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A key task in the material handling system design process is the selection and configuration of equipment for material transport and storage in a facility. Material handling equipment selection is a complex, tedious task. However, there are few tools other than checklists to assist engineers in the selection of appropriate, cost‐effective material handling equipment. This paper describes the development of an intelligent material handling equipment selection system called MHESA (Material Handling Equipment Selection Advisor). The MHESA is composed of three modules: a database to store equipment types with their specifications; a knowledge‐based expert system for assisting material handling equipment selection; and an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) model to choose the most favorable equipment type. The concept proposed in this paper can automate the design of material handling equipment selection system, and provides artificial intelligence in the decision‐making process.

This paper aims to discuss some relevant issues in the design and operation of material handling and storage systems (MH&SS) characterized by complex material flows and high‐traffic intensity. The paper seeks to provide solution examples and an analysis methodology to face large increases of materials flows through a redesign of the material handling and storage system.

At first, possible strategies to improve system performances when facing strong increments of material flows are presented and discussed. A significant case study is then analyzed in order to present a practical application of the proposed methodology. Resorting to discrete‐events simulation, the alternatives are verified, correct design choices are identified, and the resources are properly sized to develop a streamlined layout.

The paper recognises that design and upgrade of intensive material handling systems is a complex task asking for a careful study of alternatives and detailed system analysis, otherwise capacity problems and bottleneck phenomena may not be effectively solved.

This work focuses on a specific case study. The paper, therefore, will be of interest mainly to managers and designers of similar plants and large – intensive material handling systems.

The paper shows how the correct planning and analysis of design alternatives integrated with a detailed system simulation enable a drastic reduction of bottleneck phenomena, thus meeting the required capacity improvement goals when upgrading and redesigning complex and high‐volume material handling systems.

The paper, while providing insights to practitioners engaged in design and management of complex MH&SS, outlines a methodological approach which can be useful when facing major capacity improvement projects.

Retreat of the Critics. The publication, last month, of a series of six main articles on Work Study with an introductory leader in The Financial Times was yet further proof of the increasing interest and importance accorded by the nation at large to this decisive “tool of management” which has been, until comparatively recent years, the dream of a few, forward‐looking pioneers. During the past year or two, however, increasing references have been made to Work Study on the radio and television, and in the daily press. As The Financial Times points out: “The critical voices seem now to be growing fainter. For example, no less than 800 industrialists from every part of the country attended the recent conference on Work Study at Harrogate, organised by the British Institute of Management.”

THE Fourth European Work Study Congress, held in Paris during the third week of May, was a well‐organized affair. A tribute is due to M. Loubert and his colleagues for the way in which they devised such well‐lubricated machinery for the convenience of their guests and for the imaginative touch of holding the official dinner aboard a bateau‐mouche as it sailed for two hours up and down the Seine.

MANY who realise the implications of White's book on The Organisation Man have probably closed it with the self‐satisfied reflection that ‘it can't happen here.’ That is the anodyne we generally swallow to protect us from disagreeable fears.

STIMULATING the interest of the employee in his job has become one of the most challenging problems facing management today. Daily repetition of tasks seemingly unrelated to the end product can very quickly cause boredom and fatigue, reducing individual efficiency and lowering productivity.

THIS country is suffering from a serious shortage of skilled workers. This fact was brought into sharp focus when John Brown, the famous shipbuilders, announced two weeks ago that it had been necessary for them to decline a £5 million order because of a lack of labour in the steel and allied trades. The firm and the size of the potential order ensured national attention, but it cannot be accepted as an isolated instance. When the Ministry of Labour tells us that although 3,124 mostly skilled men entered shipbuilding and marine engineering during the last five weeks for which figures are available, but that there remained 2,860 unfilled jobs, or that 3,264 taken into metal manufacturing left 4,637 vacancies, there is need for concern and investigation.

WORK STUDY still suffers from the unenviable reputation it gained in its early days when it was regarded as little more than a device, tinged with a touch of duress, for getting a greater output from the manual worker on the shop floor. This legacy of dislike still erupts occasionally in unexpected ways.

The purpose of this paper is to assist facility design practitioners, industrial managers, and expert systems (ES) developers identify important issues to consider and actions to follow in the selection of material handling (MH) equipment, overcome limitations of existing equipment selection approaches, and design complete MH systems.

A framework that specifies the steps that have to be taken in the selection of MH equipment is suggested. It identifies categories of equipment based on all handling‐related functions performed in a facility, which allows consideration of various categories of equipment, and selects equipment classes and types from among candidates based on user requirements and objectives.

The suggested framework is capable of producing a wide range of equipment that performs various functions in a facility, and satisfies requirements and objectives without the need for using large data bases. Applying it requires cooperation of facility managers and designers.

Some of the steps of the suggested framework require further investigation and research.

Facility design practitioners, industrial managers, and developers of ES can make better selection among a large number of MH equipment and design complete systems by relying on functions performed in a facility, requirements, and objectives.

A framework for selection of MH equipment is lacking in the literature. This paper fills a gap by presenting design issues and organized steps that practitioners, managers, and expert system developers working on selection of MH equipment have to address and follow in order to design complete MH systems.

Ken Gooding looks at opportunities for better deployment of materials handling equipment against a background of business revival for manufacturers but continuing inefficiency on the part of users.