Material Handling

Meaning and Definition of Materials

Handling:
“Materials handling” refers to the “movement of materials
from the store room to the machine and from one
machine to the next during the process of manufacture”.

According to the American Materials Handling Society,

“Materials handling is the art and science involving the
movement, packing, and storing of substances in any
form”.
 Objectives of Materials Handling:

1) Reduction in Wastage of Machine Time

2) Reduction in Manufacturing Cycle Time
3) Avoid Disruption in Production Schedule
4) Safety and Safe Working Conditions
5) Customer Satisfaction
6) Enhance Productivity and Avoids High Cost
 Functions of Materials Handling:
1) Using the principles of containerization, unit load or pattelization, aim at moving
optimum number of pieces in one unit.
2) Safe standard, efficient, effective appropriate, flexible and proper sized materials
handling equipment should be selected.
3) Employ mechanical aids in place of manual labor in order to speed up the material
movements
4) Minimize the movement involved in a production operation
5) Changes in sequence of production operations may be suggested in order to
minimize back tracking and duplicate handling.
6) Handling equipments arrangement should minimize distances moved by products
and at the same time handling equipments should interfere with the production line.
7) Minimize the distances moved, by adopting shortest routes
8) Design containers, packages, drums etc., to economize handling and to reduce
damage to the materials in transit.
9) Utilize gravity for assisting material movements wherever possible.
10) Materials handling equipments should periodically be resorted to check ups, repairs
and maintenance.
 Importance of Materials Handling

1) Save Non-Value Added Time: More then 90% of the time in material spends on
shop-floor is either in waiting or for being transported. This is a non-value added
activity. Nearly 20-30% of this non-value added time is consumed in materials
handling.
2) Reduces Wastage: Safe handling of material is important in the plant. This reduces
wastage, breakage, loss, scraps, etc.
3) Less Congestion: Efficient materials handling is needed for less congestion, timely
delivery and reduced idle time of machine due to non-availability of material.
4) Cost-Efficient: Cost–Efficient materials handling is an important issue. Material
movement usually accounts for average 25%. Therefore, a careful study of
alternative modes of material transportation is very important.
5) Good Housekeeping: Better materials handling is helpful in good housekeeping.
 Principles of Materials Handling:

A materials handling system consists of a collection of elements working and interacting

together as a unit to perform a common function. Alternatively, materials handling
activities and facilities are integrated to form a coordinated operational system
including receiving, inspection, storage, production, assembly, packaging, load
unitizing, order selection, shipping, transportation and returns handling.
1) Planning principles
2) Operating principles
3) Equipment principles
4) Costing principles
5) General principles
Planning Operating Equipment Costing General
Principles Principles Principles Principles Principles

Delegation Material Flow Standardisation Carefully Education and

Principle Principle and Versatility Equipment Training
Selection
Minimisation Unit Load Mechanisation
Replacement Safety
of Re-handling Principle Principle
Analysis
Facility Layout Use of Weight Ratio Principle of
Principle Gravity Principle Cost Identification
Analysis
Space-saving Maintenance Location
Principle Principle Reduced Principle
Floor to Floor
Principle of Time Material
Speed Treatment
Principle
 1. Planning Principles:
i) Delegation Principles: Materials handling is an important cost-saving activity. The entire
materials handling activity should be assigned to a separate department who will report to
industrial engineering or production service head. Separate unskilled labour should be engaged
for handling the work. As a principle of ergonomics, materials should not be allowed to be lifted
manually beyond the waist height.
ii) Minimization of Re-handling: Unnecessary re-handling adds to cost, may damage fragile
material and leads to wasted time. Thus, materials must be moved directly to the point of use.
Instead of keeping material on the floor, pallets, platforms and trolleys should be employed to
keep materials. Needless picking and dropping of materials should be avoided. The material from
outside supplier at the time of receipt should be moved as near to the storage point as possible.
Temporary storages between origin and destination should be avoided..
iii) Facility Layout Principles: It is imperative to minimize materials handling and material
movement. Only a good facility layout can ensure this.
iv) Space-saving Principle: It is often forgotten that vertical direction helps in compact storage.
Cubic content should be exploited. On the other hand, spreading in of materials on floor occupies
valuable space needlessly. Congestion should be avoided at all cost. Overhead monorails,
electric overhead traveling cranes are space-saving materials handling devices.
 2. Operating Principles:

