It finally happened.
In the past, we've had our ups and downs with the forklift at MSA One (good play on words, eh?). It's not uncommon to find that someone forgot to plug it in over the weekend and it needs a little "nap" part way through the day... Nor is it out of the ordinary for the motor to continue running once you step off the Dead Man brake... For those unfamiliar with forklifts, this is akin to having your car stay running and in gear after you've put it in park and removed the key... In layman's terms: Bad. Lately, though, the sounds and smells of impending doom have had us wondering when the end would arrive.
It arrived today.
It seems that it only takes 5 years of utter neglect to kill a forklift. Right in the middle of picking an order from the second shelf, the steering gave an unusually loud CLUNK! and promptly seized. The forks remained operational, but we seldom have the need to raise and lower a skid in one specific spot of the warehouse, so I'm having a difficult time finding a silver lining in this cloud.
Fortunately, this happened to be one of the best days for this to happen. The fact that I caught Spanky, one of our Product Transfer Technicians, attempting to build a sub box out of cardboard, packing tape, and a pair of trashed computer speakers attests to the lack of "real work" that was going on. Not to mention that Doogie, the Shipper Boy Genius wasn't around to blow a gasket over the occurrence. Hmmm... Maybe that qualifies for "silver lining" after all...
(On a related note, Doogie is now 2005's first recipient of an Academy Award nomination for his part in "Man Calling in Sick"... Kudos!)
So, until we get the old girl back on her feet (I'm talking about the forklift again, not Doogie), I'd like to announce a sale on All Things on Ground Level...
Hurry! Supplies are limited!
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