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Last month’s article talked about cleaning up old materials and classifying them for disposal. Now that some free space has been opened at your facility up let’s talk about warehouse operations. Most points of distribution have some sort of warehouse affiliated with the operation. There are several key areas that need to be evaluated in order to operate a warehouse safely. First and foremost, materials movement is a key activity in a warehouse. Moving materials, unloading trucks, loading trucks, and placing materials into storage occur constantly in a warehouse. Forklift operators are typically completing all these touches in the warehouse.…
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Construction Industry
SAFETY ON THE DOCK
Your warehouse is adequately protected and in good order. The next area that we will look at in regard to safety is the dock. The loading dock is an essential part of your business with a lot of activity occurring there. Materials may be delivered or loaded for transport. Numerous forklift operators and pedestrians may be present at any given time to get these tasks completed. With all this activity, it’s not a surprise that twenty-five percent of industrial accidents occur on loading docks. This equates to hundreds of thousands of incidents and numerous fatalities. So, let’s look at ways…
The Supply Chain Insider: Tony C. Spedale, W. R. MEADOWS Supply Chain Manager
WHAT’S THE RIGHT LEVEL? The skies are clearing on the global storm that was COVID-19. Norms are returning and the supply chain is returning to normal for many raw materials. Most products that faced severe shortages are back on the market, the national diesel fuel situation is behind us, and truckers are in abundance. Now that the supply chain is normalizing, distributors and other business owners are faced with looking to and preparing for a post-COVID future. With the sales data heavily skewed due to the last few years of abnormality and, at some points, panicked buying and selling habits,…
How Much Have Construction Costs Risen in 2022?
Construct Connect’s Chief Economist Alex Carrick recently did his quarterly Producer Price Index Series on the state of the U.S. construction industry’s material cost changes. The long short: his headline gives it away – “Spikes Everywhere.” Alex’s index tracks 15 materials. Of those 15, only one—prefabricated metal buildings—saw a 1.1% decrease. Thirteen of the 15 saw a double-digit percentage change increase in 2022 over the past year. The energy-related cost increases (+63.8% for diesel fuel, +61.5% for gasoline, and +36.9% for asphalt), the Russian-Ukraine war, and the supply chain disruptions all had a knock-on effect on building material costs. Since…
SUPPLY CHAIN UPDATES
In the topsy-turvy world of supply chain and logistics, there are some hints at the situation improving. The Covid-19 cases are on a downward trend. The ports are working faster than they have in the past year. There is a container backlog, but not nearly like last year. Anyone in manufacturing or farming has cast their watchful eye on the fluctuating oil prices, which are impacting everything from your food prices to airline travel to Vaseline. U.S. freight is more expensive and fuel surcharges are getting out of hand. Everything is dependent upon the war in Ukraine. If it ceases…
IS MODULAR BUILDING THE MODEL-T ASSEMBLY MODEL FOR THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY?
Seasoned engineer Blair Davies is the partner behind two modular construction businesses, METALOQ and Catalyst Offsite. Blair recently joined W. R. MEADOWS Podcast hosts Riley Rowan and Jason Davoodi to share some of his insights on the rapid-fire interest he is seeing from developers for modular building. Blair was initially drawn to modular because of his engineering expertise in building facades. (He also has a background in aerospace and automotive engineering, which bring to bear some unique advantages in how they approach modular manufacturing.) Julian Bowron is his partner in both companies, with expertise in steel fabrication and supply chain,…
How to Achieve Less Stress and More Success
One Retired Contractor Teaches Small Business Owners His Secret to Early Retirement In the 1970s, AL LEVI and his two older brothers went to work with their father in their Long Island, New York contracting business. The brothers and their team of 70 performed plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrician services for Long Island outside of Manhattan. They serviced residential, commercial, and industrial accounts for a territory that was 115 miles, tip to tip. Raised in a family of serial entrepreneurs, AL’s grandfather owned a gas station in 1936. AL’s father started the contracting business that still thrives today. All…
THE SUPPLY CHAIN
Did America’s Covid-19 Shopping Spree Trigger Port Congestion? W. R. MEADOWS’ Supply Chain Manager Tony Spedale raised an interesting point during a recent internal discussion about California’s current port container ship congestion issue. It’s one many of us hadn’t factored in, and I thought it was worthwhile to share with you since we are all asking the big “WHY?” Here are Tony’s thoughts on the shipping delays and supply chain obstacles: “When Covid-19 hit, people were forced to stay home and get government stimulus, which was meant to be spent. The problem is, they spent their government stimulus money on…
How Will Inflation Impact the Construction Industry?
Construction Economics Analyst Ed Zarenski Has Your Answers Ed Zarenski spent 42 years in construction, 30 of which he spent as a building project cost estimator and construction economics analyst. Today Bloomberg News, the Washington Post, The Financial Times, CNBC, Los Angeles Times, Marketwatch, Newsweek, strategy+business, Yahoo! Finance, ConstructechTV, Ontario Construction News and more seek Ed Zarenski’s crystal ball for deciphering what’s really happening in the construction industry, beyond the headlines. Ed also taught Advanced Construction Cost Estimating and Construction Economics for five years at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and writes an industry blog, Construction Analytics on EdZarenski.com, where he…
5 Tips to Protect Your Bottom Line
How the Construction Industry Can Sidestep Supply Chain Disruptions and Rising Builder Supply Costs How long will we remember the “Ever Given”? While history may relegate the Suez Canal-blocking ship’s name to fodder for future pub trivia, world economies and supply chains will be feeling the impact for months ahead. After all, the Ever Given blocked 350 vessels. Lloyd’s List estimated more than $9 billion worth of goods daily pass through that 120-mile waterway. When you multiply that $9 billion by the 6 days and 7 hours of canal obstruction, that’s a lot of balboas (Panama’s currency) for downstream companies…
Truck Driver Shortage
We at W. R. MEADOWS pride ourselves on manufacturing and delivering materials efficiently and to the best of our ability. However, as many of you are aware, the state of the nation’s trucking industry is making it challenging for all companies to find and schedule shipments. The nation’s driver shortage is negatively impacting all trucking companies. In fact, it is rated as the top concern for trucking companies. (Report issued by the American Transportation Research Institute.) For more perspective on this problem, please see this article. Rest assured that the W. R. MEADOWS transportation department is working diligently with our…