i) Material Flow Principle: Materials should be made to move in straight path as far as
possible to shorten the distance between any two points. Cross movements should
be avoided. Material should not be moved in backward direction.
ii) Unit Load Principle: Cost is inversely proportional to the size of the load. Unit load
implies packaging of several pieces or on a skid, pallet or platform for movement as a
single unit. The basic principles of unit load handling are:
a) Material should be handled in bulk over distances. It is better to wait till a trolley
arrives instead of getting them pushed manually.
b) Breakable materials should be arranged in layers separated by cardboard, while the
bunch is tied together.
iii) Use of Gravity: Gravity is god’s gift for material movement. Whenever possible, this
should be used for the movement of material, the principle of gravity suggests that
the materials should be moved down the chute using gravity.
 3. Principles Related with Equipment:

i) Standardization and Versatility: Mostly, standard materials handling equipment with a variety of
uses should be preferred. Standardization of materials handling equipment increases efficiency
and gives economy in the operation of the equipment.
The various benefits of standardization are as follows:
a) Interchangeability of materials handling device between various workstations and sections.
b) Less spares inventory because of variety reduction. Fewer parts require to be stocked.
c) Reduction of maintenance and repair cost due to routinization of maintenance for the crew.
ii) Mechanization Principles: The use of machines in materials handling instead of manpower
increases efficiency and makes cost effective material movement in the following ways:
a) Heavy and bulky materials should be handled mechanically. Manual handling of heavy material
can cause strains and certain health hazards such as bone rupture and hernia.
b) Mechanization needs high initial cost and low running cost whereas manual handling demands
high wages to labour in most countries.
c) Mechanization of all operations may not be necessary.
iii) Weight Ratio Principle: Economy of the equipment is directly proportional to the
ratio of weight handled to the weight of the equipment. Self-weight of the equipment
should be reduced to its minimum.
iv) Maintenance Principle: Maintenance is also called TLC – Tender Loving Care or
Tightening, Lubricating and Cleaning. This increases efficiency and productivity of
materials handling equipment as well as production equipment. Materials handling
equipments are costly and come under the head of capital equipment.
v) Principle of Speed: Economy in materials handling increases with the speed of
materials handling.
a) Pathways should be cleared to keep materials handling equipment free from
obstructions.
b) Two-way traffic routes should be followed
c) Pallets should be made square in shape so that forks can enter them from any side,
thereby reducing pick-up time
d) The number of trolleys or containers available at the workplace should be adequate
to prevent materials handling from being stalled.
 4. Principles of Cost Reduction:

i) Carefully Equipment Selection Principle: Selection of the most flexible equipment after through
study of the materials to be moved improves materials handling function.

ii) Replacement Analysis: Materials handling equipment like production machines too have a
certain economic and physical life.

iii) Costs Analysis: Materials handling costs are not related to the cost of the materials but are
dependent upon their bulk and physical and chemical characteristics.

iv) Reduced Floor to Floor Time: According to this principle, waiting time of the equipment at the
start-up and end points should be reduced to its minimum by cutting down loading and unloading
time by the mechanized equipment.
 5) General Principles:

i) Education and Training: Education and training of workmen in good materials handling
techniques and convincing them about the importance of their work usually help in boosting
morale and improving motivation.

ii) Safety: Materials handling efficiency and productivity increases as working conditions are made
safer and safer. Safety regulations should be strictly adhered to.

iii) Principle of Identification: Materials must be kept identified by labeling on pallets and boxes or
by computerization of labels.

iv) Location Principle: The golden rule in location principle is that there should be a place for
everything and everything should be at its place. All handling equipment should be placed at the
right place and at the right time to avoid searching and delays caused in materials handling.

v) Materials Treatment Principle: Materials handling should treat most of the materials with equal
importance. This principle underlines the fact that scrap is as important for materials handling as
production materials.
 Symptoms of Poor Materials Handling

1) Aisles are cluttered 10) Excessive indirect labour costs

2) Excess scrap 11) Poor use of skilled labour
3) Over-handling of products 12) Idle cube storage
4) Flow inefficiencies 13) Stock-out on parts and supplies
5) Dock confusion in loading / unloading 14) Excessive long hauls
6) Confusing products storage 15) Lack of standardization
7) Too much manual labour 16) Dirty facilities
8) Too much waling 17) High loss and damage
9) Lack of gravity flow movement 18) Excess amounts of employees
 Factors Affecting Materials Handling
System:
1) Production System:
In terms of materials handling devices lift trucks, pallets; hand trucks and trolleys
would be more useful in intermittent production system in continuous production
systems. In mass production or continuous process system, one would find extensive
use of conveyors, cranes, hoists, pipelines

