Monthly Archives: March 2024

Employee Spotlight: Sarah White

 

Meet Sarah White, CER Supervisor in Springdale, AR! 

Sarah White (fourth from left) with her mother, sister-in-law, brother, and father (left-to-right). They are attending a Razorback football game.

Sarah White (fourth from left) with her mother, sister-in-law, brother, and father (left-to-right).

Sarah is a native Arkansan, raised on a multi-generational-family crop farm in Osceola.

“As a kid, I lived next door to my paternal grandparents, and within 15 minutes of my maternal grandmother. I spent every chance I had at their homes or playing outside with my younger brother.” 

Sarah moved to Fayetteville to attend the University of Arkansas and put down roots. However, she still visits family often. “While I now call Fayetteville ‘home,’ Osceola will always be ‘home-home!'”

 

Sarah’s role as CER Supervisor 

Sarah has been with Hugg & Hall nearly 8 years! She started with the company in 2016 and helped establish the CER (Client Engagement Representative) team. 

Sarah said that “the role of a CER is ‘to provide a high level of customer service to increase the company’s image and culture through digital marketing and telecommunications systems.'” 

To that end, the tasks of a CER are varied and never boring! Sarah and her team handle a lot of different responsibilities. 

“I start my day by checking emails: customer contact forms, leads sent from dealers we represent, customer account requests, etc. I’m also checking social media comments and direct messages.

“The CER team then finalizes the social media content being published that day. Hugg & Hall has many manufacturers, branches, and departments to fairly represent, so creating a calendar is important. While we try to stick to our plan, we’re always finding fun pictures, projects, and events to share on a whim! 

“The CER team also takes, on average, around 500 calls a day. I help back up the team and answer questions about any unusual calls we may receive. 

“I also try to visit other branches regularly, or send someone on my team, so we can check in with everyone and promote the CER team’s abilities and services.” 

Sarah White (fourth from left) with the other members of the CER team.

Sarah White (fourth from left) with the other members of the CER team.

With all of these responsibilities on her plate, Sarah also manages a team that helps run all of the social media pages and the Hugg & Hall website.

“I’m very lucky to work beside a group of women that love digital marketing, keep me ‘in the know’ about social media trends, and take pride in promoting the Hugg & Hall brand! I’m here to support them and help them achieve their creative goals.” 

 

What Sarah loves about Hugg & Hall

“I think the most interesting part of my job is the industry I’m in. Learning more about our customers and how Hugg & Hall is represented in various fields was something I never expected to be doing. Now, I can’t drive down the road without noticing construction sites and equipment.”

Sarah said she appreciates the family-oriented culture of Hugg & Hall, and that there’s never a dull moment in the Springdale branch! She cited Halloween and Christmas as some of her favorite times because of all the fun branch activities.

Sarah White dressed up as a ghost and as Buddy the Elf.

As a multi-state company, Hugg & Hall has also offered Sarah the chance to travel to other branches. 

“Some of my favorite memories at Hugg & Hall have come from visiting our Louisiana branches. It’s always a fun time down there! I’ve attended several LSU/UARK football games (and Arkansas has won every time I’ve been there!).

“I also enjoyed when BJ Burnett took me to meet Mike the Tiger near Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge. My very favorite memory, though, has been visiting Port Fourchon. I loved seeing the shipyards and driving until we met the Gulf.” 

 

Women in the equipment industry

As we wrap up Women’s History Month, we asked Sarah what it’s like to be part of the construction industry as a woman.

She said, “I’m thankful to those that have taken the time to include me in conversations. This industry can be intimidating for women trying to enter it, so I’ve always appreciated those who take the time to teach me more about their specialty!” 

 

More about Sarah White

Outside of work, you can find Sarah spending time with family, watching sports, or both! “I love watching any kind of sport. I have an unhealthy relationship with Razorback athletics.

“In the summer, I love being around any body of water, especially Norfork Lake. My family and I enjoy the same activities, so we spend a lot of time together. I’m also slightly obsessed with my 13-year-old Springer Spaniel, Sophie.”

Sarah White's Springer Spaniel, Sophie, stands on the edge of a boat overlooking the shoreline of Norfork Lake. She is wearing a blue life vest.

Sarah has the rare claim to fame of being to almost every SEC campus! She still has to cross Kentucky and Texas A&M off her list, but she’s been to every other campus (including Texas and OU). 

