Material Handling Technology Committee Activities

The MHTC and TLTC met jointly 19–21 March 2024, Tampa, Fla., USA.
The meeting began with a tour of Port Tampa Bay, setting the stage for subsequent discussion. Attendees were welcomed by Chance Suggs and Mike Leard, who opened the meeting with insightful remarks and emphasized the importance of collaboration. Key agenda items included finalizing AISTech 2024 sessions, officer nominations and reviewing previous meeting minutes. Discussion topics ranged from membership engagement strategies to safety considerations, highlighting the committees’ dedication to fostering a safe and inclusive environment.

The joint AIST and Association of American Railroads Open Top Loading Rules meeting marked a continuation of the collaborative efforts within the industry.

MHTC and TLTC Tour of Port Tampa Bay

Mike Leard (left) presented Wade Elliot (right) with a plaque of appreciation for hosting the MHTC’s and TLTC’s tour of Port Tampa Bay.

The MHTC, TLTC and CTC met jointly 1 November 2023, Corpus Christi, Texas, USA.
The MHTC and TLTC dedicated their meeting time to planning for the upcoming Material Handling Training Workshop. This essential workshop is set to take place on 15–16 October 2024, in Houston, Texas, USA. Concurrently, they mapped out the logistics for their spring meeting with the Association of American Railroads scheduled for March 2024.
Meanwhile, the CTC delved into the status of updates to various AIST Technical Reports. The committee’s diligent efforts ensure the continuous advancement of crane technology.

The three committees united for comprehensive presentations on rigging, loading and securing practices. The collective expertise and collaboration witnessed during this joint meeting contribute significantly to the ongoing advancements in material handling, transportation and logistics, and cranes technology.

The next day, all three committees enjoyed an insightful tour of Steel Dynamics Inc. – Flat Roll Group Southwest-Sinton Division.

MHTC chair Mike Leard (left) presented a plaque of appreciation to Thad McClone (right) for hosting MHTC, TLTC and CTC members for a plant tour of Steel Dynamics Inc. — Flat Roll Group Southwest-Sinton Division on 2 November 2023.
Matthew Leard (left) and John Marsh (right) presented the MHTC service plaque to Jesse DeSpain (center).

The MHTC met 9 May 2023, Detroit, MI, USA.
The following officers were elected:

  • Chair and Digitalization Liaison: Michael Leard - Pannier Corp.

  • Vice Chair: John Marsh - California Steel Industries

  • Papers Chair: Keith Gallup - California Steel Industries

  • Young Professional Chair: Joseph Frederick - Toplift North America

  • Education Co-Chairs: Everette Davis and Larry Guinn - Nucor Steel–Berkeley

  • Decarbonization Liaison: Laurence Cox - PGT Trucking Inc.

Jesse DeSpain presented a plaque of appreciation to Don Bryant for hosting the MHTC’s tour of Steel Dynamics Inc. – Flat Roll Group Columbus Division (left to right): Anthony Nath, Jason Thompson, DeSpain, Scott Serene, Bryant, Jan Persson, Michael Leard, Keith Gallup, John Marsh and J.D. Woodward.

The MHTC met 20 September 2022, Louisville, Miss., USA
The meeting began with a tour of Steel Dynamics Inc. – Flat Roll Group Columbus Division.
The afternoon started with Jesse DeSpain welcoming the attendees and thanking Taylor Machine for hosting. John Marsh reviewed the abstracts that were accepted for AISTech 2023 and reported that he will work with Transportation & Logistics Technology Committee’s paper chair to organize them into two sessions. The AISTech 2024 Call for Papers text was discussed and approved.
The group had a discussion on truck loading safety and the securing of loads across different mills. They also discussed the onboarding of new employees and what training is recommended.
Matthew Hillyer of Taylor Machine gave a presentation on their future projects, including the electrification of their big machines. DeSpain presented on the utility task vehicles Nucor Steel–Texas is using.

Chance Suggs (left) and Michael Leard (right) presented
 the MHTC service plaque to Jesse DeSpain (center).

The MHTC met 17 May 2022, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
The following officers were elected:

  • Chair: Jesse DeSpain  /  Nucor Steel–Texas

  • Vice Chair: Michael Leard  /  Pannier Corp.

  • Papers Chair

  • Digital Transformation Liaison: Michael Leard  /  Pannier Corp.

  • Education Co-Chairs: Everette Davis and Larry Guinn  /  Nucor Steel–Berkeley

  • Decarbonization Liaison: Laurence Cox  /  PGT Trucking Inc.

The MHTC met 1 March 2022, virtual meeting.
The group discussed the latest Steel Industry Fatalities report, noting that most of the recorded fatalities had to do with mobile equipment and trucks. Next, the six presentations submitted for both the MHTC and the Transportation & Logistics Technology Committee (TLTC) were discussed and organized into two joint sessions at AISTech 2022.
Nominations for committee leadership for the 2022–2023 term were discussed. Officer elections will take place at the MHTC’s next meeting at AISTech 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pa., USA.
Finally, the attendees heard a presentation from Larry Cox of PGT Trucking. Cox shared his insight on truck driver safety at steel mills as well as the current trucking shortage.

The SHTC and MHTC met 3 November 2021, Fort Worth, Texas, USA.
The group had their business meeting in the morning followed by a tour in the afternoon and a reception with The Making, Shaping, and Treating of Steel: 101 conference attendees.
During their business meeting, the committee chairs Justin Hoover of Steel Dynamics Inc. (SHTC) and Jesse DeSpain of Nucor Steel–Texas (MHTC) welcomed the group to their first in-person meeting since early 2020. The group had a lengthy safety discussion that covered steel industry fatalities, NASCAR lighting examples, tactical parking, as well as a focus on hand-related injuries and incident management programs.
The group also reviewed each committee’s AISTech session development, awards and upcoming Technology Training Conferences, including the Congress on Safety in Engineering and Industry 2022 on 15–17 August 2022 and the planning of an AIST Safety & Health Conference for fall 2023.

