Your job-not someone else's!
By Rick Bushnell -- Modern Materials Handling, 11/1/1998
A little while ago I was a guest at an executive roundtable. One of the participants asked, "Why is it that the person designing my system is only interested in using bar code? Why not use the little tag like I see at the Mobil gas pump so people don't have to use a credit card? Or some sort of magnetic stripe? Or voice entry like I saw in an IBM commercial? Or 2-D data files like some states use on driver's licenses?"It certainly was interesting that this person recognized automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) technologies in an everyday setting. And that he wanted to apply them to his work environment.
I liked his response. But at the same time I didn't want to encourage misapplications. So I replied, "Well, do you think any of those technologies would apply to your situation?" This guy wasn't going to let me (or his system designer) off the hook. "I don't know, but that's why I hired the guy. That's your job or his job...not my job!"
This exec was starting to get hot and I didn't want to antagonize him but I didn't see a simple answer. I needed time to think. "Any comments?" I asked the rest of the group. Another hand went up.
The second exec added fuel to the fire: "I've got the same problem," he said. "Whenever I ask about things that I think should be beneficial, the systems people tell me it's not industrial strength or it's too expensive."
The "too expensive" remark reminded me of the early days of bar code systems. Materials handling and computer systems people, who should have been using the technology, would say it was "too expensive." What they really meant was that they did not know how it worked, what problems it solved, or what benefits it would bring to their applications.
I told the group about my recollection. Then came the question, "What got bar code moving?" I replied that it was executives just like them asking the same kinds of questions. But there was a distinction and it took me back to the "not my job" statement.
The execs who made bar coding happen came to the realization that innovation was their job, not the other guy's. The execs who received the greatest advantages of bar code systems did some homework.
Then, as now, those who want innovation in their systems have to take the bull by the horns and study. They have to find out how a process could be simplified, and how the technology works so they can "imagine" how their system could be improved through the benefits that AIDC technologies can offer.
Furthermore, they have to be able to relate the cost savings of process simplification and to know enough about the technology to feel that it truly will work.
Search the Web for more info
If you're looking for more information to help your company become more innovative, try these approaches: visit www.mmh.com and use the keyword search method to explore AIDC applications. Or visit www.isit.com and search under management issues.
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