We love to learn about our employees’ favorite quotes, books, and movies to learn more about them! Sarah’s favorite movie is A League of Their Own (1992).

Sarah appreciates the story behind the movie as much as the movie itself! “I love how they took women from all over the country with different backgrounds and personalities and created a pretty cool league while the men were serving in war. I also love Tom Hanks and his character’s interactions with all the players.” 

 

Thank you to Sarah White for all you do for Hugg & Hall! 

 

Want to learn more about our awesome employees? Check out our employee spotlights page

Industry Predictions: Forklift Telematics in the Warehouse

How Telematics Are Impacting Forklift Operations 

What’s new? Innovative tech, like telematics, is impacting the forklift industry.

What does it mean for you? Your warehouse can expect improved efficiency and safety when you purchase forklifts with telematics software.

 

 

I. What is telematics? 

Telematics software is a technology that allows remote vehicles to communicate over long-distance networks. It’s all about increased efficiency and safety.

Using this software, teams can track fleet management and operator safety. Operators and Operations Managers will both see positive impacts when you install this technology! 

Operators

Telematics software is designed to help your supervisor recognize and reward safe operating practices. 

When they’ve analyzed this data, managers can properly identify excellent forklift operators. 

They’ll be able to use the telematics report to see the following information: 

  • Which operator is driving
  • Forklift operation speed
  • Harsh acceleration 
  • Sudden braking
  • Idling time
  • Location in the warehouse
  • Fuel consumption
  • Vehicle faults

Your managers will also be able to tell if a forklift has a critical error before you can. They’ll be able to ground that forklift and call for maintenance, preventing potential accidents and product and facility damage. 

Operations Managers

If you’re a warehouse operations manager, you’ll be able to use telematics to monitor the performance of your forklifts and find new ways to get the most out of your investment. 

The data you collect will help you make decisions about the following: 

  • Which machines need preemptive service (before it’s apparent to an operator) 
  • Whether your warehouse layout is slowing down operators or making them take unnecessarily long routes 
  • What routes cause accidents or near misses
  • Which sections of your warehouse have problems like uneven flooring, which can cause damage
  • Which operators are more prone to cause accidents, or are underperforming

 

II. What should operations managers be aware of? 

It’s important to study the data you collect, because it may tell you some surprising things about your warehouse and forklift operators. Rather than always taking it at face value, be willing to consider other reasons you could be getting certain data. 

For example, when you have telematics software on your forklifts, you’ll get an email when a forklift hits its threshold for impact.

If you see that a certain driver has a high number of impacts, you might immediately assume that they’re regularly hitting the wall and that they’re not a good operator. 

However, you could actually have a route in your warehouse with a pothole, missing drain cover, floor seam, etc. that is causing damage to your forklift. 

In trying to meet their productivity goals, your operators may be accidentally causing damage to the forklift and themselves. 

Telematics will give you the data you need to improve your warehouse safety, but you’ll need to analyze it yourself to make sure you’re using it to its fullest potential. 

The biggest safety benefit to using telematics is how much it’ll help you protect your workers. From understanding driver habits to knowing which machines need service, you’ll be able to provide a safer workplace. 

From an efficiency standpoint, the biggest benefit to using telematics is how much time, energy, and money it can save you.

Analyzing telematics data will tell you whether your warehouse needs a layout change and help you decide the quickest routes. You’ll save running time and fuel for your forklifts. 

 

III. What industries will benefit most from telematics? 

If you’re managing or working in a warehouse, you can benefit from telematics! 

Some of the industries that have seen a positive impact with telematics include: 

  • Steel fabrication warehouses
  • USDA freezer warehouses 
  • Retail dry warehouses
  • Non-retail dry warehouses with low ceiling height
  • Ammunition factory warehouses 

Because this software helps operations managers plan and execute a safer, more organized warehouse layout, companies should benefit from increased profits and operators should experience a safer workplace. 

 

IV. Takeaways 

Buying a forklift with telematics software is one of the easiest ways to save money and boost safety in the long run. 

If you are an operator who’s being asked to use a forklift with telematics software, don’t sweat it! It’s there to help keep you safe and ensure you’re traveling the best possible route. 

Interested in seeing what a new forklift with telematics software can do for your warehouse? We can help! Contact us! 

 

Want to learn more about industry standards? Visit our blog page