MHIA/CICMHE 2009 Research Funding
The Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA) and the College Industry Council on Material Handling Education (CICMHE) announce two grant awards totaling $133,085 for research to be performed during 2009-2010.
The 2009 grant awardees are as follows:
Developing and Adapting Lean Tools and Techniques to Build New Curriculum / Training Program in Warehousing and Logistics
Yavuz Bozer, University of Michigan
$79,999
Significant progress has been made in implementing Lean tools and techniques on the factory floor, but Lean in distribution and warehousing has been lagging compared to manufacturing. The research will develop and adapt Lean tools and techniques in warehousing by developing a Toyota House for Lean warehousing, applying Value Stream Mapping (VSM) to identify and rationalize waste vs. value-add activities, then build models and document key relationships in the Toyota House. The results will be disseminated through course materials, articles, certificate program materials, conferences, and a book. Two industrial partners, Menlo Worldwide Logistics and Navistar, have pledged their time and expertise to the project.
State of the Distribution Workforce and What It Means for the Material Handling Industry
Bryan Edwards, Oklahoma State University
Kevin Gue, Auburn University
$53,086
This research will first examine the factors that affect worker turnover, satisfaction, commitment, and performance, then it will examine how the adoption of new technology is influenced by the acceptance and training to use the technology, and other factors such as supervisor organizational relationships. This collaborative project between engineering and industrial/organizational psychology will benefit the material handling industry by determining the factors that influence attitudes, performance, turnover, and technology acceptance. Historically, only technological solutions were applied to labor shortages and demographic shifts. Organizational behavior research demonstrates that there are other key variables and potential interventions that could help attract and retain qualified employees with benefits for the bottom line.
Both research projects will be conducted during the 2009-2010 academic year.
MHIA and CICMHE are funding research grants to develop a healthy teaching and research academic community focused on material handling and facility logistics. The students of such programs are the future of the industry. A secondary purpose is to fund industry-relevant research that may be utilized by MHIA member company customers and MHIA members themselves.
Questions or comments should be directed to CICMHE@mhia.org.