60 Seconds With... Don Gillman, Don Frazier Supply Chain Training Center
Students at the Don Frazier Supply Chian Training Center will leave high school with a skill set that makes them ready to go to work in an industry that's poised to grow.
Staff -- Modern Materials Handling, 7/1/2009
Modern: This is a unique program. How did it get started?
Gillman: In the fall of 2007, Allan Howie, the director of continuing education at the Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA, www.mhia.org), contacted our school district with the concept of creating a program and facility to train high school students for careers in warehousing and distribution. As we looked into this, we realized there are already about seven major DCs in the region. That is expected to grow as the ports in Charleston and Savannah grow. HR people told us they have to train everyone who comes to work for them. Our students will leave high school with a skill set that makes them ready to go to work in an industry that's poised to grow.
Modern: Tell us about the center.
Gillman: We had 94 students enrolled in the introduction to transportation, distribution and logistics program for 2008–2009. We taught them about the industry and why it's a viable career choice—that even if they start out at the bottom on the stretch wrap machine, supply chain jobs exist all the way up to the C level. We teach them the theory about the supply chain.
Modern: What about hands-on experience?
Gillman: We have a 2,400 square foot warehouse. It's small but fully functional with a racking system, three or four forklifts, pallet jacks, a conveyor system, a pick-to-light system, RFID scanners, bar code scanners and software, a horizontal carousel, ergonomically designed lift tables, a mobile area gantry crane and a workstation crane. We're trying to simulate the process and flow of our local warehouses using the same kind of equipment that they're using.
Modern: You mentioned lift trucks. Do they learn to maintain lift trucks?
Gillman: Right now, they're learning to operate lift trucks. And let me tell you, they love driving lift trucks.
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