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MATERIAL HANDLING EQUIPMENTS
Powered pallet trucks
Material Handling is the process of managing the physical movement of materials in a supply chain and as applied to a warehouse. It also encompasses the process of storage and retrieval. Materials Handling includes the tasks required to be performed in order to move goods around the factory floor as well as those for storage and transportation.
Materials Handling in a warehouse is an important activity that governs the way the warehouse performs its functions in support of the supply chain.
Materials handling takes place through all the activities of the supply chain including production, distribution, and storage and retail functions.
Handling in a warehouse or distribution center has a major impact on how effectively materials flow through the system, and on the cost, resource and time taken to get orders out to the customer.
The relative number of labour hours required to perform material handling reduces the overall output rate per labour hour. Warehousing is impacted more by labour productivity than manufacturing, since material handling is highly labour-intensive. The nature of warehouse material handling is limited in terms of direct benefits gained by automation as the main activities in material handling require significant manual input.
Material handling in the logistics system is concentrated in and around the warehouse facility. A basic difference exists in the handling of bulk materials and master cartons. Bulk handling is a situation where protective packaging at the master carton level is unnecessary. Specialized handling equipment is required for bulk loading, such as for solids, fluids, or gaseous materials
A combination of labour and handling equipment is utilized in mechanized systems to facilitate receiving, processing, and/or shipping. Generally, labour constitutes a high percentage of overall cost in mechanized handling. Automated systems, in contrast, attempt to minimize labour as much as practicable by substituting capital investment in equipment. An automated handling system may be applied to any of the basic handling requirements depending on the situation.
When selected handling requirements are performed using automated equipment and the remainder of the handling is completed on a mechanized basis, the system is referred to as semi automated. An Information – directed system uses computers to maximize control over mechanized handling equipment. Mechanized handling systems are the most common. However, the use of semi automated and automated systems are rapidly increasing.
Various methods of handling goods used in warehousing could be categorized as:
Material handling vehicles come in two major types - Powered and Non-Powered.
Powered equipment include trucks, cranes, conveyors, etc. Non -powered equipment include hand-pallet trucks, order picking trolleys, stair climbing trolleys, shelf and cage trolleys.
Industrial lift trucks are used in warehousing for moving material over relatively short distances, for lifting into and out of storage, and for vehicle loading and unloading. Trucks facilitate load utilization and speed up movement. They can handle large loads and consequently reduce the frequency of movements. Their lift ability enables building height thus reducing the cost of building volume by increasing building height.
The main types of powered trucks used in warehousing and stock yard operations are:
Conveyors for Unit Load Handling
Conveyor systems are used for moving material between fixed points, for holding material as short-term buffer, for sortation and for process industry applications such as separation, grading and cooling.
The advantages of using conveyor systems include:
Conveyor systems have wide applications in both conventional and automated warehousing.
Some of the drawbacks of conveyor systems include:
This section contains an overview of some of the more sophisticated handling and storage systems to be found in warehousing applications. They include highly mechanized systems, automated systems with computers controlling the physical movement and storage of materials, and robotic applications. Such applications may be said to be at the technologically advanced end of the equipment and system spectrum in the context of warehousing, although some of the technology is well established and has been with us for many years.
‘High-tech’ installations are costly, involve24-hour working, are somewhat inflexible and tend to require long payback periods. Installation should be based on some assurance of long-term demand for the products handled. An example is the use of automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) using computer-controlled driverless high lift stacker cranes in high bay warehouses, a concept that has been with us since the early1960s. In this sort of application the computer is used to manage and control the physical movement of equipment, and hence of the materials being handled and stored. Many of the earlier stacker cranes were operator-controlled, but the facility for on-board operation is now more usually for maintenance purposes only.
During the last10 to15 years the pace of technological development and application has increased considerably. This has gone hand in hand with, and been encouraged by, the growth in information technology, and has been motivated by the increasingly tight requirements for accurate and timely customer service, and for inventory and cost reduction.
AS/RS Systems for Unit Loads
The basic components of an AS/RS system are:
The controlling computer monitors the status of all the components of the system and, based on the warehouse stock and movement requirements, plans the work to be carried out within the system and instructs the equipment accordingly.
A typical installation could consist of high bay pallet racking, with stacker cranes operating in the racking aisles to put pallets away to stock and to retrieve them as required. Note that there are single deep and double deep stacker cranes, enabling the use of single or deep pallet racking on each side of each aisle. Installation heights of45 meters or more can be achieved, and typical operating aisles for standard pallets can be about1.5 meters.
The computer would control the incoming and outgoing material flows, monitor the status of the pallet racking (what stock is located in each location and which locations are empty), and control the crane movements. Because of the generally tight clearances in such installations and to prevent possible jams in the racking, a strict profile check for incoming pallets is adopted to ensure that loads have not slipped on the pallets during transit, and that packaging material has not come loose. Pallets outside the dimensional specification are rejected, and have to be rectified before being accepted into the system.
Benefits of AS/RS Systems:
Material handling is a necessary and significant component of any warehousing and logistics activity. Material handling means providing the right amount of the right material, in the right condition, at the right place, at the right time, in the right position and for the right cost, by using the right method.
It applies to the movement of raw materials, work in process, finished goods, packing materials, and disposal of scraps. In general, hundreds and thousands of tons of materials are handled daily requiring the use of a large amount of manpower and equipment while the movement of materials takes place from one processing area to another or from one department to another department of the plant.
The cost of material handling contributes significantly to the total cost of manufacturing.
The primary objective of a material handling system is to reduce the unit cost of production. The other objectives are:
Material handling
equipment includes: (1) transport equipment. (2) storage systems, (3) unitizing equipment.
and (4) identification and tracking system
