask more people for their thoughts, and advice, or use more people as sounding boards for what you think your deliverable should be. There is always the probability that the project gets canceled. If you do your part early without procrastinating, you may have just wasted your time and effort. The schedule may get pushed out, causing your deliverable to become dated, irrelevant, or simply putting undue pressure on you. Even without the schedule being pushed out, as time passes, things change. Your ideas and recommendations may become invalidated given new developments and new information. To Procrastinate, or Not to Procrastinate? First, ask yourself if you get stressed over looming deadlines. If you are, then don’t procrastinate. Get it over with and avoid the pressure. Ask yourself whether you have everything you need at the beginning. Do you have all the information you need? Do you fully understand what you must do? Do you have access to the people or resources you need? Will that access stop at some point? Once you map those out, you can decide whether you can procrastinate and how long. Prioritize the tasks that may have time-limited resources and information. Ask yourself: what is the probability of you having more ideas, finding better alternatives, having more access to more (or new) information, or that having access to ideas, information, or people could improve the quality of your deliverable? If there is a low probability or impact of those things, you might as well not procrastinate. But if there is a high probability or impact, you may want to wait. Ask yourself: what is the probability of something urgent happening, or of you forgetting the deadline? If the probability is high, you might want to start soon and avoid procrastination. The Best of Both Worlds As you embark on (or are assigned) a project, map out all the questions above. Get access to all the information and people you need before they are not available to you. But most importantly, make a draft, a prototype, or something that is good enough (albeit not at the highest quality you can deliver). If something happens, you will still have something to show, and something is typically better than nothing. As time passes, you can refine your deliverable with new information, new ideas, new alternatives, incubation, and access to people to run your ideas by. Your final deliverable will be better but not in jeopardy because you didn’t do anything about it and missed the deadline. Should You Trust a Procrastinator? The quick answer is, “it depends.” You can determine that procrastination is neither good nor bad in an absolute, universal way. It’s not like telling the truth, which is a universal and absolute trustworthy component. Procrastination is a personality trait, and as such, trusting a procrastinator is a relative issue. Different people are simply different in their procrastination tendencies, and it doesn’t make them good or bad. Trustworthiness is contextual, which means that you may trust a procrastinator in certain contexts, but not in others—probably depending on the consequences to you. Finally,
PACK EXPO International challenges students’ creativity in new Machine Building competition
PACK Challenge, a brand-new packaging competition will bring six high school teams together for a head-to-head machine-building challenge at PACK EXPO International (Oct. 23-26; McCormick Place, Chicago), according to show producer, PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies. “We are excited to introduce this first-of-its-kind competition and watch the students roll up their sleeves in a real-world application while they learn,” says Jim Pittas, president & CEO, PMMI. “One of our main priorities is getting students involved at a young age and showing them the doors the manufacturing industry can open. This competition will give them first-hand experience of what a career in manufacturing could look like.” PMMI will provide a build-to-print snack filler machine kit, designed specifically for this competition, along with an assembly manual to the qualifying teams who will build the machine at their school over the summer. At the show, each team will re-assemble the snack filler to the specifications, compete for best design, host competitions, and marketing and sales presentations. Teams will have the flexibility to be creative with add-ons. The overall best in show team will be awarded $6,000 with second place receiving $3,000 and third $1,000. Other awards include Filler Performance Gold Cup, Most Creative Filler Design, and Marketing/Sales presentations. After the event, the teams will take the machines back to their school, providing future students the opportunity for hands-on experience. “To address the imminent skills gap, PMMI is working at developing many programs to show students the world of manufacturing,” says Kate Fiorianti, senior manager, Workforce Development, PMMI. “This brand-new competition is meant to excite students and pique their interest to want to learn more. As a result, we have a multitude of resources available to both parents and students to get involved and advance the future of this critical industry.” ThePMMI Foundation works to grow awareness of careers in packaging and processing and provides financial support for packaging and processing education throughout the U.S and Canada. Since its inception in 1998, the PMMI Foundation has given more than $2.6 million to strengthen the workforce within the packaging and processing industry. For more information on student opportunities, contact Kate Fiorianti at kfiorianti@pmmi.org PACK EXPO International also offers multiple other programs and activities aimed at getting students excited about careers in packaging and processing and connecting them with professional mentors in the industry. In addition to exciting networking events and student programs, the highlight of PACK EXPO International will be the new, never-before-seen solutions, from thousands of leading suppliers on the show floor, bringing all vertical industries together to generate a cross-pollination of ideas and crossover solutions that can only be discovered in-person. To learn more and to register, visit packexpointernational.com. Registration for the show is $30 until Sept. 30, after which it increases to $130.
