The Material Handling Technology Committee (MHTC) met Sept. 18–19 in Peoria, Ill., and toured Caterpillar’s headquarters. The tour consisted of three plant sites that highlighted the production process in manufacturing world-class equipment used in a variety of industries. Caterpillar’s Ron Schultz gave a presentation on equipment emissions to begin the business part of the meeting. A round table discussion followed on blast-resistant front windscreens conducted by Caterpillar’s Don Smith, who asked the MHTC for information on window glass improvements. Other AIST Technology Committees — Packaging, Shipping and Transportation Methods (PSTMTC); Safety and Health (SHTC); and Electric Steelmaking (ESTC) — were contacted to provide Caterpillar with insight into pulpit/cab window advancements. Doug Niksch, MHTC papers chair, discussed AISTech 2009 sessions, noting that abstracts from Peter Fulcher and Josh Swank had been accepted. Ron Schultz was also invited to make a presention regarding material handling at AISTech. Jim Phillips, representing the Association of Equipment Management Professionals (AEMP), spoke on “The Certified Equipment Manager and the Equipment Triangle.” This presentation will be considered for AISTech 2009. MHTC chair Gregg Bond and Donnie Spencer, chair of the PSTMTC, have agreed to hold a joint session at AISTech 2009. Three members from each committee will form a discussion panel. Dave Hilvers and Phil Rixstine represented AIST’s SHTC during a discussion of the Safety.Cat.com Web site. The MHTC mission statement was adopted and approved. The quick communication of any safety-related incident among the MHTC members will be accomplished by sending an e-mail alert, in hopes of preventing a similar safety accident. The next MHTC meeting will be Feb. 5–6, 2009 in Ontario, Calif., with a tour of California Steel hosted by Richard Montano.

The Material Handling Operating Committee (MHOC) met at AISTech 2008 in Pittsburgh on May 6. Jason Holmes of Nucor Steel–Berkeley welcomed all committee members and reviewed the status of the AIST/AISI committee integration. The new committee name is the Material Handling Technology Committee (MHTC). The MHTC roster stands at 54 members, with increased participation expected from the integration of AISI members. Two MHTC panel discussions are already planned for AISTech 2009: “Material Handling Road Construction” and “Material Handling Safety Systems.” Paper presentations will include the following topics: RFID recognition (The Timken Co.); thermal image detection (Levy Co.); fleet management strategies (Nucor); leasing, buying or renting material handling equipment (The Timken Co.); and scrap handling advancements (Cableform). Election of MHTC committee officers for 2008–2009 resulted in Gregg Bond of Timken being elected as chair, Everette Davis of Nucor Steel–Berkeley as vice chair, and Doug Niksch of Mi-Jack as papers chair. Future joint programming with the Packaging, Shipping, and Transportation Methods Technology Committee will be investigated to schedule a possible round table discussion at AISTech 2009. Malcom Dunbar of Levy Co. helped arrange the next MHTC meeting on Sept. 18–19, during which the MHTC will tour the Caterpillar headquarters in Peoria, Ill. Mr. Holmes was presented with a plaque for his committee leadership over the previous year. He now serves on the AIST board of directors.

February 21 , 2008 - The Material Handling Operating Committee (MHOC) met Feb. 21 in Charleston, S.C. AISTech 2008 presenters were discussed, and a fifth paper was added to the single MHOC session on Monday, May 5. A safety presentation was given by Randy Cooper, Nucor Steel–Berkeley’s safety coordinator. Cooper serves as vice chair on SMA’s Safety Committee. AIST and AISI committee integration was discussed, with anticipation for the Fall 2008 committee meeting. Nominations for committee officers were held, and voting will occur during the next meeting, which will be held during AISTech 2008 in Pittsburgh. Producer involvement was discussed, with plans to encourage increased participation from ArcelorMittal, U. S. Steel, Nucor, Steel Dynamics and Gerdau Ameristeel. Open discussion covered topics on bar coding, inventory movement, coil handling and mobile data communications. On Friday, Feb. 22, the MHOC toured Nucor Steel–Berkeley’s shipping facilities.

