Course of MT- 362Material Handling

Lecture 2

Overview of previous lecture

• MH definitions• Historical background

• Importance and requirements of MH• Advantages and disadvantages of MH

• Types of loads

Stages in Material Handling

• It is important to consider differentoptions for material management

• These options mainly depends on the

The same can also be

- Material

- Economy

- Equipment

- Resources (human)

written in the form:

ManMoney

MaterialMachine

These options contributes towardsefficient transfer of material

Stages in Material Handling

• The material management groupshould always ask these questions:

- Why?

- What?

- When? & Where?

- How?

– By whom?

Thus if material handling isnecessary, then material transfermethods and equipment will beadvised accordingly

MH Classification

• MH classification by equipment type• MH classification by method

MH Classification by Equipment Type

Overview of material handling equipment

- Transport Equipment• Equipment used to move material from one location to

another (e.g., between workplaces, between a loadingdock and a storage area, etc.). The major subcategoriesof transport equipment are conveyors, cranes andindustrial trucks. Material can also be transportedmanually using no equipment

- Positioning Equipment• Equipment used to handle material at a single location so

that it is in the correct position for subsequent handling,machining, transport, or storage. Unlike transportequipment, positioning equipment is usually used forhandling at a single workplace. Material can also bepositioned manually using no equipment.

Transport equipment

Positioning equipment

Overview of material handling equipment

- Unit Load Formation Equipment• Equipment used to restrict materials so that they maintain

their integrity when handled a single load during transportand for storage. If materials are self-restraining (e.g., a singlepart or interlocking parts), then they can be formed into a unitload with no equipment.

- Storage Equipment• Equipment used for holding or buffering materials over a

period of time. Some storage equipment may include thetransport of materials (e.g., the S/R (storage and retrieval)

machines of an AS/RS (automated storage, retrieval system),or storage carousels). If materials are block stacked directlyon the floor, then no storage equipment is required.

Unit load formation equipment - pallets

Storage equipment

Tire Carousel Carpet Carousel

Storage equipment

Overview of material handling equipment

- Identification and Control Equipment• Equipment used to collect and communicate the

information that is used to coordinate the flow ofmaterials within a facility and between a facility andits suppliers and customers. The identification ofmaterials and associated control can be performedmanually with no specialized equipment

Portable Data Terminals

Handheld

Identification and control equipment

MH Classification by Equipment Type

MH classification based on equipment type can also becategorized as

AGV: Automated guided vehicle

MH Classification by Method

• MH can be of the following types:- Manual

- Mechanized

- Automated

Manual Material Handling

• Manual material handlinginvolves the use of the

human body to lift, lower, fill,empty,or carry loads

• The load can be animate (i.e.,living thing e.g., a person oranimal) or inanimate (e.g., anobject)

• Most manufacturing ordistribution systems requiresome manual handling tasks

Manual Material Handling

Mechanized Material Handling

• In this case, manual labor is replaced by equipments• This type of material handling consists of equipment

and process controllers that handle materials in aproven, systematic and mechanized manner

- Cranes

- Lifters

- Trucks

• These systems improve speed, efficiency and safety• Mechanized material handling also requires full or

partial involvement of manual help

Mechanized Material Handling

Automated Material Handling• Automated materials handling (AMH)

refers to any automation that reducesor eliminates the need for humans toload, unload, sort material or transfermaterial

• Automated Material Handling SystemEnsures Reliability and Repeatable

• In AMH systems, somewhere in theprocess there may be a scanner toread the bar code or a reader to readthe radio frequency ID (RFID) tag (orboth)

- RFID is non-contact use of radio-frequencyelectromagnetic fields to transfer data, forthe purposes of automatically identifying andtracking tags attached to objects

Automated Material Handling

Think of robots

MH Classification by Method

• Capabilities(power or ability to do something) of MH method can beunderstand using the following table:

MH Methods CharacteristicsDifferent characteristics can be judged for the type of MH methodse.g., Manual method can handle less weight

Mechanized and automated can handle higher weights

Factors affecting MH

• The selection of materials handlingequipment requires the attaining of properbalance between- the production problem,- the capabilities of the equipment available, and- the human element involved

• The ultimate aim is to arrive at the lowestcost per unit of material handled

• Selection of material handling equipment isan important decision as it affects both thecost and efficiency of handling system

Factors affecting MH

• The following factors are to be taken into accountwhile selecting the material handling equipment

- Properties of the Material• i.e., Whether the material is solid, liquid or gas, andin what size, shape and weight it is to be moved,are important decisions and can be lead to apreliminary elimination from the range of availableequipment under review

• Similarly, if the material is fragile, corrosive or toxicthis will imply that certain handling method andcontainers will be preferable to others

Factors affecting MH

- Layout and Characteristic of the building• A restricting factor is availability of space forhandling

• Low-level ceiling many prevent the use of hoist orcranes, and the presence of supporting columns inawkward places can limit the size of materialhandling equipment

- Production Flow• If the flow is fairly constant between two fixedposition that are not likely to be changed, fixed

equipments such as conveyors or channels can besuccessfully used

Factors affecting MH

- Cost Considerations• This is the most important consideration

• Initial investment and operating and maintenance cost arethe major costs to be considered

• By calculating and comparing the total cost of each items ofequipment under consideration, a more rational decision canbe reached on the most appropriate choice

- Nature of operations• Selection of equipment also depends on the nature of

operations like whether handling is temporary or permanent,whether the flow is continuous or intermittent and materialflow pattern-horizontal or vertical

Factors affecting MH

- Engineering Factors• Engineering factors such as door, ceilingdimensions, floor space, floor conditions and

structural strengths are also taken in considerationin the selection of equipment

- Equipment reliability• Reliability (The probability that an item will perform a required function

without failure under stated conditions for a stated period of time )of the equipment and supplier reputationand the after sale services plays an important rolein selecting the equipment

MHE Marketing

Any commercial product passes through the following scheme:

Marketing is one of the important step to deliver a product fromthe manufacturing set ups to the customers

MHE Marketing• Marketing is the process ofcommunicating the value of a

product or service to customers,for selling that product or service

• Marketing is the link between asociety’s material requirementsand its economic patterns ofresponse

• MHE marketing means toemphasis the customers about theneed of MHE

• An effective marketing plan will answer suchquestions as:

- What products will sell and in what volumes?

- At what prices?

- At what promotional costs?

- When and by what selling method?

MHE Marketing• The main objective is tohighlight the usefulness ofMHEquipments

• Old conventional techniquesmay be dangerous to humanand equipment safety

• MHE can efficiently andeasily perform all the tasks ofmaterial transfer and storageeconomically and withinminimum time frame.

MHE Marketing• It is important that the MHE marketing

group/ company must be able tounderstand the industrial and marketinggoals• This can be done with providing newmarketing concepts and methodologies

• This may include- Good presentation of MHE through

leaflets and internet web designing- Organizing meetings with the users and

equipment manufacturers- Convey prototype models

Provide surety about the performance ofthe equipment

- Provide surety about after sales service