Improving communication

Readers are encouraged to comment on a MHI/APMHC voluntary standard on writing bid specifications for proposed conveyor systems.

By -- Modern Materials Handling, 6/1/2000

A consulting acquaintance of mine, Don Benson, has said it as well as anyone: "Conveyors, like most materials handling systems, typically work very well. But they only do what we ask them to do. So the issue becomes one of how good a job we do in defining our requirements for a conveyor system."

As with most material handling systems, the key design issue with conveyors often involves developing a functional description of the system's materials handling requirements. Those requirements need to be stated in language such that all participants-end user, system integrator, vendor, consultant-can understand them readily.

Today, as many industry professionals try to cope with designs of systems for e-commerce companies, the communications challenge has never been greater.

There are two major issues for these e-commerce systems: The first is extreme time compression. We are asked to produce designs in a fraction of the traditional time frame. The second is the often fuzzy and incomplete business concept around which we are designing a handling system.

In the more traditional areas of commerce, the materials handling industry has had decades of experience in which to best resolve a particular industry's handling problems. With e-commerce, however, there is very limited prior experience.

A common language for project bids. In today's business environment it is absolutely vital to have a clear lexicon of terms and pro-vide a framework in which the terms can be used among all participants.

Recognizing these project communication issues, a number of professionals embarked several years ago on a program to develop a standard for Common Conveyor Industry Practices and Guidelines. This activity is a joint effort by the Conveyor Product Section of the Material Handling Industry (MHI) and the Association of Professional Material Handling Consultants (APMHC).

The practices/guidelines document is in-tended to be a voluntary industry framework for use by an end user/owner project team. The team applies this framework and its language in the creation of procurement specifications to accompany a request for proposal and quotation on a system.

Currently, this document is in draft form. But after it is fully developed, the document should help in reducing the misunderstandings that sometimes occur among consultants, users, and system suppliers.

Thus far, members from MHI and APMHC have graciously contributed considerable time and effort to bringing the practices/guidelines to their current state.

Now it's your turn as readers of this column. We'd like to hear from you on these practices/guidelines before they are finalized in a discussion forum in September, to be held concurrent with the MHI and APMHC fall meetings.

Open for your comments

Early in June, a draft of Common Conveyor Industry Practices and Guidelines can be read on the site, www.mhia.org , and commented upon (see main text).

Topics in this draft will be of interest to end users developing specifications for their own, planned systems. Included are functional requirements for:

• The overall system and the conveyor equipment, in general;