Yale releases updated videos as part of new operator training program
Coinciding with National Forklift Safety Day, Yale Materials Handling Corporation just released original training videos as part of the new Yale Operator Training Program. The new videos help high-intensity warehouses take control of their lift truck operator training, using enhanced adult learning techniques to support engagement and comprehension. Material is divided into shorter sections and broken up into hands-on learning periods to help improve comprehension and keep learners engaged. Updated, modern graphics present critical information in a familiar visual format and at a pace that supports a wide range of adult learner types. “As warehouse labor turnover reaches nearly 50% annually, getting new hires up and running with comprehensive lift truck training at scale becomes even more essential – but can also be more difficult to manage,” says Evelyn Velasquez-Cuevas, Product Sales and Technical Training Director, Yale Materials Handling Corporation. “Our goal with the Yale Operator Training Program is to arm participating dealers with everything they need to relieve the burden on customers’ in-house training resources, speed up operator onboarding processes, and help support safety efforts.” The OSHA lift truck certification process is composed of three parts – formal instruction, practical training, and operator evaluation. The video content fulfills most truck-related topics in the formal instruction component of OSHA certification requirements. The videos are available through participating dealers in the nationwide Yale® dealer network, who can also offer additional training to satisfy full certification requirements. Equipment-specific product orientation videos for Yale®’s electric narrow aisle warehouse lift trucks are also currently available through the training program, accessible by scanning QR codes on equipment. Operations can also supplement their training with virtual reality forklift simulators from Yale that provide an immersive experience for operators to practice in a realistic, yet controlled environment. To learn more about the Yale Operator Training Program, click here.
MassRobotics expanding STEM Programming with $100,000 Cummings grant
Boston-based robotics and STEM nonprofit receive three years of funding from the Cummings Foundation MassRobotics is one of 140 Massachusetts nonprofits to receive a grant through Cummings Foundation’s $25 Million Grant Program. The non-profit will use these funds to provide young women, especially Black and Latinx girls, a direct pathway to transform an interest in STEM into a passion and career in STEM, especially in robotics and artificial intelligence. MassRobotics was chosen from a total of 580 applicants during a competitive review process and will receive a $100,000 total over the next three years. “The current STEM workforce in Massachusetts is suffering from a lack of diversity, especially women of color,” said Khalif Mitchell, MassRobotics STEM program manager. “MassRobotics is honored to receive a Cummings Foundation grant that will help set women of color up for success in the technology industry, driving a more diverse workforce to pursue these disciplines for their professional careers.” MassRobotics STEM education is aimed at facilitating relationships between the robotics community and the next generation of innovators. Since 2017, MassRobotics has hosted hundreds of students for workshops and tours through their 50,000-square-foot state-of-the-art space. In 2020, MassRobotics initiated several STEM programs in collaboration with various partners and the robotics industry such as the MassRobotics Jumpstart Fellowship Program. The Jumpstart Fellowship was created to provide opportunities for diverse Massachusetts high school girls to learn about careers in robotics and develop their professional networks through direct engagement with industry professionals. The curriculum exposes young women to the many technical skills in areas that are included in the robotics industry, from programming to design and simulation, to hands-on building, prototyping, and testing. The program also includes mentorship to help develop a more inclusive technical workforce by preparing diverse talent in high school to pursue careers in STEM and robotics. The Cummings Foundation’s $25 Million Grant Program supports Massachusetts nonprofits that are based in and primarily serve Middlesex, Essex, and Suffolk counties. “We are so fortunate in greater Boston to have such effective nonprofits, plus a wealth of talented, dedicated professionals and volunteers to run them,” said Cummings Foundation Executive Director Joyce Vyriotes. “We are indebted to them for the work they do each day to provide for basic needs, break down barriers to education, and work toward a more equitable society.” Cummings Foundation has awarded more than $375 million to date in Greater Boston, including $25 million to 140 local-area nonprofits in 2022. It seeks to provide vital funding to mostly local charities that are working to improve the lives of community members through education, healthcare, human services, and social justice programs. This year’s grant recipients represent a wide variety of causes, including food insecurity, immigrant and refugee services, social justice, STEM education, and mental health services. The complete list of 140 grant winners is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org.