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| The generation game |
| Written by Richard Howes |
| Wednesday, 24 September 2008 11:43 |
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KOLO Hoisting and Rigging Handbook author Lisa Olver has fired a warning shot to the overhead lifting business: work together or pay the ultimate price.
My comments come following Gary Forger's (Material Handling Industry of America senior vice president of professional development) recent column in Overhead Crane & Hoist regarding the generation gap in the US market. Here are some facts that should get your attention, begun Forger:
"Welcome to the world of disruptive demographics. No one will be spared," he writes. There are baby boomers' children who are ready to enter the workforce. They appear to be very book-smart but, naturally, lack experience in the field.  Generally, supervisors are aged 40-60-years-old and have had to pay for their education, stood in long line-ups at the unemployment office and paid 16% for their first mortgage from the bank. This age group is having trouble dealing with those who have never, or rarely, paid for their own education, have never seen an unemployment line and have mortgage rates at about 5-7%. It is perceived that these 20-something kids have had better opportunities and are better prepared for the age of computers. But working with them will test people's teaching skills and patience. Take a young certified crane operator and an older, experienced rigger as an example. The crane operator has, say, 8,000 hours of experience while the rigger has 30 years under their belt. In industry, the crane operator has the final say regarding the safety of the lift. If they feel the lift is unsafe they must stop and rectify the situation before continuing. But the rigger has the greater experience and if they feel the lift is unsafe, they must also be encouraged to bring their concerns to the young operator. If the rigger is unable to convince the operator, they may both be in for trouble.  Young operators often feel that they are bullet proof and can leap tall buildings in a single jump. If the young operator does not listen to the more experienced worker, who loses? Ultimately, they both do. This attitude is seen all over the world (I have seen it myself many times) and the young generation, in my opinion, is losing respect for experienced riggers. Mark my words, extreme though it may sound, this generation gap will kill young and old until the two generations can work together. If you have comments regarding our future and how to deal with the above problems, or just wish to explain how such matters influence operations at your facility, please write to me. Lisa Olver
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| Last Updated on Thursday, 02 October 2008 09:43 |
