Material handling equipment is all equipment that relates to the movement, storage,

control and protection of materials, goods and products throughout the process of
manufacturing, distribution, consumption and disposal. Material handling equipment is
the mechanical equipment involved in the complete system. Material handling equipment
is generally separated into four main categories: storage and handling equipment,
engineered systems, industrial trucks, and bulk material handling

Material handling equipment is used to increase throughput, control costs, and maximize
productivity. There are several ways to determine if the material handling equipment is
achieving peak efficiency. These include capturing all relevant data related to the
warehouse’s operation (such as SKUs), measuring how many times an item is “touched”
from the time it is ordered until it leaves the building, making sure you are using the
proper picking technology, and keeping system downtime to a minimum. (1)

Storage and handling equipment

Storage and handling equipment is a category within the material handling industry. The
equipment that falls under this description is usually non-automated storage
equipment. Products such as Pallet rack, shelving, carts, etc. belong to storage
and handling. Many of these products are often referred to as "catalog" items
because they generally have globally accepted standards and are often sold as
stock materials out of Material handling Engineered systems

Engineered systems are typically custom engineered material handling systems.

Conveyors, Handling Robots, AS/RS, AGV and most other automated material handling
systems fall into this category. Engineered systems are often a combination of products
integrated to one system. Many distribution centers will optimize storage and picking by
utilizing engineered systems such as pick modules and sortation systems.

Equipment and utensils used for processing or otherwise handling edible product or
ingredients must be of such material and construction to facilitate thorough cleaning and
to ensure that their use will not cause the adulteration of product during processing,
handling, or storage. Equipment and utensils must be maintained in sanitary condition so
as not to adulterate product catalogs.

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Industrial trucks

Industrial trucks usually refer to operator driven motorized warehouse vehicles. Industrial
trucks assist the material handling system with versatility; they can go where engineered
systems cannot. Forklift trucks are the most common example of industrial trucks but
certainly aren't the extent of the category. Tow tractors and stock chasers are additional
examples of industrial trucks.

Bulk material handling

Bulk material handling equipment is used to move and store bulk materials such as ore,
liquids, and cereals. This equipment is often seen on farms, mines, shipyards and
refineries. This category is also explained in Bulk material handling.

Important Material Handling systems are,

Truck or Lorries

Forklifts

Pallet Trucks

Pallets & Bins

Various Types of Conveyors

Various Types of Cranes

Various types of Hoists

AGV’s

ASRS’s

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Truck or lorry is a motor vehicle, more specifically a commercial vehicle commonly
used for transporting goods and materials. Some light trucks/lorries are similar in size to
a passenger automobile. Commercial transportation trucks/lorries or fire trucks can be
large, and can also serve as a platform for specialized equipment.

A pallet (pronounced /ˈpælɨt/) (sometimes called a skid) is a flat transport structure that
supports goods in a stable fashion while being lifted by a forklift, pallet jack, front loader
or other jacking device. A pallet is the structural foundation of a unit load which allows
handling and storage efficiencies. Goods or shipping containers are often placed on a
pallet secured with strapping, stretch wrap or shrink wrap and shipped.

While most pallets are wooden, pallets also are made of plastic, metal, and paper. Each
material has advantages and disadvantages relative to the others

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A forklift (also called a lift truck, a high/low, a stacker-truck, trailer loader, side loader,
fork truck, tow-motor or a fork hoist) is a powered industrial truck used to lift and
transport materials. The modern forklift was developed in the 1920s by various
companies including the transmission manufacturing company Clark and the hoist
company Yale & Towne Manufacturing.[1] The forklift has since become an indispensable
piece of equipment in manufacturing and warehousing operations.

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Conveyor belt (or belt conveyor) consists of two or more pulleys, with a continuous
loop of material - the conveyor belt - that rotates about them. One or both of the pulleys
are powered, moving the belt and the material on the belt forward. The powered pulley is
called the drive pulley while the unpowered pulley is called the idler. There are two main
industrial classes of belt conveyors; Those in general material handling such as those
moving boxes along inside a factory and bulk material handling such as those used to
transport industrial and agricultural materials, such as grain, coal, ores, etc. generally in
outdoor locations. Generally companies providing general material handling type belt
conveyors do not provide the conveyors for bulk material handling

Roller conveyors are best suited for packed items of varying sizes. These conveyors can
either be of Idler or Powered, Accumulating or Non-Accumulating, Chain Driven, Linear
or Curved etc.,

Types of Conveyors

• Flat Belt Conveyors

• Roller Conveyors
• Flexible Roller Conveyors
• Free Flow Conveyors
• Slat Conveyors
• Plastic Chain Conveyors
• PCB Insertion Conveyors
• Wire mesh Conveyors
• Chain Conveyor

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An overhead crane is a type of crane where the hook-and-line mechanism runs along a
horizontal beam that runs along two widely separated rails. Often it is in a long factory
building and runs along rails along the building's two long walls. It is similar to a gantry
crane. Overhead cranes typically consist of a hoist to lift the items, the bridge, which
spans the area covered by the crane, and a trolley to move along the br

A hoist is a device used for lifting or lowering a load by means of a drum or lift-wheel
around which rope or chain wraps. It may be manually operated, electrically or
pneumatically driven and may use chain, fiber or wire rope as its lifting medium. The
load is attached to the hoist by means of a lifting hook.

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 A jib crane is a type of crane where a horizontal member (jib or boom), supporting a
moveable hoist, is fixed to a wall or to a floor-mounted pillar. Jib cranes are used in industrial
premises and on military vehicles. The jib may swing through an arc, to give additional lateral
movement, or be fixed. Similar cranes, often known simply as hoists, were fitted on the top floor
of warehouse buildings to enable goods to be lifted to all floors.