Tom Andel

Fighting carnage on the road and in the warehouse
March 21, 2008

Lots of scary things happen around inventory. There’s carnage in the warehouse trying to store it and there’s carnage on the roads trying to deliver it.

I heard some interesting things in the last couple days about both those occupations, so allow me to connect the dots.

First the warehouse. Many cope with the high cost of square footage by storing in narrow aisles. That requires narrow-aisle lift trucks, and those require an extra measure of operator training.

I just interviewed Jim Shephard, president of Shephard’s Industrial Training Systems, for Modern’s May Lift Truck Tips column. He told me he’s seen his share of ugly aftermaths where operators of narrow aisle trucks misjudged distances within those tight aisles and actually pinned an arm or a leg between their vehicle and an overhanging palletload they didn’t see until it was too late.  That’s why it’s important to do what amusement parks tell every person who rides their roller coasters: "keep your hands and feet inside the car at all times!"

Another thing narrow-aisle-truck operators need to master is maneuverability—using the space available to make right-angle turns. There’s technique involving the use of landmarks. Remember parallel parking lessons? It takes practice ... which is part of training ... which must be part of your investment in a narrow-aisle environment.

Now, what does this have to do with truckers delivering to that environment?

The drivers of tractor-trailer rigs are governed by hours of service (HOS) rules. There’s a debate going on about the number of drivers it takes to deliver enough product to satisfy warehouses and distribution centers on a JIT basis. NASSTRAC, the shipper’s association, just filed comments with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration supporting FMCSA's proposed HOS rules. Safety advocates want to limit the number of hours a driver can stay behind the wheel in one stretch. These proposed rules would preserve the status quo, which NASSTRAC describes as a balance between “the need for safety and the needs of truckers, shippers, and the economy as a whole for timely delivery of goods.”

NASSTRAC says a reduction in hours of service as sought by safety advocates would disrupt just-in-time manufacturing and distribution. It adds that the nation would need more trucks and congestion to serve current and future needs. Alternatively, shippers would have to create and warehouse unnecessary "safety stock," transforming low-inventory "just-in-time" operations into high-inventory "just-in-case" operations, and reversing decades of efficiency gains.

So, if NASSTRAC wins, some warehouses and DCs may be able to live without narrow-aisle lift trucks. However, if the safety advocates who oppose the HOS status quo get their way, an investment in a narrow-aisle storage environment may be just the thing to preserve some level of efficiency as DCs make room for more safety stock.

FMCSA's decision on the HOS situation is expected by the end of 2008. In the meantime, keep a broad mind about narrow-aisles.

Posted by Tom Andel on March 21, 2008 | Comments (0)