So it looks as though my persistent and highly motivated Marketing Manager has won our battle and convinced me that writing a BLOG is a good thing. Truth be known, I have been investigating the “BLOG’ing” exercise, and I am starting to see its value. It is with this feeling that I pound the keys and produce my first BLOG.
Talking and promoting Handling Specialty is both an easy and enjoyable exercise for me. I must have fallen in love with this business…after all, we just turned 50 years old, and I’ve been here for 30 of them. It never gets boring in the engineered-to-order business. Each project is a new journey full of new challenges and more lessons to be learned. The wisdom from one job is utilized in the next, but there never seems to be an end to the learning curve.
With courage in tow, we continue to carry the chaos of customization into a diversified group of markets. Working at Handling Specialty is a lot like cooking ten different meals concurrently in the same kitchen, but they are all made to be ready at different times — twin 50-foot scissor lifts for the military, 30 self-propelled carriers for automotive, eight spray booth man-lifts for aerospace, four locomotive jacks for rail, a ladle lift and some stage lifts….all in one 50,000 square foot kitchen. Did I mention that each will employ different specifications, motion requirements, power and control needs and, of course, different customer destinations -all around the globe?
It was quite evident in our early “customizing” years that we needed to be a process-driven organization. There had to be a systematic method of putting multiple projects through the same trough every day. Our project cycle used to be quite simple: specifications, quote, order, engineering, manufacturing, and shipment.
Today we have many other key disciplines in play so that we capture every detail no matter how busy our “kitchen” is. In my 30 years with Handling Specialty, I remember the days when the “oops” index was directly proportional to how busy we were. Today that is not acceptable, and we have rules to keep it that way.
Those key additions to our process include conceptual engineering, sales-to-engineering kick-offs, approval/design reviews, engineering-to-manufacturing kick-offs, ATPs – Acceptance Test Plans, FATs – Factory Acceptance Tests, installation and commissioning and ongoing preventive maintenance.
“Handling Specialty’s womb to tomb methodology”
This “womb to tomb” methodology is the backbone of our business, but it doesn’t stand alone. It goes hand-in-hand with accurate resource loading to ensure delivery compliance and client satisfaction. And remember those lessons learned I spoke of…..well, a project is not complete until we sit down after the journey and produce the lessons learned report….humbling at times but invaluable forever.
So there it is….. my first BLOG. It was a less onerous task than I made it out to be. In fact, I am already thinking of my next topic. I am glad to answer any questions that get posted in the comments section of this blog. If there is a particular topic that would interest you about Handling Specialty, I would be pleased to add it to our list.
Thanks for reading.
