MATERIAL HANDLING
Looking For Trouble
By Maureen Parker: Application Specialist, IBT Warehouse Equipment Group
Jun 4, 2007 - 12:09:11 PM

When I am on the job and go into just any type of business, the first thing I do is look for trouble. The type of trouble I am looking for is usually easy to find.

I might see space being wasted, valuable and/or fragile goods being improperly stored. I might see time being wasted through inefficient or obsolete layouts and storage systems.

Whether the facility I am visiting is strictly for distribution, or if it has manufacturing processes as well, it is not all that difficult to notice an unmet or emerging need.

The people working there are busy and they don’t necessarily look for the things I look for, nor are they trained to see the things I see.

So they might not notice that their tool crib does not securely store and protect expensive tooling.

They might not realize that an in-plant office can be built on the production floor, giving managers and supervisors the ability to make decisions when needed to make their process run more efficiently.

The customer’s management might not know that adding a mezzanine level would give them a great increase in working space for an investment far less than they would have if they expanded the floor space foot print.

The decision makers in the factory might not be up to speed on all the storage options we deal with every day. Our knowledge of pallet rack or cantilever racks can help save money lost through wasted motion, poor storage utilization or improperly used floor space.

Now with the addition of safety products to the IBT mix, I can even help them choose things like flammable material storage cabinets and personal protective equipment items, such as safety glasses, all types of gloves, flashlights or even signage.

The great thing about representing the Warehouse Equipment Group at IBT is that there is a wide wealth of items for our customer’s facility that we can provide. In fact, it is hard to think of any type of warehouse related item we don’t have or can’t get.

To add to that, our experienced people know all about these items and all about warehouse systems and equipment. They all know how to make sure that our customers get what they need to do the job properly, safely, efficiently and effectively.

So if you’d like me to come stir up some trouble at your place, let me know. I’ll be right over.