Basically material handling is the moving, protecting, storing, and controlling of products and materials. It saturates the areas of distribution, warehousing, consumption and disposal. Material handling is a process that incorporates a broad range of manual, automated, and semi-automated systems and equipment to help support logistics. That makes it a crucial element for making the supply chain work properly.
The goal is to improve on customer service, shorten delivery time, reduce inventory, and lower the handling costs for the manufacturing, distribution, and the transportation.
They assist in things like -
When the goals of a material handling process are analyzed and then aligned to specific guidelines, the results are the smooth functioning of the vital areas outlined in the bullet points above.
There are 10 principles that make up material handling and they are -
There are 4 main categories that make up Material Handling Equipment and they are -
1. Storage Equipment
- Racks of all kinds (pallet racks, drive-through racks, drive-in racks, sliding racks, and push-back racks).
2. Engineered Systems
- Robotic delivery systems, conveyer systems, and AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles).
3. Industrial Trucks
- Pallet jacks, hand trucks, platform trucks, walkie stackers, pallet trucks, various types of AGV, sideloader, and order picker.
4. Bulk Material Handling Equipment
- Silos, hoppers, conveyer belts, grain elevators, bucket elevators, reclaimers, and stackers.
Importance of Material Handling
The bottom line is that material handling systems improve productivity. Manufacturing sites and industries all want a way to enhance their productivity and reduce expenditures. That is why material handling is such an essential element for various businesses.
With trades as well as production sites, there is a considerable amount of manual labor involved in carrying out the shipping of industrial goods and getting them from destination to destination. In an effort to reduce some of that necessary manual labor, handler stuffs like castors, vans, plastic tubs, food storage, and bakery equipment are used. It is very difficult to manage heavy masses at industrial sites manually. These things help to eliminate the chances of physical injury and get the best efficiency possible for the business.
Material handling has been spread out over various industries as well as fields of engineering. Manufacturing, for example, is today's largest field for the applications of material handling. This is due to the high volume of material handling equipment that are being used.
Additional areas where material handling is crucial are Railroad Car Builders, Barge and Ship building, Aircraft, Power, Truck Building, Machine Tools, Mining, Construction, Processing, and Power.
The goal is to improve on customer service, shorten delivery time, reduce inventory, and lower the handling costs for the manufacturing, distribution, and the transportation.
They assist in things like -
- Product Planning
- Customer Delivery
- Forecasting
- After-sales Support & Service
- Inventory Management & Control
- Resource Allocation
- Flow & Process Management
- Principles of Material Handling
When the goals of a material handling process are analyzed and then aligned to specific guidelines, the results are the smooth functioning of the vital areas outlined in the bullet points above.
There are 10 principles that make up material handling and they are -
- Planning
- Standardization
- Unit Load
- Automation
- System
- Space Utilization
- Ergonomics
- Environment
- Work
- Life Cycle Cost
- Material Handling Equipment
There are 4 main categories that make up Material Handling Equipment and they are -
1. Storage Equipment
- Racks of all kinds (pallet racks, drive-through racks, drive-in racks, sliding racks, and push-back racks).
2. Engineered Systems
- Robotic delivery systems, conveyer systems, and AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles).
3. Industrial Trucks
- Pallet jacks, hand trucks, platform trucks, walkie stackers, pallet trucks, various types of AGV, sideloader, and order picker.
4. Bulk Material Handling Equipment
- Silos, hoppers, conveyer belts, grain elevators, bucket elevators, reclaimers, and stackers.
Importance of Material Handling
The bottom line is that material handling systems improve productivity. Manufacturing sites and industries all want a way to enhance their productivity and reduce expenditures. That is why material handling is such an essential element for various businesses.
With trades as well as production sites, there is a considerable amount of manual labor involved in carrying out the shipping of industrial goods and getting them from destination to destination. In an effort to reduce some of that necessary manual labor, handler stuffs like castors, vans, plastic tubs, food storage, and bakery equipment are used. It is very difficult to manage heavy masses at industrial sites manually. These things help to eliminate the chances of physical injury and get the best efficiency possible for the business.
Material handling has been spread out over various industries as well as fields of engineering. Manufacturing, for example, is today's largest field for the applications of material handling. This is due to the high volume of material handling equipment that are being used.
Additional areas where material handling is crucial are Railroad Car Builders, Barge and Ship building, Aircraft, Power, Truck Building, Machine Tools, Mining, Construction, Processing, and Power.