2) Types of Products: The type of products being handled greatly affects materials
handling decisions. Powders, liquids and gases are well suited for transport by
pipelines. Cranes and hoists are best suited for very heavy lifting jobs, where the
material to be used cannot be easily lifted from below. Conveyors should be used
where flexible destinations are required and where the volume of material to be
moved may be low.
3) Type of Building: The number of floors has a direct effect on the devices which
should be used. In single story building of lift trucks and conveyors can be used. They
also eliminate the need for elevators, which often prove to be a bottleneck in
materials handling. Multi stored buildings, however, find themselves to the use of
gravity flow with pipelines, and shutters which is the most economical method of
materials handling.

4) Cost of Materials Handling: The last major factor is cost of various devices which
are available for use. Cost comparisons among various alternatives are often difficult
to make. The initial costs of alternative devices should be considered. The usual life
of equipment will also affect the decision. Resale or scrap value is the other factor.
Perhaps most important are operating costs which include fuel maintenance, repair,
insurance and labour costs. These costs must be determined for the alternatives
before estimates of the value of one device versus another can be determined
 Advantages of Material Handling:

1. A good materials handling system minimizes the movement of material

2. It eliminates unproductive handing of materials like back-tracking, rehandlig etc.
3. It reduces the idle machine capacity thus ensuring better turnover of investment.
4. It reduces idle time of labour.
5. It eliminates the factory hazards and thus increases the safety of the operators.
6. The quality of the materials is maintained through minimum human touches,
elimination of breakages etc.
7. The factory area is used most effectively and most productively
8. It avails of greater economy in store-room and facilitates material issues.
9. It helps in maintaining effective production control.
10.It helps in providing better customer services
 Materials Handling Equipments:

Classification of Material Handling Equipments:

There materials handling equipments differ from each other in the following aspects:
1. Direction of Movement: Some materials handling equipment can move materials
only in the horizontal direction, other can move only in the vertical direction, while
there are some which can move material in any direction.
2. Material to be Handled: Whether the material to be handled is solid or liquid,
whether is corrosive of non-corresive, whether it is powedery or in bulk, materials
handling equipment is available for nay kind of material.
3. Supervision Required: Some equipment require continuous supervision while
others do not.
4. Speed of Movement: The equipment can have a provision for speed control or not
as one parameter.
5. Path Followed: Some materials handling equipment follow a fixed or guided path
can be varied.
6. Power required for the operation of the Equipment: Materials handling equipment
can be power driven, i.e. battery or engine operated or manually or gravity feed type.
 Types of Materials Handling Equipment:

Materials handling devices are of four types:

1) Lifting and lowering devices (vertical movement)

2) Transporting devices (horizontal movement)
3) Devices which lift and transport (combination devices)
4) Storages devices
 1) Lifting and Lowering Devices:

These devices are used for lifting and lowering the material in a vertical direction only (up and down). These are:

i) Block and Tackle:

ii) Winches:
iii) Hoists:
iv) Elevator:
v) Cranes:
a) Pillar Crane:
b) Overheaded Bridge Crane:
c) Jib Crane:
d) Gantry Crane:
 2) Transporting Devices:

These devices are used for transporting the material in horizontal direction these are:

i) Hand Trucks and wheel Barrows:

ii) Industrial Railways:
iii) Tractors and Trailers:
iv) Railway Equipment:
v) Aerial Tramways:
vi) Pipe line:
 3) Devices which Lift and Transport
(combination Devices):
ii) Monorails:
iii) Lifts:
a) Crane Truck:
b) Auto Truck:
v) Conveyors:

Types of Conveyors:

a) Roller Conveyor:
b) Belt conveyor:
c) Chain Conveyor:
d) Bucket Conveyor:
e) Screw conveyor:
Fig. 7.14
 4) Storage Devices:

Storage device are used for storing of material. These are:

a) Welded Wire Containers:

b) Corrugated Metal Container:
c) Plastic Containers:
d) Automatic Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS):

Fig. 7.15