Material Handling

Recent research shows that the connections people use link to the Internet are getting faster and that users are becoming more adept at using search engines —they are using more sophisticated searches to find just what they're looking for. What effect will these trends, along with the growth in social networking, have on the materials handling profession? How are you preparing?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Material Handling, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Material Handling today.

Industry Week magazine recently identified The best manufacturing plants in the U.S. These facilities have a number of common features: they use technology wisely, they ask for and make use of input from their employees, they have leaders who "walk-the-talk," they interact effectively with their suppliers and customers, and they are relentless in their efforts. If this sounds like a good approach to you, how can you get your company to pursue excellence in this fashion?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Material Handling, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Material Handling today.

Innovation remains the key to a strong economy. We recently read about a material known as buckypaper. A thin, rather unassuming sheet made of carbon nanotubes, that when stacked, becomes a slab one-tenth the weight and 500 times the strength of steel. This material and other developments could lead to a resurgence of manufacturing in the U.S. What can be done to encourage the development and commercialization of new manufacturing technologies?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Material Handling, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Material Handling today.

Whether you're talking about human health or equipment functionality, an ounce of prevention is easily worth a pound of cure. That's the idea behind TPM — total productive maintenance. TPM is a strategy that aims to minimize downtime by fixing equipment before it breaks, rather than the conventional approach — fix it when it breaks. The strategy is more sophisticated than it sounds, with routine maintenance activities actually performed while equipment is running. And all employees, not just maintenance personnel are responsible for keeping things running. Who's responsible for equipment maintenance in your operations? Would TPM work for you?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Material Handling, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Material Handling today.

Economic performance tends to be cyclical and it seems that everyone agrees that the current recession will end, sooner or later. The question is what can a company do to position itself for top performance after downturn ends? A recent article suggests that the leading companies will be those that are committed to innovation, and go deeply into emerging growth markets. Innovation requires investment. Is your company positioned for the future, or focused on the short-term bottom line?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Material Handling, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Material Handling today.