INTRODUCTION TO MATERIAL

HANDLING SYSTEMS

CHAPTER 1
Ass
Lab  OpenCim Lab  R.106+107
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 1. Material Handling Definitions
• Compton’s Interactive Encyclopedia: “The movement of raw
materials, semi-finished goods, and finished articles through
various stages of production and warehousing is called Materials
Handling”.
• Material Handling is concerned with the movement, storage, and
control of materials in a process.
• Materials Handling Institute (www.mhia.org) MH as the
movement, storage, control, and protection of materials and
products throughout the process of their manufacture, distribution,
consumption, and disposal.
• Material Handling and logistics are expensive operations which
comprise of 10% to 80% of the product cost. Materials handling
comprises 20% to 35% of the cost of a Manufactured product,
more often than not; and for agricultural products and foodstuffs,
they may sometimes be much higher.
 The five commonly recognized aspects of material handling
are

* Motion. Parts, materials, and finished products that must be moved

from one location to another should be moved in an efficient manner
and at minimum cost
• Time. Materials must be where they are needed at the moment,
they are needed. (JIT)
* Place. Materials must be in the proper location and positioned for
use
* Quantity. The rate of demand varies between the steps of
processing operations. Materials must be continually delivered to, or
removed from, operations in the correct weights, volumes, or
numbers of items required.
* Space. Storage space, and its efficient utilization, is a key factor in
the overall cost of an operation or process
Material handling is the art and science of moving,
storing, protecting, and controlling material
–Moving: Required to create time and place utility.
The value of having the material at the right time and
the right place.
–Storing: Provides a buffer between operations,
facilitates the efficient use of people and machines.
–Protecting: Includes the packaging, packing
against damage and theft.
–Controlling: Physical: Orientation, sequence and
space between material.
Status: Real-time awareness of the location,
amount, destination, origin, ownership, and
schedule of material
 2. Scope of materials handling

1. In the first layer we have the man or woman handling the

individual part, workpiece, or unit.
2. In the second layer we have the room, department, or
plant in which handling takes place.
3. In the third layer we have the complete handling system,
composed of a chain of events that could very well start with
the supplier, or the raw material source, and go through the
factory and distribution network to the ultimate consumer
and beyond, to waste disposal and recycling of any part of
the material or object received by the consumer
 3. Material handling system equation

• Materials + Moves + Methods = Preferred system

 What
• Is to be moved?
• Data are available and required?
• Alternatives are available?
• Are the benefits and disbenefits (costs) for each alternative?
• Is the planning horizon for the system?
• Should be mechanized/automated?
• Should be done manually?
• Shouldn’t be done at all?
• Other firms have related problems?
• Criteria will be used to evaluate alternative designs?
• Exceptions can be anticipated?
• are the types of material to be moved?
• are their characteristics?
• are the amounts moved and stored?
 Where
• Is material handling required?
• Do material handling problem exist?
• Should material handling equipment be used?
• Should material handling responsibility exist in the organization?
• Will future change occur?
• Can operations be eliminated, combined, simplified?
• Can assistance be obtained?
• Should material be stored?
• is the material coming from? should it come from?
• is the material delivered? should it be delivered?
• is the material stored? should it be stored?
• can material handling tasks be eliminated, combined or simplified?
• can you apply mechanization or automation?
 When
• Should material be moved?
• Should I automate?
• Should I eliminate?
• Should I expand (contract)?
• Should I consult vendors?
• Should a post-audit of the system be performed?
• is material needed? should it be moved?
• is it time to mechanize or automate?
• should we conduct a material handling performance
audit?
 How
• Should material be moved?
• Do I analyze the material handling problem?
• Do I sell everyone involved?
• Do I learn more about material handling?
• Do I choose from among the alternatives available?
• Do I measure material handling performance?
• Should exceptions be accommodated?
• is the material moved or stored? should material be
moved or stored? What are the alternative ways of
moving or storing the material?
• much inventory should be maintained?
• is the material tracked? should the material be tracked?
• should the problem be analyzed?
 Who
• Should be handling material?
• Should be involved in designing the system?
• Should be involved in evaluating the system?
• Should be involved in installing the system?
• Should be involved in auditing the system?
• Should be invited to submit equipment quotes?
• Has faced a similar problem in the past?
• should be handling material? What are the required
skills to perform the material handling tasks?
• should be trained to service and maintain the material
handling system?
• should be involved in designing the system?
 Which
• Operations are necessary?
• Problems should be studied first?
• Type equipment (if any) should be considered?
• Materials should have real-time control?
• Alternative is preferred?
• material handling operations are necessary?
• type of material handling equipment, if any, should be
considered?
• material handling system is cost effective?
• alternative is preferred?
Material handling means providing the

