Material Handling in an Industry

Material Handling involves short distance movement between the confines of a building such as a plant or a warehouse or to a transportation agency. In other words, Material Handling is the movement, protection, storage and control of the material/products throughout manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, consumption and disposal.
Material Handling plays an important role in Manufacturing Industries; transporting parts from one station to another, till they are shipped.
It is often thought that Material Handling only adds to the cost of the product and does not add to the value of the product. Material Handling may not provide a product with form utility, but the time and place utility provided by it can actually increase the value of the product. For example:
• If the parts to be machined at a station are already next to the machine in a Manufacturing plant, it will save time and help in full utilization of the working hours. Thus adding value to the product.
• Some food items need to be fermented/stored for a long period of time before processing/packaging them. If proper Material Handling principles & techniques are not implemented, then the product may spoil even before processing/packaging.
The College-Industry Council on Material Handling Education (CIC-MHE) in cooperation with the Material Handling Institute (MHI), USA compiled the “Ten Principles of Material Handling”, which are as follows:

1. Planning:

One should define the needs, performance objectives and functional specification of the proposed system at the outset. It basically depends on 3 steps:
• What moves
• When and where moves
• How and who moves

2. Standardization:

The Material Handling process should be standardized, meaning the methods, equipment, controls and software should be made as a standard for all the tasks of operating conditions.

3. Work:

The Material Handling process should be devised in such a manner that simplifies, reduces, shortens and combines unnecessary movement that will affect the productivity.

4. Ergonomics:

Keeping in mind the abilities of the worker, the working conditions should be such that it reduces strenuous manual labour and emphasizes on safety.

5. Unit Load:

Several items should be combined as a single unit, which makes it easy to move them from one location to another. This concept of Unit Load saves time as opposed to moving many items one by one. Eg: Pallets, containers, etc.

6. Space Utilization:

The work area needs to be free from clutter to maximize efficient use of the facility. Eg: Utilization of overhead space.

7. System:

the movement and storage of the items should be carefully coordinated at all times starting from receiving them to their transportation and returns.

8. Environment:

The system should be deigned keeping in mind the energy use as well as its environmental impact. Eg: Re-using and re-cycling wherever possible and safety measures should be in place for handling hazardous substances.

9. Automation:

In order to design a uniform, consistent and responsive Material Handling system, automation should be used when possible.

10. Life Cycle Cost:

After the designing the Material Handling system, a careful analysis of the total costs to build and run the system should be conducted which includes capital investment, installation, setup, programming, training, system testing, operation, maintenance and repair, reuse value and ultimate disposal.

Some of the common Material Handling Equipment are as follows:
• Pallets
• Automatic Storage and Retrieval Systems
• Automatic Guided Vehicles (AGVs)
• Casters and Wheels
• Conveyors
• Lift Trucks
• Overhead Cranes
• Industrial Robots
• Hoisting Equipment
• Racks, etc.