Industrial Bridges

This was an article on another blog.  The blog is about trucks so it give the info from a different perspective.  It is spot on.  The site is www.ledheavytruckparts.info
Wheel risers are small ramps that go under the wheels of trucks. They are used whenever docks are higher than the backs of the trucks being loaded. In the world of loading dock equipment, almost everything goes up more easily-and more safely– than it goes down. If you have a 48 inch high dock and a 52 inch high trailer bed, you don’t need a wheel riser or any other special equipment. The long side of your dockboard, also known as the ramping portion, goes on the dock itself. The other end, called the break over because it flattens out approximately 11 inches back from the end of the board, goes into the truck. At the point where it becomes horizontal, fork trucks have a smooth transition over an even grade which is more stable for transit and safe for personnel.
But what do you do if the heights of the dock and the truck trailer bed are reversed? Many smaller vehicles, like city bobtails, can be as low as 47″. Wheel risers have to be placed under these trucks in order to make them higher than the docks. Otherwise, the dockboard has to be reversed, with the sloping side of the board going into the back of the truck. This is both unsafe and in many cases impractical, because if the truck is full there will not be enough room for the board to go into the trailer bed.
During the course of the day, loading dock crews are driving fork trucks up the dockboard at an average of 2″ into an over the road trailer. If on occasions a smaller truck pulls up and you have to reverse your dockboard, you don’t really need a wheel riser provided you secure the board on both ends. However, if throughout the day you are CONSISTENTLY having to go down from the dock to the truck, wheel risers are needed to elevate the truck high enough to create an incline equivalent to that of an over the road truck. Smaller trucks that are approximately 3″ lower than the dock can be raised to an equivalent height using 5″ wheel risers. This will then allow you to keep the long side of the board inside the building and position the ramp as it is meant to work. If you need a wheel riser larger than this, we have many models.
Manufactured in both steel and aluminum they come in a variety of sizes and capacities that start at 30,000 lbs. We have units as high as 12″ in height that you can order from your material handling specialist, and widths range from 18″ to 24″ across to provide a stable, sturdy support for truck tires.
Wheel risers can be permanently or temporarily positioned in your dock. Permanent positioning is generally recommended if most of the inbound trucks coming in are lower than your dock. Talk to your account manager about these efficient and affordable ramps that help minimize the risk of worker injury and damage to loading equipment.

A mobile yard ramp or portable forklift ramp can be moved around on the jobsite.  Hence the name.  There are a couple of ways to move them.  Here at Bluff we offer either a “tow bar” or a “ramp-clamp” included in the cost of the mobile yardramp itself.

A tow bar is attached to the rear of the forklift truck to the apron on the yardramp.  It allows the driver to pull the ramp over a longer distance.  The speeds are very low but movement from one side of the yard to the other is made easier with this attachment.

A ramp-clamp is attached to the apron of the ramp and then the fork tip is inserted thru the opening and a clamp screw is tightened.  This connection can articulate and allows the driver more precise movement when moving the unit into position in the trailer or at the dock.

This is a reprint from the MHEDA Edge

In the late 1960s, I stormed into the office of Ed Quintana, then the owner of Cisco Material Handling in Dallas, Texas. Ed was my boss and I was venting to him. I had drawn a layout for a warehouse operation where I had saved a considerable amount of space for a customer only to have them push out my ideas to everyone for competitive bids. I told Ed I was going to start charging for my layout work. He replied, “Good luck with that.”

That part of the business has not changed.  Material handling dealer salespeople study their customers’ operations and make suggestions only to see others sell the products that bring those suggestions to life. It is not right, but it is not going to change.

At the heart of the problem is that the enduser does not see or understand your stake in their business. They aren’t loyal to you, because you haven’t sufficiently shown them why they should be. Through the years, I have had a lot of good customers and a few great customers and I wondered what made the great ones so great? Why couldn’t I earn their loyalty back then? Why can I now?

To find the answer, I started by looking back at how I started off as a salesman. In the beginning: I was not an expert at what I talked about to them. Many times I was just a brochure delivery boy. Too many times in my early career, I had nothing to add to the conversation once I handed over the literature.

Many times I realized (too late) that the product I proposed didn’t really fit the application.  I just wanted to sell something and move on to the next deal.  I really did not understand the customer’s problem. I had an idea, but not a true understanding. I hadn’t studied it. I wasn’t able to think outside the box because I hadn’t examined the box closely enough. I worried too much about the competition.What were they bidding? Was their solution cheaper than mine? How much can I cut? I should’ve been focusing on what I could bring to the table.

