Distribution: Avoiding speed bumps on the road and in the warehouse

By Tom Andel -- Logistics Management, 5/1/2008

There are lots of obstacles on the road to material handling efficiency. You’ll run into them when you’re trying to store products and when you’re trying to deliver them.

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

First, the warehouse: Many logistics and distribution managers 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 Materials Handling’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 pallet load they didn’t see until it was too late. That’s why it’s important for warehouse managers 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 a 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 just-in-time basis. NASSTRAC, a shipper’s association, just filed comments with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) supporting the administration’s latest HOS rule proposal. FMCSA’s original intent was to make roads safer by ensuring that truck drivers have adequate opportunities to rest at the end of each work day and during the work week. The thinking is, they can do that by limiting 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 further reduction in hours of service as sought by some 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, reversing decades of efficiency gains.

So, if NASSTRAC and other aligned shipper organizations win, 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 help shippers get around obstacles to DC efficiency as these facilities 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.

Author Information

Tom Andel, LM’s Editor at Large, has more than 25 years of experience covering materials handling, transportation, distribution, logistics, manufacturing, and supply chain management. He can be reached at Tom.Andel@reedbusiness.com.