Larry Guinn (right) presented the MHTC service plaque to Bruce Zimmerman (left) at AISTech 2021.

The MHTC met 30 June 2021, Nashville, TN USA.
The following officers were elected:

  • Chair: Jesse DeSpain, Nucor Steel–Texas

  • Vice Chair: Will Jones, Nucor Steel Tuscaloosa Inc.

  • Papers Chair and Digital Transformation Liaison: Michael Leard, Pannier Corp.

  • Education Co-Chairs: Everette Davis and Larry Guinn, Nucor Steel–Berkeley

The MHTC held a Virtual meeting 9 February 2021.
MHTC chair Bruce Zimmerman opened the committee meeting and reviewed the current membership numbers. The group then discussed latest Steel Industry Fatalities Report, followed by a roundtable discussion.
The MHTC’s AISTech 2021 technical sessions were reviewed. The committee will have a session on Tuesday afternoon and a joint session on Wednesday afternoon with the Safety & Health Technology Committee.
Nominations for committee officers for 2021–2022 were reviewed; candidates will be officially voted in at AISTech 2021 in Nashville, Tenn., USA,
The group then went over plans for the next MHTC-sponsored Technology Training Conference, which is scheduled for fall 2022.
Presentations:

  • “Mill-Duty Laser Measurement Integrated With Material Handling Equipment,” by Steven Lubeck, Laser-View Technologies.

  • “Railroad Auto Switching,” by Jesse DeSpain, Nucor Steel–Texas.

The MHTC and TLTC held a joint virtual meeting 6 October 2020.
The group held a roundtable discussion about the current industry fatalities statistics.
Michael Leard, Digital Transformation liaison, discussed the committees’ needs for digital transformation. The group would like to see content on 3D printers, simulation, machine learning and autonomous vehicles.
Will Jones and Chance Suggs led the discussion on AISTech 2021 planning. The committees are planning one joint session and received several volunteers for session chairs.
The committees are planning on holding a joint training conference in 2022. Larry Guinn and Everette Davis, training conference chairs, will be spearheading the effort and organized a group to help plan it.
Presentations:

  • “Steeled for Safety: Visual Aid Technologies to Increase Safety With Material Handling,” by Chris Machut, HoistCam by Netarus.

  • “Modern Logistics With Automatic Packing Lines, YMS and ASRS,” by Jagannathan Rajagopalan, Pesmel.

  • “Restricted No-Fly Zone Management for Overhead Cranes,” by Steve Lubeck, Laser-View Technologies.

The MHTC and TLTC held a joint virtual meeting 6 May 2020.
The MHTC and TLTC held a virtual joint meeting with MHTC chair Bruce Zimmerman and TLTC chair Kevin Ray serving as hosts. The mission statements were reviewed and approved for both committees. The committees have organized two sessions at AISTech 2020, which were reviewed as well.
During the meeting the group elected their officers for 2020–2021. The following officers were elected by MHTC:

  • Chair: Bruce Zimmerman, Nucor Steel–Indiana.

  • Vice chair: Jesse DeSpain, Nucor Steel–Texas.

  • Papers chair: Will Jones, Nucor Steel Tuscaloosa Inc.

  • Education co-chairs: Everette Davis and Larry Guinn, Nucor Steel–Berkeley.

  • Young Professional chair: Davis Taylor, Taylor Machine Works Inc.

The following officers were elected by the TLTC:

  • Chair: Kevin Ray, Nucor-Yamato Steel Co.

  • Vice chair: Allan Welch, Olympic Steel.

  • Papers chair: Chance Suggs, Berg Pipe.

  • Education co-chairs: Everette Davis and Larry Guinn, Nucor Steel–Berkeley.

  • OTLRC chair: Rance Wetzel, American Cast Iron Pipe Co.

  • Young Professional chair: Drake Snarski, AK Steel – Middletown Works.

The committees then discussed their objectives for the upcoming year, which includes the development of a Technology Training course scheduled for fall 2021. MHTC and TLTC education co-chairs, Larry Guinn and Everette Davis, along with the Safety & Health Technology Committee, will take the lead and help to organize this course. A roundtable discussion followed in which attendees discussed how they are handling the COVID-19 pandemic, how their plants are adapting and how they are managing company travel restrictions.

The MHTC met 4–5 February 2020, Mobile, Ala., USA.
The Material Handling Technology Committee began its meeting with a review of the 2019 Steel Industry Fatalities report compiled by AIST. The report sparked a roundtable discussion on ways to improve safety in material handling operations.
MHTC’s AISTech 2020 sessions were finalized and the roles of session chair and papers chair were re-emphasized.
Nominations for the 2020–2021 MHTC officers were approved. The final vote will take place at AISTech 2020.
Jesse DeSpain, Will Jones and Ken Timmings presented an overview of the MHTC’s Fall 2019 meeting at the Panama Canal.
DeSpain then presented on a new railroad weigh-in motion scale project at Nucor Steel–Texas.
The committee wrapped up the first day of the meeting by previewing its May 2020 meeting at AISTech 2020. The MHTC also brainstormed future meeting locations and potential joint meetings with other Technology Committees.
The meeting concluded the next day with a tour of the Alabama State Port Authority.

MHTC vice chair Jesse DeSpain (left), Nucor Steel–Texas, presented a plaque of appreciation to Mike Richardson (right), Alabama Steel Terminals, for hosting the MHTC’s tour of the Alabama State Port Authority.