AGVS Delivering Productivity to the New Economy
Thursday, September 24, 2009
The Automatic Guided Vehicle Systems (AGVS) Industry Group of Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA) has released it's Fall 2009 Quarterly Report titled AGVS Delivering Productivity to the New Economy. The report asserts that the combination of Generation Y workers, today’s automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) and the new economy is a formula for new found productivity.
Generation Y workers are not generally interested in the traditional ways of moving inventory from point A to point Z. They are more accustomed to computers and automation and less enthusiastic about manual labor. These workers are a good match for AGVs that free employees to master the technologies that will let them take a more direct hand in material handling and logistics management – including pick-by-voice, radio frequency identification, bar code scanning, and even AGV system configuration.
“An AGV enables you to use people to add value to your product,” says JBT Corp.’s Mark Longacre, chairman of the AGVS Industry Group. “Our big focus is on user friendliness and ease of use, both on the vehicle side as well as the host software side,” Longacre says. “A person who can turn his computer on and surf the internet can run an AGV system.”
Having people who can collect and analyze data as well as reconfigure the AGV system at a moment’s notice is extremely important to productivity today. “Companies need to make changes to their products quickly,” says Jervis B. Webb’s Sarah Carlson, vice-chair of the AGVS Industry Group. “With AGVs you don’t have to rip out infrastructure. They’re modular and can handle different products without making major changes to your entire system.”
View the complete report — AGVS Delivering Productivity to the New Economy.
Quarterly Reports are a new information source from several Industry Groups of MHIA. Each report will focus on trends in the use of material handling and logistics equipment, such as guided vehicles or automated storage, to solve challenges in the plant and warehouse ranging from sustainability to productivity in the new economy.
Members of MHIA Industry Groups are suppliers of material handling and logistics equipment and systems. These industry experts make it their business to evaluate operational challenges and solve them efficiently and cost effectively. That makes them authoritative sources for solutions to challenges that end users face on a daily basis.
AGVS members are the leading suppliers of Automatic Guided Vehicle Systems. Many are supplying systems worldwide and in virtually every major manufacturing and distribution sector. AGVS member companies meet regularly to review, discuss and revise the standards for design, performance and safe operation of automatic guided vehicle systems. AGVS members are committed to the development, maintenance and publishing of industry standard specifications for these systems.
MHIA is an international trade association that has represented this industry since 1945. MHIA members include material handling equipment and systems manufacturers, integrators, consultants, publishers, and third party logistics providers. Member companies come from all areas of material handling and various parts of the world, making MHIA a strong national and international representative for the material handling industry. Much of the work of the industry is done within its product-specific sections, councils and affiliates. The association also sponsors trade events, such as ProMat 2011 and NA 2010 to showcase the products and services of its member companies and to educate industry professionals on the productivity solutions provided through material handling and logistics.
Contact: For more information on MHIA activities and programming contact Carol Miller at 704-676-1190/800-345-1815.
<< Back to news articles