A new "picture book" from Southworth Products Corp. uses amusing caricatures to portray a serious dilemma facing many manufacturers: either increase production or move the plant overseas for cheaper labor.
Entitled "Matt Handling and the Lost Link to Productivity," the colorful 12-page comic book-style brochure tells the brief story of a mid-level manager at a generic assembly plant with good employees and the best production machines. The manager concludes that the only way to increase production is to feed the machines faster, but how? Bending, lifting and reaching are not efficient ways for workers to retrieve and reposition parts, he comes to realize. In addition to wasting time, such activity takes a toll on workers. The solution comes in the form of Southworth ergonomic material handling equipment that can increase productivity and reduce fatigue and injuries at the same time.
The booklet includes photographs of container tilters, lift tables, turntables, palletizers and lift trucks and directs readers to the company’s Web site (www.southworthproducts.com) for more tips. Southworth offers a variety of models, powered and manual, to accommodate any application.