Labor is consistently one of the largest costs for refrigerated warehouse operators. According to the 2012 IARW Productivity and Benchmarking Report, plant labor represents, on average, 25.9% of revenues for facilities in North America.

To help warehouse operators reduce the cost of labor within their facilities, the International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses is introducing a new regional training series focused on labor management.

The training programs will be held on June 6, 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA and on June 20, 2013 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Each program will be held 8:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m. and will include lunch and all course materials. The registration fee is $395 for IARW and other GCCA core partner members and $495 for Non-Members.

The Labor Management Regional Training Programs will help refrigerated warehouse managers and supervisors better understand where labor costs originate and how to control them. Students will learn achievable ways to control costs and create opportunities for cost-savings within their facilities.

The Regional Training Programs are part of a new initiative from the Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA). IARW is a core partner of GCCA. The initiative aims to increase accessibility to affordable cold chain training by offering one-day training programs led by industry experts in convenient locations around the United States. Class sizes are intentionally small to ensure students receive individual attention from trainers.

In April, IARW held two very successful regional training programs on energy management in Dallas, Texas, USA and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, respectively. Taught by Marcus Wilcox, CEO of Cascade Energy, the one-day workshop helped managers and supervisors identify ways to reduced energy costs at their facilities. Program students left the training with the confidence and skills to work effectively with warehouse engineers to decrease energy costs.

“This training was perfect for general managers,” said student Michelle Grimes with United States Cold Storage. “It’s about awareness. I now have the tools to evaluate the major energy users in the warehouse and have an action plan for how to reduce the overall energy use.”

To learn more about GCCA Regional Training or register for the upcoming Labor Management programs, select “Events” at www.gcca.org.