Material Handling Material handling is the function of moving the right material to the right place in the right time, in the right amount, in sequence, and in the right condition to minimize production cost. The cost of MH estimates 20-25 of total manufacturing labor cost in the United States [The Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA)]

Goals of Material Handling The primary goal is to reduce unit costs of production Maintain or improve product quality, reduce damage of materials Promote safety and improve working conditions Promote productivity material should flow in a straight line use gravity! It is free power move more material at one time mechanize material handling automate material handling

Goals of Material Handling Promote increased use of facilities Reduce tare weight (dead weight) Control inventory

Overview of Material Handling Equipment Material handling equipment includes: Transport Equipment: industrial trucks, Automated Guided vehicles (AGVs), monorails, conveyors, cranes and hoists. Storage Systems: bulk storage, rack systems, shelving and bins, drawer storage, automated storage systems. Unitizing Equipment: palletizers Identification and Tracking systems

Considerations in Material Handling System Design 1. Material Characteristics Category Measures Physical state Size Weight Shape Condition Safety risk and risk of damage Solid, liquid, or gas Volume; length, width, height Weight per piece, weight per unit volume Long and flat, round, square, etc. Hot, cold, wet, etc. Explosive, flammable, toxic; fragile, etc.

Considerations …cont. 2. Flow rate Quantity of material moved High Low Conveyors Conveyors AGV train High Manual handling Hand trucks Powered trucks Unit load AGV Low Short Long Move Distance

Considerations …cont. 3. Plant Layout Layout Type Characteristics Typical MH Equipment Fixed – position Process Product Large product size, low production rate Variation in product and processing, low and medium production rates Limited product variety, high production rate Cranes, hoists, industrial trucks Hand trucks, forklift trucks, AGVs Conveyors for product flow, trucks to deliver components to stations.

Material Handling Equipment Between fixed points over a fixed path Belt conveyor Roller conveyor Chute conveyor Slat conveyor Screw conveyor Chain conveyor Overhead monorail conveyor Trolley conveyor Wheel conveyor Tow conveyor Bucket conveyor Cart-on-track conveyor Pneumatic tube conveyor

Material Handling Equipment Over limited areas Hoists Overhead cranes Hydraulic scissors lift Over large areas Handcart/truck Tier platform truck Hand lift truck / pallet jack Power-driven hand truck Power-driven platform truck Forklift truck Narrow aisle truck Tractor-trailer truck Material lift Drum truck Drum lifter Dolly Automated guided vehicle system

Belt conveyor

Belt conveyor

Roller conveyor

Chute conveyor

Chute conveyor

Slat conveyor

Screw conveyor

Screw conveyor

Chain conveyor

Chain conveyor

Overhead monorail conveyor

Overhead monorail conveyor

Trolley conveyor

Wheel conveyor

Wheel conveyor

Tow conveyor

Tow conveyor

Bucket conveyor

Bucket conveyor

Cart-on-track conveyor

Pneumatic tube conveyor

Pneumatic tube conveyor

Hoists

Overhead cranes

Hydraulic scissors lift

Handcart/truck

Tier platform truck

Hand lift truck / pallet jack

Power-driven hand truck

Power-driven platform truck

Forklift truck

Narrow aisle truck

Tractor-trailer truck

Material lift

Drum truck

Drum lifter

Drum lifter

Dolly

Pallet

Box

Tote Pan

Skid

20 Principles of Material Handling 1. The Planning Principle Large-scale material handling projects usually require a team approach. Material handling planning considers every move, every storage need, and any delay in order to minimize production costs. The plan should reflect the strategic objectives of the organization as well as the more immediate needs.

2. The systems principle: MH and storage activities should be fully integrated to form a coordinated, operational system that spans receiving, inspection, storage, production, assembly, …, shipping, and the handling of returns. Information flow and physical material flow should be integrated and treated as concurrent activities. Methods should be provided for easily identifying materials and products, for determining their location and status within facilities and within the supply chain.

3. Simplification principle simplify handling by reducing, eliminating, or combining unnecessary movement and/or equipment. Four questions to ask to simplify any job: Can this job be eliminated? If we can’t eliminate, can we combine movements to reduce cost? (unit load concept) If we can’t eliminate or combine, can we rearrange the operations to reduce the travel distance? If we can’t do any of the above, can we simplify?

5. Space utilization principle 4. Gravity principle Utilize gravity to move material whenever practical. 5. Space utilization principle The better we use our building cube, the less space we need to buy or rent. Racks, mezzanines, and overhead conveyors are a few examples that promote this goal.

6. Unit load principle Unit loads should be appropriately sized and configured at each stage of the supply chain. The most common unit load is the pallet cardboard pallets plastic pallets wooden pallets steel skids pp 164 - 169

8. Automation principle MH operations should be mechanized and/or automated where feasible to improve operational efficiency, increase responsiveness, improve consistency and predictability, decrease operating costs. ASRS is a perfect example.

10. Equipment selection principle Why? What? Where? When? How? Who? If we answer these questions about each move, the solution will become evident. Look at pp 160-161. 11. The standardization principle standardize handling methods as well as types and sizes of handling equipment too many sizes and brands of equipment results in higher operational cost. A fewer sizes of carton will simplify the storage.

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12. The dead weight principle Try to reduce the ratio of equipment weight to product weight. Don’t buy equipment that is bigger than necessary. Reduce tare weight and save money. 13. The maintenance principle Plan for preventive maintenance and scheduled repairs of all handling equipment. Pallets and storage facilities need repair too. 14. The capacity principle use handling equipment to help achieve desired production capacity i.e. material handling equipment can help to maximize production equipment utilization.

Example Press capacity = 60 min / 0.03 = 2000 pieces/hr A punch press can cycle every 0.03 minute, but our time standard for manually loading and unloading this press is only 300 pieces per hour. Press capacity = 60 min / 0.03 = 2000 pieces/hr Utilization = 300 / 2000 = 15% Should we buy a new press? If we can purchase a coil-feeding material handling system, we could approach 100% press utilization.

Material Handling Equipment

Material Handling Equipment