For those looking for a crash course in warehousing, the Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC) offers a two-step program this winter. The group has scheduled two of its popular seminars back to back in Austin, Texas: "Maximizing Warehouse Space" on Feb. 12 and 13, and "Using Metrics to Achieve Results" on Feb. 14 and 15. Both seminars will be held at the Radisson Hotel and Suites Austin.

Thecourse on maximizing warehousing space will be led by Edwin Kayser, a senior consultant with Gross & Associates, and M. Geoffrey Sisko, senior vice president of the firm. Participants will learn some tips for analyzing their operations, how to evaluate various types of equipment, how to avoid the most common warehouse layout and design mistakes, how to calculate return on investment, and how to achieve the best layout for their facility.

WERC says the course is appropriate for warehouse managers and supervisors, anyone building or redesigning a DC, engineers and real estate agents, and managers responsible for warehouse productivity.

The metrics program on the following two days will focus on internally applied performance metrics and on how to use metrics across the extended supply chain. Led by Kate Vitasek, managing partner of Supply Chain Visions, and Kimberly O'Donoghue, a principal with the firm, the seminar offers guidance on what metrics a company should use and how to use them. It will also address the difference between results and process metrics, choosing appropriate metrics for a particular organization, frameworks for implementing performance metrics, and the current state of metrics. Participants will leave with a "Roadmap to Metrics" that they will be able to implement in their own facilities.

WERC recommends the seminar for general managers; warehouse and DC supervisors and managers; plant managers; and inventory, material and shipping supervisors.

The registration fee for each of the seminars is $699 per person. Discounts are available for additional registrants from the same company. For information, visit www.werc.org.