Honoring The Fortitude of Ground Handlers
Recent headlines highlight the phenomenon of “the quiet quit” – whereby workers are no longer willing to provide extra service to companies at the cost of their personal lives. Many companies express frustration with employees who are no longer willing to work outside the scope of their job function. Meanwhile, employees are arguing for more respect and acknowledgment of hard work.
While the quiet quit rages on, Ramper Innovations’ CEO & Founder Tim Fulton has found the opposite trend in the ground handling sector. Traveling around the country demonstrating our motorized conveyor TISABAS with a myriad of airlines and partners, Tim sees that the fortitude of those in the ground handling industry, and especially ramp agents, is at an all time high. He is grateful to bear witness to the value of hard work across the bulk of an industry he holds close to his heart.
As a previous ramp agent of 38 years himself, Tim possesses a passionate appreciation for ground handlers who demonstrate fierce tenacity, commitment, and vitality for a job that often leads to injuries. Without a seamless baggage handling experience led by qualified and determined staff, the entire air travel industry would be turned on its head – leading to a host of issues such as baggage delays, losses, and damage.
After Tim’s various trips, he’s come back with anecdotes detailing not only the grueling nature of the job, but also the “can-do” attitude his counterparts exhibit. Witnessing the commitment to the job first-hand, he loves to share the tidbits from his travels to celebrate this perseverance.
King Salmon, AK – Product Demonstration With Alaska Airlines
Tim witnessed a station agent work with a compound fracture in her thumb to get the job done, loading bags using Ramper Innovations’ motorized baggage conveyor TISABAS quickly and without complaint despite her injury.
A station manager at the airport also rolled up his sleeves and worked to load bags in the aircraft belly because one ramp crew member tested positive for COVID. Loading and unloading bags is not in his job description, but he happily did what he needed to do to avoid delays and ensure bags were effectively transported.
Fort Lauderdale, FL – Product Demonstration With Sheltair & National Airlines
A ground handling manager was seen physically wringing sweat out of his sweatband as he loaded cases of water onto an aircraft using TISABAS to get clean drinking water to Jackson, MS in the face of the water crisis there. Not only did this take place on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, the agent was also due to leave for vacation on a cruise in the hours after the event. He was still at work helping to load the aircraft with water up to an hour before his cruise was set to leave. He was working on the Saturday he was supposed to leave for his vacation to give his team a much-deserved break.
One agent was working on his day off, and two other agents worked way past the end of their shifts. All three were working a rolling delay of over three hours. It was clear they wanted to be home, but they stayed to do the job.
Cincinnati, OH – Product Demonstration With A Trucking Company
Before Tim demonstrated TISABAS for the trucking crew in Cincinnati, he watched the truckers load heavy items onto the truck, using nothing but the strength of their backs. He didn’t hear one complaint and watched them bend over, pick up heavy boxes, and transport them manually. Working together, they completed the job effectively but had to work several hours overtime almost nightly. TISABAS would cut the time in half, while easing the physical and mental stress of employees.
Various Locations
Ramp agents were seen consistently staying past their shift, or working through lunch. Tim was impressed at how accommodating they were. He saw many agents work well over 4 hours after their shift was supposed to end, just to ensure bags were loaded or unloaded to avoid delays.
If Tim has learned anything from these past few months of product demonstrations, it’s that employees in ground handling are hardworking and resilient. While the “quiet quit” might be occurring elsewhere, it’s evident that ground handlers will do anything to get the job done. That’s exactly why Ramper Innovations created the TISABAS product. We want to do everything and anything we can to support ground handlers’ hard work – and we won’t rest until they’re able to rest.
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today to see how we can solve your ground handling safety needs with a simple solution, and we’d of course like to extend a special thank you to the world’s ground handlers!
