The survey next examined the extent of the issues caused by aging material handling systems. The top two responses indicated the lost of employee productivity by 18.2% and 18.2% of system downtime is evident when a material handling system has reached its useful life. “It’s scary the number of times I have visited distribution centers and have found maintenance managers piecing together equipment to keep it working,” said Dale Pickett, Director of Supply Chain Services, Tompkins International. Interestingly, 83% of company leaders are aware of the aging status of their material handling systems.