THIS PAPER ANALYZES THE ISSUES INVOLVED IN DEVELOPING A CONTROL SYSTEM FOR A MATERIAL HANDLING SYSTEM (MHS). IT DESCRIBES A HIERARCHICAL CONTROL SYSTEM AND AN EFFECTIVE DESIGN METHODOLOGY TO REALIZE THE MHS CONTROL FUNCTIONS. SOME COMMUNICATION AND INTERFACE REQUIREMENTS OF THE MHS ALSO ARE CONSIDERED IN THIS PAPER. THE CONTROL SYSTEM SOLUTION IS ILLUSTRATED WITH AN ACTUAL MHS OPERATION CASE WHICH INDICATES THAT A TRULY FLEXIBLE AND AUTOMATED MHS CAN BE REALIZED WITH A HIERARCHY APPROACH. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS WORK IS RELATED TO THE EASE OF CONSTRUCTING A CONTROL SYSTEM WHICH CAN ADAPT TO THE DIFFERENT MHS TESTING AND EVALUATION REQUIREMENTS.