5 Keys to Earning Customer Loyalty

I wish that I could say that overnight I changed my thinking and started cashing big checks. The truth is, that didn’t happen right away. However, with the help of some good teachers and a willingness to learn on my part, I was able to develop a high-quality, loyal customer base. The following are five lessons that enabled me to do so:

1. Study problems before you develop solutions. Sometimes, the customer calls and says, “I need a particular product; get me a price.” It is hard to be expert there, but it can be done. Listen to what your customer wants, but also use your own expertise to determine if what they want is what is best for them.

2. Study products. Knowledge is paramount. Read everything you can find about the products that you sell. Talk to your customers’ employees. Find out what has worked for them and what hasn’t. Many times the customer thinks he needs to come up with the solution rather than rely on you. That shouldn’t be the case. You need to have a broad knowledge of your inventory before you can truly be a collaborative partner.

3. Make suggestions about process or safety before you are asked. Send a written outline of a problem or a potential danger you see in their operation. Offer a solution complete with a cost. Just because someone doesn’t ask you for a quote doesn’t mean they will not consider one.

4. Operate the way your customer asks of you. Technology has us communicating many different ways, but the customer gets to pick which one to use. If they prefer e-mail, but you’re a face-to-face guy, you’re going to have to type away.

5. Look at the seams. In any operation, a great deal of time and money is spent on systems and process. Many, if not most, of those are package deals and work the way they are designed. It is where one process intersects another that there is opportunity for a smart salesperson. Sometimes the gains are in fewer rejected parts or safety issues or wear on equipment. Most of the time, it is a problem the customer has decided he just has to live with. If you can fix that, you open yourself up to a world of possibilities.

If you can turn yourself into a worthy partner in your customer’s business, if he thinks that you are truly interested in his success, you will find that he roots for you. He finds ways for you to win because that is what you have done for him.

Well I took the summer off and have been thinking about what I should post for my first topic back.  I wanted it to be something profound so as you read it you would think….it was worth the wait.  Well hold that thought for my next post.

I came home to a mailbox full of junk mail.  I’m talking about 5″ of advertising that went directly thru my house into the garage and into the recycling bin without being open.  I was sitting at the table calculating the cost of producing all that and sending it to my address and what a waste it was…with people starving in Africa when I heard a thud on my front porch.

A plastic bag containing a plastic wrapping containing a 568 page full book size phone book has been dropped on my walk.  I speak to the young man as he walks away…no response.  I speak louder…still no response and then I see the earphones hanging from his neck and realize I can’t match his volume.  I pick up the 3 to 4 lb bundle and go back inside and start to calculate cost.  At this time I am only mildly irritated, but as I read the advertising on the plastic bag it hits a nerve….and I start to connect the dots.

There are small business owners that are being “held up” by the advertising salesmen for the phone company.  “Be in our book or “miss the boat”.  Your competitor is here and he is increasing his spend over last year…so you better double yours.” I know the drill because for years these guys brutalized me in my business.

But back to my calculations……..after extracting much needed capitol from small business they then produce this bloated dinosaur and spend money on distribution…we are talking warehousing, transportation, more warehousing, more transportation…ending with the less than minimum wage youth walking across my lawn.  The cost is enormous and then it is delivered to someone who doesn’t want it …will not use it.  It is obscene.

The thing that tipped me over the edge as I walked (rolled) it thru the house to the recycle bin was what was written on the bag.  “To order any directory visit our website directorystore.com”.  They know how to do this the right way but they are going to hold on to old way until the marketplace punishes them.  If there are people who rely on paper directories, and I am sure there are customers for this (although their numbers are diminishing rapidly) why not send a postcard with the message that is on the bag.  Write here or go to for your free phone book.

I know why………because next year when they go in to pressure the small business owner about his program they want to quote how many books they published last year and tell them about the price increase for this year.

I can get any phone number I want with a couple of clicks.  I can spend my advertising money in ways that target a customer base that is interested in what I have and what I am doing.  Verizon…and all you others….the clock is ticking on you.

Just as I pitch this mess into the recycle bin I notice something else written on the bag……”To avoid danger of suffocation, please keep this bag away from babies and children.”……WELL HELL!

It is a very different marketplace today than just 12 short months ago.  Even lower material costs cannot induce people to turn loose of the Purchase Order.  On the near horizon there seems to be an uptick in quote activity  That is good but will it proceed to the order stage?  Only time will tell.We, at Bluff Manufacturing, surveyed our dealer customers.  If we keep our pricing competitive, our delivery fast and our customer service high…..what can we do to help you?

