Winning strategies!

Learning from your peers-what worked for them, what didn't turn out quite as expected, and how to adjust-has tremendous potential.

By -- Modern Materials Handling, 3/1/2001

With a headline like the one above, one could easily take off in any number of directions. In this case I will limit it to two, both tightly connected to professional society activities.

In the first instance, winning strategies is part of the title and certainly the theme of the upcoming annual conference of the ASRS/AGVS Users Association. The complete title is "Winning strategies . . .What works? What doesn't?" The conference takes place June 10-13, 2001 in Columbus, Ohio.

Much of the content of the conference will be on systems that apply the technologies of automated storage and retrieval systems and automatic guided vehicles, and will be dedicated to relating case histories of end user installations over the last several years. Included will be discussion of the benefits realized, and perhaps more importantly, the lessons learned that should benefit future users. And attendees will learn about technology trends that are and will be influencing future projects.

No matter whether you have an active project right now, or whether there is even the potential to benefit from this level of plant automation, I cannot think of a strategy that has more winning potential than learning from your peers. You will be informed on what worked for them, what did not work quite as expected, and how to adjust.

Part of the mission of the ASRS/AGVS Users Association annual conference is admittedly to position materials handling automation as part of a corporate strategy toward achieving improved productivity and overall operating performance. But the larger mission is to influence the direction that future projects take. The desired outcome is that all future projects achieve their promise and that there are fewer and fewer examples going forward of what doesn't work.

So what is the connection to MHMS? The connection is that the ASRS/AGVS Users Association is a Council of the Materials Handling and Management Society. The winning strategy I propose is that membership in a professional society like MHMS becomes part of a strategy to achieve the level of professional stature one seeks as individual competencies, career experiences, and professional recognition are being built. A society like MHMS provides the mechanism, as it did for the ASRS/AGVS Users Association, to bring together professionals with like experiences and needs. It could just as easily do the same for other groups of professionals with different interests and different needs.

There are two action items here. The first is to learn more about the June ASRS/AGVS Users Conference. That is easy. Either call MHMS headquarters at 704-676-1190 or go to the organization's web site at www.mhia.org/PS/PS_MHMS_ASRSAGVS.cfm .

Better yet, once you go there, bookmark it for future easy reference.

The second action item is to consider whether or not a council or similar working group might be needed to better serve your professional needs. If so, then contact MHMS headquarters with your ideas. It will then become our action item. That is part of my job!

For more information on MHMS and its educational opportunities, local chapters, networking, and social events, please visit our web site at www.mhia.org/mhms, call our headquarters at 704-676-1183.