◦ right amount
◦ of the right material
◦ in the right condition
◦ at the right place
◦ in the right position
◦ in the right sequence
◦ in the right time
◦ for the right price
◦ by the right method
 4. Goals of material handling
* Reduce unit costs of production
* Maintain or improve product quality, reduce damages,
and provide for protection 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
* Promote increased use of facilities
* Control inventory
The objectives of material handling:
1. Minimize cost of material handling.
2. Minimize delays and interruptions by making available
the materials at the point of use at right quantity and at
right time.
3. Increase the productive capacity of the production
facilities by effective utilization of capacity and enhancing
productivity.
4. Safety in material handling through improvement in
working condition.
5. Maximum utilization of material handling equipment.
6. Prevention of damages to materials.
7. Lower investment in process inventory
 5. Three basic characteristics of
materials handling
1. Picking up the load
2. Transporting the load
3. Setting the load down
• In addition to the three basic characteristics
of materials handling, two opposing elements
of cost must be considered:
- Product mix
- Load size
• The product mix describes the number of different sizes,
shapes, and types of products that must be handled.
Invariably, as the product mix increases, the cost of
handling increases, because of the difficulty of handling
products of several sizes.
For example, if steel drums, cartons, and nonuniform pallet
loads are received across the same receiving platform, the
different methods and type of equipment used to handle
these diverse items will add to the complexity and cost of
handling.
On the other hand, if only cartons of a certain size are
handled, then the problem is simplified; and, handling
equipment can be standardized, keeping costs per unit
handled at a very low level. Thus, we can say that, "Keeping
the product mix low keeps handling costs down!"
• Load size can increase or decrease handling costs,
depending on several factors.
For example, as unit load sizes increase, handling costs
usually decrease. It is less costly to handle a pallet load of
bricks than to use a container to carry them a few at a time
from point to point.
It is less costly, also, to transport a pallet load of flour
sacks than to handle the sacks of flour individually. Also, it
is much more economical, if the scale of the enterprise
permits this, to handle the flour in bulk tank cars than to
pack the flour in sacks and palletize the sacks.
Thus, it is a matter of degree; but, generally speaking, as
the load size increases, the cost of handling decreases,
provided the volume of materials handled justifies the cost
of the equipment required to do the handling
 6. The why and How of Handling
• Improve Production Operations
Production effectiveness can be increased by having
"The right quantity of material, at the right place, at
the right time." It is by minimizing machine or operator
time that many cost savings may be made, especially
since an orderly flow of work through a plant increases
the morale and productivity of the work force
• Improve indirect to Direct Labor Handling Ratios
There is an upward trend in most industry segments that
reflects the growing labor force required to service and
maintain increasingly complex equipment, for example,
numerical controlled machine tools
• Reduce Damage Due to Materials Handling
In-transit movements, either from suppliers to plant,
from plant to plant, or in plant, tend to increase the
level of damage that occurs to the product being
handled.
• Maximize Space Utilization
Materials handling is a vital part of layout planning,
but of equal importance is the materials handling
interdependency that is found in both production
scheduling and inventory control.
• Reduce the Accident Rate and Severity of injury
 7. Material transport Equipment
• Objective is to arrive at the lowest cost per unit of material
handled
• Depends on: Material to be moved; Movement; Storage;
Costs; Equipment factors: adaptability, flexibility, load
capacity, power, speed, space requirements, supervision
required, ease of maintenance, environment
• 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
7.1 Conveyors:
◦Large capacity
over considerable
distance
◦Materials or parts
can be added
◦Permanent
position
◦Various packages,
individual items,
bulk material
7.2 Trucks:
◦Delivery in batches
◦Flexibility
◦Portable power supply
◦Load usually on a pallet
7.3 Cranes:
◦Lifting heavy pieces
◦Limited mobility
◦Very expensive
◦Foundation requirements
7.4 Automated Guided Vehicles
Used to transport material from
various loading locations to
unloading locations
Communication with the vehicle
sustained by
* Wires installed on the floor
* Radio signals
7.5 Storage and retrieval equipment
7.6 Automated storage and retrieval systems
Small load storage and retrieval equipment
Automatic identification and communication
equipment

