Today in Carts - March 31st, 2023

March 31st, 2023

SafTCart takes Full Advantage

of Floor Space for Efficient Storage

SafTCart has dedicated much of the production floor to a reinvigorated parts storage system. Extensive shelving line around 3/8 of the factory providing much needed storage options. These shelves house a majority of the parts used in crafting our products to be held on hand, ready at need, instead of having to fabricate each part at the moments needed. This allows an increase in productivity and efficiency.

Each shelf is broken down into sections and each item is assigned an internal identifying number that determines exactly where each part can be found. This system both allows welders and line managers to easily find each part they need and the parts department can easily identify what needs to be restocked.

The expanse of storage shows just how far SafTCart has come along, with both increasing the floor efficiency and also decreasing production time.

This is just one way SafTCart has changed to better serve our customers. Come back each month as we explore how SafTCart operates.

Employee Spotlight:

Kevin Elliott

Kevin Elliott was born and raised in Clarksdale, MS. He is now 42 and has been married to his wife for 15 years. They live in town with their dog. He has worked at SafTCart for seven years, slowly making his way around all sections of the plant. Currently he runs the paint line where he is tasked with discerning work orders into a proper sequence so everything of one color goes and then he hangs each product on the line for painting.

Kevin really enjoys his job. He states that although it can be very stressful it does keep him busy with physical activity, thinking of it like being at the gym. He said, "if I didn't like it, I wouldn't be here." Kevin loves the work he does, but where he really shines is in his free time.

Every weekend, Kevin will travel around Mississippi and sometimes further to old cemeteries where war veterans are buried. Throughout the week he will research for every known veteran grave in a county and gather his supplies for his weekly excursion. Once at the site he will clean the tombstone and grave site for each veteran, stating "they gave their life for us and the country, it is the least I can do to show respect and give back."

A tombstone Kevin has cleaned. Before and After.

SafTCart appreciates all Kevin does for the company and for the veterans and cemeteries.

Kevin focuses on Civil War era cemeteries and before since those graves are more likely to be forgotten and in need of service. He details how these older cemeteries used granite for the headstones as opposed to more modern marble used for World War I veteran graves and onward. Granite is very susceptible to weathering and aging which require special chemicals to clean without damaging. The chemical is called D2 which sells for $300 or more for three gallons which he happily buys:

"the chemical cleaning is not instant, it can take upwards of five months for the full effect. Cleaning these tombstones is a zen moment for me. Before I head out I will research each veteran of who's grave I will clean so they are not forgotten and I can honor their legacy"

Kevin loves history and is a collector of historical artifacts, especially from the Civil War era. However, it was not always like this. Growing up, Kevin did not care about history. But then one day in his 20s, he got curious as to his family history and the passion grew from there. He discovered he has family that has fought in every American war, dating back to the Revolutionary War and before. His collection includes magnificent paintings he has been awarded for his work in cemeteries.

Kevin not only sees his work as a way of respecting these veterans but also as a way to not forget the past: "if we forget where we came from then we will repeat it, with no past a country has no future." He also states that it does not matter if these soldiers were Union or Confederate because "each and every veteran here were sons and brothers and fathers and humans and deserve not to be forgotten.