materials handling
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What is materials handling?
Materials handling involves the movement of raw materials from their source to manufacturing, their manipulation during production, and the transfer of finished products from factories to distributors or consumers. Modern systems emphasize the integrated flow of goods from raw materials to the final user, using cranes, conveyor belts, and other machines.
Materials handling equipment ranges from simple carts and wheelbarrows to specialized cranes. Power trucks and forklifts lift heavy loads, often with trailers for distribution. Conveyors and monorails are also widely used for short-distance transfer within a plant and for sorting and assembly line production.
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Why is materials handling important in factories and warehouses?
Materials handling is crucial in factories and warehouses because it directly affects efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Modern systems emphasize an integrated flow of goods, using equipment like conveyor belts and cranes to move materials in large, standardized units. Efficient handling minimizes the amount of handling necessary at all stages, reducing unit costs. Proper materials handling also necessitates a balance between speed, size, weight, and composition, optimizing the use of vertical storage space and ensuring the timely movement of goods from raw materials to distribution.
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What are some common tools and equipment used in materials handling?
Material handling involves moving goods during manufacturing, production, and distribution. Modern systems utilize equipment to transport items in large, standardized quantities.
Common tools include carts and wheelbarrows, cranes, power trucks, and forklifts. Conveyors and monorails are also used for short-distance transfer, sorting, and assembly lines.
Containers, ranging from boxes to truck-size, reduce handling and maximize efficiency. Specialized equipment exists for various materials like refrigerated goods, liquids, and gases. The rail industry uses specialized cars and unit trains for bulk commodities, while efficient transoceanic conveyance is achieved via cargo freighters and supertankers.
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What are some ways to make materials handling more efficient?
To enhance efficiency in materials handling, integrate the flow of goods from raw materials to the final user by transporting goods in large, standardized units. Employ equipment such as conveyor belts, cranes, and power trucks to coordinate movement with production and distribution schedules. Use containers and frames to reduce handling and maximize vertical storage.
Consider using automation, including computer-aided design and manufacturing, to cut down lead times when changing production models and to control inventories for a continuous flow of materials. Implement a just-in-time inventory management system to reduce excess or inadequate inventory stocks. Rotate inventory using the FIFO (first in, first out) system, especially important in industries with perishable goods.
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How does technology, like automation and robotics, change materials handling today?
Today, technology like automation and robotics is transforming materials handling by integrating the flow of goods, using machines such as cranes, conveyor belts, and other equipment, and coordinating the movement of goods with production and distribution schedules. Robots in manufacturing are categorized into material handling, processing, assembly, and inspection. Automation improves productivity and reduces the number of workers required for certain tasks.
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materials handling, the movement of raw goods from their native site to the point of use in manufacturing, their subsequent manipulation in production processes, and the transfer of finished products from factories and their distribution to users or sales outlets.
In early systems of handling materials, goods were handled as single units in a discontinuous manner. These early methods treated the three basic stages of handling—materials collection, manufacturing, and product distribution—as discrete steps, and materials were moved in individual rather than bulk units.
Modern materials-handling systems, by contrast, emphasize the integrated flow of goods from the source of raw materials to final user. This can be achieved by transporting goods in large quantities and in standardized units; by handling procedures using cranes, conveyor belts, and other machines; and by the careful coordination of the movement of goods with production, processing, and distribution schedules. Recent developments in bulk transport have been directed toward keeping materials in units as long as possible, minimizing unit costs, and reducing the amount of handling necessary at all stages.
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Materials that are capable of being moved in liquid or gaseous form in large quantities, such as petroleum and natural gas, are most often moved through pipelines from mining sites to storage tanks and refineries, and in turn to distribution facilities. Piping networks are also used to transport slurries, which are solids (such as coal) suspended in water. The compression of natural gas and the use of large-capacity tankers have also facilitated the transportation of these materials over long distances and through major waterways. Materials handled in bulk that cannot flow through pipelines are restricted to shipping, trucking, and rail transport. Such commodities include unprocessed minerals and building materials. A third type of material consists of machine parts and other manufactured goods that can be transported in bulk to assembly lines or distributors.
Materials handling equipment ranges from the simplest carts and wheelbarrows to a specialized variety of highly sophisticated cranes. Power trucks and forklifts are used for lifting bulky or heavy loads, often in connection with trailers that transport the materials along a particular route for distribution. Conveyors and monorails, powered artificially or by gravity, are also widely used in the short-distance transfer of materials within a plant and for sorting and assembly line production. Containers that range from boxes and bins to truck-size proportions help to reduce the amount of handling needed for materials and parts and to maximize efficiency through transportation in large units. Frames are also used, with or without pallets, as a way of optimizing the use of vertical storage space.
Generally, optimal efficiency of handling involves a balance between the desired speed of an individual shipment and its size, weight, and composition. Innovations in trucking have produced specialized equipment for transporting refrigerated goods, bulk liquids, and gases and have developed loading methods that use pallets and wide platforms to minimize handling labour. The rail industry has produced rail cars that can be loaded from the side, flatcars, trilevel cars for shipping automobiles, and unit trains consisting of a chain of cars that carry a single bulk commodity. These trains can be loaded efficiently by cranes, hoppers, and conveyors and are capable of transporting large quantities of goods over long distances at lowered costs. Efficient transoceanic conveyance of bulk materials is typically accomplished by large cargo freighters and conference carriers. Supertankers are capable of carrying larger loads, but they also involve an increased risk of severe economic loss in case of accidents or, in transporting petroleum, of potentially destructive environmental hazards. General-cargo vessels are used for moving packaged goods along well-traveled water routes. Of all methods of transport, air travel offers the greatest advantage in speed of delivery, but it is also the highest in cost and the least capable of handling bulky or heavy shipments. Nevertheless, equipment has been developed to reduce loading time, and special containers help to maximize the efficient use of air cargo space.