• Automatic identification and recognition

◦Bar coding
◦Optical character recognition
• Automatic paperless communication
◦Radio frequency data terminal
◦Voice headset
◦Light and computer aids
◦Smart card
 7.7 Design Considerations in
Material Handling

• Material characteristics
• Flow rate, routing, and scheduling
• Plant layout
• Unit load principle
 Material Characteristics

Material characteristics affect type of transport and storage

equipment required
• Solid, liquid or gas
• Size
• Weight
• Shape - long, flat, bulky
• Condition - hot, cold, wet, dirty
• Risk of damage - fragile, brittle, sturdy
• Safety risk - explosive, flammable, toxic,
• corrosive
 Flow Rate, Routing, and Scheduling
• Flow rate - amount of material moved per unit time
• Examples: pieces/hr, pallet loads/hr, tons/hr
• Whether the material must be moved in individual
units, as batches, or continuously
• Routing - pick-up and drop-off locations, move
distances, routing variations, conditions along the
route
• Scheduling - timing of each delivery
• Prompt delivery when required
• Use of buffer stocks to mitigate against late
deliveries
 7.8 Selection of material handling Equipment
The following factors are to be taken into account while
selecting material handling equipment.
1. Properties of the material
Whether it is solid, liquid or gas, and in what size, shape
and weight it is to be moved, are important considerations
and can already lead to a preliminary elimination from the
range of available equipment under review. Similarly, if a
material is fragile, corrosive or toxic this will imply that
certain handling methods and containers will be preferable
to others
2. Layout and characteristics of the building
Another restricting factor is the availability of space for
handling.
Low-level ceiling may preclude the use of hoists or cranes,
and the presence of supporting columns in awkward places
can limit the size of the material-handling equipment. If the
building is multistoried, chutes or ramps for industrial
trucks may be used. Layout itself will indicate the type of
production operation (continuous, intermittent, fixed
position or group) and can indicate some items of equipment
that will be more suitable than others. Floor capacity also
helps in selecting the best material handling equipment.
3. Production flow
If the flow is fairly constant between two fixed positions
that are not likely to change, fixed equipment such as
conveyors or chutes can be successfully used. If, on the
other hand, the flow is not constant and the direction
changes occasionally from one point to another because
several products are being produced simultaneously, moving
equipment such as trucks would be preferable
4. Cost considerations
The above factors can help to narrow the range of suitable
equipment, while costing can help in taking a final decision.
Several cost elements need to be taken into consideration
when comparisons are made between various items of
equipment that are all capable of handling the same load.
Initial investment and operating and maintenance costs
are the major cost to be considered. By calculating and
comparing the total cost for each of the items of equipment
under consideration, a more rational decision can be reached
on the most appropriate choice
5. Nature of operations
Selection of equipment also depends on nature of operations
like whether handling is temporary or permanent, whether
the flow is continuous or intermittent and material flow
pattern-vertical or horizontal.
6. Engineering factors
Selection of equipment also depends on engineering factors
like door and ceiling dimensions, floor space, floor
conditions and structural strength.
7. Equipment reliability
Reliability of the equipment and supplier reputation and the
after-sale service also plays an important role in selecting
material handling equipment
 8. Classification of materials Handling
Material handling is generally classified into two
categories, depending on the form of the material handled
• Bulk solids handling involves the movement and
storage of solids that are flow, such as fine, free-flowing
materials (e.g., wheat flour or sand), pelletized materials
(e.g., soybeans or soap flakes), or lumpy materials (e.g.,
coal or wood bark).
• Unit handling refers to the movement and storage of
items that have been formed into unit loads. A unit load
is a single item, a number of items, or bulk material that
is arranged or restrained so that the load can be stored,
picked up, and moved between two locations as a single
mass.
 Factors for consideration in planning
material flow (material characteristics)
Category Measures
• Physical state: Solid, liquid, or gas
• Size: Volume, length, width, height
• Weight: Weight per piece, weight per unit volume
• Shape: Long and flat, round, square, etc.
• Condition: Hot, cold, wet, etc.
• Safety risk and risk of damage: Explosive, flammable,
toxic, fragile, etc.
Factors for consideration in planning material
flow (Plant Layout)
Layout type Characteristics Typical MH equipment
• Fixed-position Large product Cranes, hoists,
size, low production rate industrials trucks
Process Variation in product Hand trucks, forklift
and processing, low trucks, AGVs
and medium production rates

Product Limited product variety Conveyors for

high product rate product flow,
trucks to deliver
components to
station