Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA) and the College-Industry Council on Material Handling Education (CICMHE) have funded a research project titled State of the Distribution Workforce and What It Means for the Material Handling Industry. MHIA and CICMHE awarded Brian Edwards of Oklahoma State University and Kevin Gue of Auburn University $53,086 for this project.
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.
View the DCV TV video of Professor Bryan Edwards of Oklahoma State University discussing this research project.
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.
Inquiries regarding the research funding program should be directed to Mike Ogle, MHIA Vice President of Educational and Technical Services and Managing Director of CICMHE.
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