Early last year, the Automation Solutions Group (ASG) of MHI was shaped out of the former Integrated Systems and Controls Council (ISC). ISC brought together companies that supplied automated material handling solutions as well as companies providing related products and services. As ISC, the leadership team realized that they could do more in the way of educating customers about automation as a group rather than as individual companies. There was an internal belief that the group’s reach be multiplied and their voice could be more relevant if they made the change.
In the process of disbanding ISC and creating ASG, the team saw an opportunity to do something that had not been done before. “As ASG, we created a place for end-users to collaborate with suppliers of automation for the purpose of elevating the industry as a whole. In our short time as a group, we have benefited from end-user members sitting on our leadership team, attending our meetings, and working on business case projects. They are sharing real-time insight related to end-user challenges. In turn, as suppliers, we are banding together to provide solutions to address the challenges in the form of business case tools, educational content and more,” explained Shana Relle, newly elected chair of the ASG.
By Stephen Murdoch