October 25-26 , 2007 - The Material Handling Operating Committee met for a meeting and a tour of Gallatin Steel on Oct. 25–26. The committee chair, Jason Holmes, opened the meeting and welcomed the first-time attendees: Rich Montano of California Steel, Dave Bartlett of ESW, Eric Cunningham of CSX Transportation, Mike Pauley of Goodyear OTR Dept., and Bryan Niksch of Mi-Jack Products. The committee reviewed the available abstracts for AISTech 2008 and developed a session with a theme of material tracking. The following technical presentations were given: “Custom Industrial Training” by Mr. Bartlett, “Overview of CSX Transportation” by Mr. Cunningham, “Off-the-Road Tire Industry Update and Maintenance Tips” by Mr. Pauley, and “Overview of Gallatin Steel’s Material Handling Organization” by Rick Jackson. The committee was given a tour of Gallatin Steel’s material handling facilities by Mr. Jackson, including the pier, raw material yard, and the coil field and the machinery involved at each location. The next meeting is scheduled to be located at Nucor’s Berkeley facility Feb. 21–22, 2008. Please check the Material Handling Operating Committee section of the website for up-to-date information about the upcoming meeting as well as the other information about the committee.

May 7, 2007 - The Material Handling Operating Committee (MHOC) met at AISTech 2007 on May 7 in Indianapolis, Ind. Chris Graham of Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) Structural and Rail Division welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked them for their time. The MHOC established its mission statement as “To provide a forum where the safe, efficient handling of steel-related materials can be discussed. To create a place where new technologies are explored. To operate a committee whose members will find innovative ways to reduce costs, positively impacting the bottom line of their companies.” The new officers for 2007–2008 were elected: Jason Holmes of Nucor Steel–Berkeley is the new chair, Greg Bond of The Timken Co. is the new vice chair, and Mr. Graham is the new papers chair. The meeting included a very interesting and informative presentation by Rick Jackson of Gallatin Steel concerning the safety program at that company. The committee presented Chris Graham with a plaque for their appreciation of his leadership and service to the committee as chair during the past year. The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for the fall of 2007 at Gallatin Steel in Ghent, Ky.

January 17, 2007 - The Material Handling Operating Committee (MHOC) met in Fort Wayne, Ind., on Jan. 17, 2007. Committee chair Chris Graham, of Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) Structural and Rail Division, began the meeting with introductions. Gary Morris, IT director at SDI, explained SDI’s experiences and difficulties with tracking and shipping of beams using RF technology. The company is looking into the possibility of using cellular technology because of the problems experienced with RF interference. A cellular tower is on-site, so coverage is not a problem. The next agenda item was safety. This led into a presentation by Jim Alesia, SDI safety coordinator, on how to improve and champion a meaningful safety program. Mr. Alesia offered many great ideas and stressed the need for upper management to drive the safety programs in their organizations. The next presentation was on remote control train operations by Carl Brown of Cattron-Theimeg. His presentation covered remote control configurations and how they are used in conjunction with current safety practices. Jeremy Cronkhite, metallurgist at SDI, presented the history and an overview of the SDI structural and rail mill facility. Next was an informative presentation on digital DC controls by Andrew Thexton of Cableform. A tour of SDI’s beam and rail mill, as well as the new rail welding line, took place on Jan. 18. The MHOC thanks Chris Graham and SDI for hosting the tour. The next meeting of the MHOC will be Monday May 7, 2007, at AISTech 2007 in Indianapolis, Ind.

May 2, 2006 - The Material Handling Operating Committee met on May 2 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Cleveland, Ohio. The committee nominated and appointed its 2006–2007 officers. The possibility of having a round table and four or five presentations by suppliers at the next meeting was discussed.

October 23-24, 2005 - The Material Handling Operating Committee met in Charleston, S.C., on Oct. 23–24, 2005. The meeting began with Goodyear providing a presentation on “Tire Usage in the Steel Industry.” Goodyear gave an overview of tire availability as well as some maintenance tips to extend tire life. MultiServ gave a presentation on “GPS Inventory Tracking” to improve planning, tracking and efficiency. The committee discussed benchmarking in the areas of fuel consumption and capital projects. They also discussed sponsoring a joint technical session on automated logistics and transportation at AISTech 2006. On the second day, Rob Roberson provided a tour of Nucor Steel–Berkeley for committee members. The next committee meeting will be held at AISTech 2006 in May at the Cleveland Convention Center.

May 10, 2005 - The Material Handling Operating Committee held their initial meeting on May 10 at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, N.C. The members elected Kevin Moriarity as Chair and Peter O’Hagan as Vice Chair. The meeting focused on the topic of committee membership. Several members provided suggestions on how to promote the benefits of the committee. The committee has developed a detailed agenda on benchmarking for their next meeting, which will be held in October in Charleston, S.C.