FALL 2017

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THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK
ROBERT FOOTLIK WELCOME TO MT 442-542 DISTRIBUTION AND WAREHOUSING from page 72
Keep in mind that certifications gained on your own
initiative look great on a resume. This will move your
application to the top of the pile. To my knowledge no
other course offers this incentive. In support of this goal I
will answer questions but achieving certification is strictly
up to you.”
“The assignment also included “Action Items.” This
is not homework, that’s for kids. Each of the Action Items
sends you someplace to find an answer, multiple answers
or even some fun sites on the Internet. Did you do the
first Action Item and clean your wallet? It’s the smallest
active warehouse around and you are the Boss. What did
you take out? What did you add? And most importantly
what did you learn? This lesson scales up to even a mega
Distribution Center. Do you still have your “A?”
What’s going on?
One of the action items sends the students to the
Internet to look up the Occupational Health and Safety Act
with a simple question that asks “What color should you
use for an aisle marking line? Try this on your own and I’ll
even provide a hint that sections 1910.22 and 1910.144
provide clues, but no answers. Dig deeper and you will
understand how to research a new topic, outsmart an
OSHA citation and advance your career.
Traditional grading on a curve is ridiculous for a
course that requires thinking and action, not just rote
memorization. What really matters is what the student
knows initially and what they can take with them at the
end of the semester. The secret of how to measure this
lies in the Dreaded Oral Midterm and Open Source Final
Exam. Along the way the luxury of not having to worry
about a grade opens doors to enhanced learning and
more fun.
Week Two: Numbers and Paradigms
“We can’t start the class tonight with this useless
layout. Make it better please.”
“Some of you have now discovered that the Action
Items are actually a two way communication. Several
were probably quite surprised to receive a timely reply and
comments after the initial submission. In a few cases we
went three or more rounds of dialogue to further explore
the topics. Great! Early submissions are invariably
rewarded with insights, questions and really interesting
learning…for all of us.”
“Most of you now have the suggested Study Partner
in place to work through the assignments. A single joint
submission is appreciated and if your answers/comments
differ please change colors and let me know which color
is coming from which of you. Private communication is
also welcomed, but Distribution and Logistics is always
performed with others and by working together you cut
my work load while enhancing your own communication
skills.”
“You have also noticed that most of the Action Items
have no real answer. This isn’t math or physics, it’s
the real world. The journey to a suitable answer may be
long or short but it will always be entertaining. Some of
the questions can be best answered through you own
experience, others take more thought and research that
offers insights and knowledge beyond the superficial and
obvious. For example cleaning out your medicine cabinet,
sock drawer or suitcase required questions of space,
usage, desirability and importance. The correct answer
can only be found in your context.”
“Similarly as you delved into some statistics and
parameters you should have found that paradigms
(underlying rationale) lies, misleads and often saps
creativity. In other courses you may have learned about
how inventory usage can be ranked “A,” “B,” “C,” etc. but
have you ever questioned whether this rationale makes
sense in the real world? The example of a ¼”-20 nut is
an “A” item being sold with hundreds, if not thousands of
fastener choices. This means that if the fast movers are
in the front of the warehouse AND WILL LIKELY BE SOLD
WITH A SLOWER VELOCITY ITEM the warehouse location
system must be designed to take this into account or your
pickers are going to walk their feet off.”
What’s going on?
As you are well aware there is a plethora of raw
data available and some great ways of shaping this
into information that can lead to false and even harmful
conclusions. The examples provided focus on using
common sense and real world investigation to verify
information before acting. There is also emphasis on
taking personal control of your life at work, at play and
at home. This is the essence of becoming an effective
manager.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 220