Overwhelmingly, the response was …send us leads.  In response to that we have reassigned our sales team toward lead generation.  Derrick, Tim, Harry and Russell have changed their routine.  They are spending less time in the airports and more time in activities designed to tell the public about Bluff and our products.  The thought is, as interest develops we will hook those end-users up with a Bluff partner in their area who can “add value” for them.  Not rocket science but pretty easy to measure.

At the same time we are setting up a training program for you dealer salespeople.  While it is nice to fly to your town, buy donuts and show up at your place of business at 7:00 am for a 30 minute training session….sometimes it is not a good value for us or our dealers.  Try this on for size……

You hire a new salesperson.  He or she is indoctrinated into your way of business and your processes.  At the appropriate time you schedule an hour with the Bluff Trainer for that person.  Using the new technologies, we will hook up with them on the web and go over all our products, how to sell them….discuss some typical applications (supported by photos and videos)….describe how to use the Bluff Customer Service environment to your companies best advantage.  After, we will touch base with you to schedule other training and make sure we are doing our part in being a good vendor.  What you have now is a salesperson (or CSR) who is “expert” in a line of products, who knows how to navigate the system for maximum advantage and will become an evangelist for this profit stream in your organization.  WIN   WIN

There is a new day dawning, “What can we do for you?”

 As of Febuary 1, 2009, all of us at Bluff Manufacturing, Inc., headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, are proud to expand our standard powder coat offering from the highly successful safety yellow to include 5 additional colors.  These new colors include orange, red, blue, green and black.  All in a beautiful gloss finish.

 

 

 

 

Our success since 2004 in powder coating our entire line of safety products has encouraged us to broaden our horizons by expanding the color options available to our customers at no extra charge.  Over the years we have made happy customers across the U.S. including Harley Davidson Motor Company, the U.S. Mint and Rolls Royce just to name a few.  We look forward to many opportunities to continue producing high quality, powder coated products… and to seeing something besides yellow before our eyes.  Our entire product line can be found at http://www.bluffmanufacturing.com

 

I just finished reading “Hot, Flat, and Crowded - Why we need a Green Revolution - And How it Can Renew America” by Thomas L. Friedman.  I had read “The World is Flat” when it came out back in 2005 and had waited anxiously for the release of the new book earlier this winter.  I am not selling books here, and there is probably no-one on the planet that I disagree politically with more than Friedman.  But I will give him this …he is one of the great thinkers of our time.

He holds out that while a “green revolution” is needed, most commercial concerns are throwing a “green party”.  Not really doing anything but taking credit for helping to clean up the planet.  With that admonition we at Bluff are doing something that is a major deviation from business as usual and we ask you our dealers and customers to join with us.

Having been a dealer for many years prior to joining the Bluff team, I had a literature room with shelves full of slick glossy literature furnished by the companies whose products I sold.  A stack of 50 each of 10 different models might represent 2,500 pages of printing.  Multiply that by 15 to 25 product lines and at any given time my stock of printing might reach 50,000 to 75,000 pages.  At a moments notice a model change or a change in address or any number of reasons might be cause to trash a model or a whole line.  Filling a dumpster or at least a 32 gallon Brute.  This is waste and there is a cost to waste well beyond the obvious.

I am not politically an environmentalist, but was taught from an early age to respect my surroundings and take good care of my tools.  It does not matter if you and I can agree on the cause of problems, but we must recognize when a problem exists and do the right thing.  We at Bluff have put our heads together and decided to do what we can to offer the best customer service yet not be wasteful.

Bluff will print a four page “full line” catalog with photos of the different product families that we manufacture and sell.  That general document will be the only printing we will do in 2009.  It will be distributed freely to our dealer family and on request from our industrial partners.  The individual product models will each have a professionally designed single sheet with photos and application benefits on the front and drawing and specifications on the back.  Each has been designed to be visually pleasing but not use up a cartridge of ink each time one is printed.  These will be available in our Literature Room as PDF files.  Click to view or right-click and “save target as” gets the right piece of literature in your hands in an instant.  Our price list will be a PDF file and be available to our dealers upon request.

It will cut costs and those savings will allow us to build more and better products and keep our costs low.  What a great side benefit of doing the right thing.  We currently have a good supply of all Bluff printed literature and will continue to fill requests with those until supplies are exhausted.  Waste not - want not.

Together the American people will solve our own problems - then the government will follow us.

Find out more about the books….Thomas L. Friedman http://www.thomaslfriedman.com/  

