The pick of the bunch
April 1st 2009 Hubtex's detachable picking platform won this years' FLTA Award for ergonomics. But UK
sales and marketing manager, Jim Hammond, says a category for increasing productivity,
reducing damage, saving money and improving health and safety might have been more
apt… Brendan Coyne reports
Hubtex's laminate picking platform
has reduced product and racking
damage, improved picking
efficiency, and helped to create a safer
workplace at International Decorative
Surfaces in Nuneaton. It's also enabled a
three man labour saving and eliminated
manual handling injuries and related
absenteeism. Not surprising then, that it
won an FLTA award this year. But sales and
marketing director, Jim Hammond, says
while it certainly has made picking long
lengths of laminate more ergonomic for the
operators, it probably could have won the
safety award, as operators are no longer
picking from mobile platform ladders. "But
I'm not complaining," he says. "You can
only win one."
That Hubtex took the award ahead of
category finalists that included Crown,
Jungheinrich, Toyota and Yale is testament
to the originality of the solution – and
reward for what, for Hammond, involved
two years work. "We could have done it
much quicker but IDS had other operational
elements it had to priortise," says
Hammond. "By way of example, a similar
picking platform project at Synseal
Extrusions took six weeks. We showed
them a truck in action and that was it, they
signed immediately."
Hammond stresses the importance of
seeing the truck first hand, and says IDS'
willingness to let Hubtex clients visit its site
– even, in one case, a direct competitor –
has been crucial in securing further orders.
"We do produce videos but there is nothing
like getting on the platform to convince a
customer. Unlike many products on the
market, the way we have to sell the product
is to give the customer an idea of price to
start with. Most of the time, they baulk at
the cost. But when you break it down to a
weekly amount and show the labour and
damage savings – and can verify that with
a third party such as IDS – we tend to move
swiftly onto the next stage."
At IDS, the laminate picking platform and
other Hubtex picking platforms (or 'barges',
used to pick worktops) were specified to
reduce damage: once laminate or
worktops have been scratched, they are
worthless. But the fringe benefits are
substantial, according to national
operations and logistics manager, Dave
Bates.
"The platform has led to over 10 per cent
improved accuracies of picking, better
service and transfer levels and products are
now checked while picking out of location,"
says Bates. "Damage levels have decreased
by over 30 per cent and we've also
experienced less damage to the racking and
the property."
As well as a reduction in manual
handling injuries and related absenteeism,
Bates says picking staff morale has
improved, because they are working in
teams rather than on their own.
Given that construction and its related
industries are feeling some of the worst
effects of the credit crunch, Bates says such
efficiencies and cost savings are
particularly welcome. However he says
while the sector on the whole is down, the
'comfort eating' factor is helping to keep
orders coming in: the expansion plans of
fast food restaurants and low price eateries
demand plenty of laminate. That said, he
says the firm is unlikely to make further
investments in MHE in 2009.
Hammond is also realistic in the level of
business he expects to win this year. But
says when the banks eventually find some
level of stability and lending returns, the
construction sector will regain its
momentum.
"There's a massive backlog of houses to
be built in the UK and the constructionrelated
industries will pick up as soon as
that happens. So while the market is quiet
I'm doing as much homework in that area
as possible: speaking to potential
customers, their customers, the trade
associations; laying the groundwork for the
upturn. Having said that, this year could be
better than 2008 for us – we're in the
process of signing a deal with a major
logistics company at the moment – which
shows that some customers are
strengthening their positions at a time
when their competitors might not be able
to afford it." More articles from Hubtex (UK) Ltd: | 
