On Your Worst Behavior
This is a forum for the frank discussion of the human aspects of materials handling. Every materials handler tries to manage space, but as humans we tend to spend less time making room for improvement—of ourselves and our fellow workers. We tend to put productivity first and human relations second. Consequently, both suffer. None of us is perfect. But what if we could learn by our imperfection? That’s “Imperfectly Frank’s” philosophy. He’s Modern’s resident expert on imperfection, and he hosts this forum on the bonehead mistakes made on the job and in our relationships with fellow workers. He wants to use this blog as a way to share strategies to improve our culture, starting in the workplace.
Automation: Watch out for low-flying cars!
I like technology as much as the next guy, but there are some things I draw the line at—which, funny enough, is what my cartoonist always tells Modern’s editor when they’re hashing out my next “adventure” in the magazine. Believe it or not, I actually read the rest of the magazine after checking out the latest “Imperfectly Frank” episode. In the Jan ...... Read More
Comments (12)Supply Chain Apocalypse? I can't even spell the word!
Did you know this is Armageddon Week on the History Channel? Every night there’s going to be a program on how close we are to the end of the world. They kicked the week off yesterday with a marathon of shows on “The Seven Deadly Sins.” Greed and Pride were highlighted as the basis for our current business woes. Then they had a special on Nostradamus and his prediction that the ...... Read More
Comments (6)Waiting on racking
My mom used to say "Good things come to those who wait." I take after my mom. She wasn’t too smart either. I HATE waiting. That two minutes it takes my toaster to burn my Pop Tarts in the morning is downright painful. Not to mention how painful it is to eat a charred, molten Pop Tart. My boss hates to wait too. He waited almost five months to get a building permit for our new ...... Read More
Comments (0)Cutting corners can make you bleed
Hey, I sat in on Modern’s Lift Truck Customer Satisfaction webcast. The discussion focused on stuff I can relate to. Dumb stuff, like companies cheaping-out on lift truck operator training and why operators don’t wear their restraints. I just saw another report that said workers are pretty dumb about safety in general, not just around lift trucks. Kimberly-Clark Professional d ...... Read More
Comments (2)Keep pickin' and tickin'
Do you like music like I do? Then you probably wear headphones a lot. I don’t jog to music, I tend to waddle rhythmically. I wear headphones so much that sometimes I forget they’re on my head and my life takes on a musical soundtrack of its own. It’s become a vice. And like all vices, some do-gooder had to come along and pour cold water on my pleasure. That ain’t ...... Read More
Comments (2)When lift trucks lift lift trucks
When I’m having a bad day on the job, there’s always a bright side. Modern might get a cartoon out of it. Most of the Frank cartoons that have run in the magazine revolve around MY mistakes. But once in a while, something happens in the 3D world that rivals even my dumb stunts. Check out this month’s cartoon contest . You’ll see me behind the wheel of a forklift, ...... Read More
Comments (0)Ya gotta love those pessimists at OSHA...
Believe it or not, I’m an optimist. Even with all the trouble I cause, somehow I survive to screw up another day. There’s a place for us in this world—if only to give the pessimists someone to laugh at once in a while. There’s a place for pessimists too. They tend to be cautious busybodies, and anticipate all the bad stuff that can happen so they can guard agains ...... Read More
Comments (2)Train wrecks? No. Train survivors.
With all the stupid situations I get into, you might wonder how a train wreck like me still has a job. Comedy relief is my life. During these tough economic times, Modern pays me to lighten your load—at least emotionally. It pays for me to be dumb. But don’t try this at home. Here’s something you should try. How about using this economic slowdown to get smarter? Or at l ...... Read More
Comments (2)Tell me an ending
Materials handling has a feature role in another big box office flick that just came out. Remember, a while back we talked about Wall-E? This time the movie is “Eagle Eye,” and MH plays a pivotal role in a chase scene. This time the plot mover is a conveyor that diverts the evil doer off the stretch down which he was chasing our hero. This diversion gives the hero enough time to make ...... Read More
Comments (18)Your work on display
Let’s face it. When you’re neat, lean and clean, you’re more successful. I know–"Who am I to talk?," right? I ain’t any of those things. And admit it, if I were those things, what kind of cartoon character would I be? You need someone like me for contrast to neat, lean and clean. Sloppy, fat and messy make for a great anti-role-model–especially f ...... Read More
Comments (0)Knock off the "deadman"
Remember the sad story I told you of that guy who was disabled after the lift truck he got off of pinned him against a wall? He said he didn’t understand why his lift truck didn’t have a “deadman switch” that would have powered-off the truck when he got out of the seat. Well, this guy’s lack of training was just one example of the poor treatment this guy got from ...... Read More
Comments (5)Deadman walking
If the stuff that happens to me on a regular basis happened to a flesh-and-blood person, it wouldn’t be funny. In fact, few people could survive what I’ve been through in my career as a cartoon character. I’m stepping away from my role as comic relief to act as an intermediary. Let me tell you about the sad case of a real person. He called Modern to tell his story so you could ...... Read More
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