The Road to System Integration
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Integrated Systems and Controls (ISC) Industry Group of Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA) has released it's Fall 2010 Quarterly Report titled The Road to System Integration. The report asserts that every step in an integrated system project is an integrated system of its own and If the elements are thrown out of sync, it can cause major roadblocks.
The report offers advice to guide users through each step of a system integration project from planning, contracting, installing, startup and achieving ROI. Planning can be the longest, and most important, phase of a systems integration project. Mistakes caught at this stage are less expensive to correct than if they are allowed to go unnoticed until closer to project completion.
Good communication between a company’s internal team members and all system vendors is essential throughout every step in the process. The report cites the case of a commercial printer that converted its processes from manual to completely automated in one project. This company’s team of manufacturing specialists, engineers and internal experts took 18 months to review future business needs—before even calling in system vendors. Their goal was to develop an integrated material handling system that would meet its needs well into the future.
When the company was ready to select and contract with system vendors, a part-time approach to project management was not an option. “Even on a day-to-day basis, the company’s managers were still very involved in the project after vendors were selected,” says Daifuku America’s Shana Relle, vice chair of the Integrated Systems & Controls (ISC) Industry Group of Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA). “But maintaining good communication among all vendors was deemed so important that this company set up a website so all the vendors could communicate with each other and check on project status at every stage.”
View the complete report — The Road to System Integration.
Quarterly Reports are an 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 ROI to 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.
ISC is an Industry Group of MHIA. ISC members are the Industry's leading suppliers of integrated material handling and controls systems. They supply systems worldwide and in virtually every major manufacturing and distribution sector.
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 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.
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