February 7, 2024 Configura’s CET User of the Month: Matt Haan

Matt is a Consulting Engineer at Bastian Solutions in Grand Rapids, MI.

Matt Haan is a seasoned consulting engineer at Bastian, a leading system integrator specializing in customized material handling solutions. His expertise shines as he seamlessly integrates CET into their Consulting workflow, transforming the design process. He works at the forefront, consulting and collaborating with sales to guide customers from conceptualization through system implementation.

Early Adoption of CET in Sales

Matt notes the early adoption of CET in the sales phase bridges the gap between data analysis and tangible designs. This move is a departure from previous methods, including what Matt humorously calls “scissor CAD”: a process involving pictures, cutting, flipping, and pasting into PowerPoint. This shift has simplified the design process, and the sales cycle is notably shorter. With realistic 3D views, customers get on board faster with the ability to provide specific and insightful feedback.

“It used to be a multi-person week-long effort to compile beautiful 3D renders for customers to see at the final stage, and now can be shown every step of the way in minutes—Sales is going nuts over it.”

Matt recalls that before CET, the marketing department dedicated a week to post-engineering drawings to create polished 3D renders. The results were impressive, but the time and effort invested were significant. With CET, however, what once took multiple team members a week to create could now be accomplished seamlessly along the planning of a project by one person in minutes.

Aligning Departments and Improving Collaboration

Matt may not be a mechanical engineer, but with CET, he says he can reach about 80-85% of pre-contract detail in the design. Engineers have more insight into what they can make work, resulting in less “push and pull” between functions. Previously, engineers invested meticulous effort in their drawings, only to discover discrepancies between operational and mechanical aspects, leading to additional meetings and time dedicated to reaching a solution. With CET, alignment is achieved more swiftly with less fuss.

While Matt has used CET at previous jobs, he was without it at Bastian for seven months. It was a struggle to return to nonconfigurable AutoCAD blocks from a library, either pulling those together or AutoCAD polylines or just giving up and hand-sketching something and taking a picture. He was relieved to have again the ease of workflow with CET.

“It was difficult to go back to the days of using nonconfigurable CAD blocks; I missed CET desperately.”

A Bright Future

Matt’s involvement with Configura’s CET demonstrates the impact of innovative technologies. What once took weeks to render can be achieved within mere hours, if not minutes. The trajectory is clear: Bastian Solutions is navigating towards a material handling landscape that is more streamlined, responsive, and visually captivating.

Beyond his professional work, Matt is undertaking an exciting personal project this year: planning his fall wedding. With his ability, the layout will be nothing short of perfect.

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