Material Handling Industry of America and College Industry Council Fund Research on Lean Warehousing and the Distribution Workforce

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.

MHIA/CICMHE anticipates that similar funding levels will be available in 2010. The 2010 call for proposals should be available by December 1, 2009. The MHIA/CICMHE program closely follows procedures modeled after National Science Foundation procedures for the development and evaluation of research proposals. A panel of academic and industry reviewers evaluate research proposals based on whether they contain significant involvement of one or more graduate students working with the Principle Investigator(s) and clearly show potential impact on and value for the industry.

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.

MHIA is an international trade association that has represented the material handling industry since 1945. Member companies come from all areas of material handling and various parts of the world, making MHIA a strong national and international representative for the material handling industry. MHIA also sponsors trade events, such as ProMat 2011 and NA 2010 to showcase the products and services of its member companies and to educate industry professionals on the productivity solutions provided through material handling and logistics.

CICMHE, founded in 1952, facilitates the interchange of information among concerned individuals in academia, industry and in the user community to aid in improving and implementing material handling education. MHIA and the CICMHE are dedicated to the support of material handling and facility logistics (MH/FL) research and teaching. The industry seeks to develop the faculty of tomorrow by supporting research today that focuses on topics important to development of the industry.

Contact: Carol Miller, Vice President of Marketing & Communications, Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA) (704) 676-1190/800-345-1815 / cmiller@mhia.org

<< Back to news articles