To give an almost ‘dictionary definition’, material-handling equipment are items of machinery or other mechanical devices – powered or non-powered – that are used for the movement and storage of materials through a company’s manufacturing or delivery processes.
An equipment system for material-handling will usually contain a number of different units. Some of these items may be manual in nature, whereas others may be automated or at least semi-automated. The system itself deals with the whole manufacturing or production process in a way that makes sure that the supply chain is kept in motion at all times, and is as effective and productive as possible. By maximizing the efficiency of each item contained within the system, the entire process can run effectively as a whole.
An efficient material-handling equipment system can help in other business areas, such as:
-
Forecasting and planning
-
The allocation of resources
-
The management of associated processes
-
The management and control of inventory
-
Customer delivery
If a company takes the time to analyze the way its material-handling equipment system works and makes improvements, then they will also see overall improvements in the way it performs as a whole, particularly in regards to distribution and profitability.
How is Equipment Used Within a Material-Handling Equipment System?
There are many types of material-handling equipment. Some items, such as non-motorized pallet trucks, are purely manual in nature. Others, such as conveyor systems can be fully manual, semi-automated, or fully automated. Even storage and retrieval systems can be fully automated with overall control of the system passed to a computer.
Other common items of material-handling equipment include automated guided vehicles, dock equipment, hoisting equipment, lift trucks, workstation cranes and storage solutions such as racking.
The entire end-to-end process aspect of a material-handling equipment system will involve many of these items. For example, a conveyor system may be used at the point of receipt to transport items directly off a delivery truck and into the heart of the production process. Items could then be transported in bulk by a powered forklift, once they have been scanned and allocated in a convenient place within the storage facility. Individual items may then be taken by a pallet jack on an ‘as needed’ basis when required within the main production environment. Finally, a second conveyor system may be used to manually transport the complete production items to the distribution areas.
As you can see, an equipment system can potentially be made up of many different sections. Again, it is important that all these parts are running smoothly, so not to affect the efficiency of the entire system.
Getting the Most Benefit Out of a Material-handling Equipment System
To get the most from your material-handling equipment system, you need to follow best practices at all times. Your system must work as exactly that – a system, and not just a collection of individual components. There are a number of steps involved in running a successful material-handling system.
- Planning – Too often, material-handling systems ‘evolve’ as a company grows. A need or improvement is identified along the production path, and a new component is added, or an existing component is replaced. In the end, the material-handling equipment system becomes a haphazard collection of items that were added to the process at different times.Often this just ‘works’ but more often it is far more beneficial to take stock from time to time and perform a complete analysis of your system. This will allow for better planning, better use of contemporary technologies giving you the best chance of maximizing the system’s efficiency.
- Ergonomics – It’s important that your employees have a safe and comfortable environment to work in. A safe environment promotes a more effective work ethic, which in turn, helps promote productivity. The working environment should simplify the work undertaken by the employee and should reduce strenuous or repetitive labor. Processes should also be simplified by reducing or completely eliminating unnecessary movement. Gravity is your friend when it comes to manual tasks, and all movements should be performed in straight lines as much as possible.
- Use of Space – Space is of extreme importance in any production facility, and by making the best use of the space that you have available, you can give your system the best chance of flourishing. All essential work areas should be kept free of clutter and maximum density in storage areas is of significant importance, including the use of overhead space, and this is usually resolved by the installation of racking.
System and Environment – All aspects of the movement and storage of materials throughout the system will need to be considered. Items needs to be received and inspected, then transported to where they are going to be stored. Once in the production system, items will be assembled and then packaged. The end part of the system deals with shipping, but don’t forget you must have an effective system for dealing with returns too. It’s important that you consider environmental issues when designing your processes. You should use environmentally-friendly tools and systems wherever possible, including the use of packaging and the safe, non-hazardous removal of any waste.
If you’ve allowed your material-handling equipment system to evolve rather than having gone through a planning phase, then it can be difficult to know what to do. You may consider that as your process is not broken, then there is no need to fix it, but this attitude ignores the potential that may exist for you to be able to maximize your system’s efficiency, and your company’s profits.
If you’d like to talk to someone about ways in which you can improve your material-handling system, or about an item of material-handling equipment you’re considering purchasing, then please feel free to reach out to the team here at Douglas Equipment. We can be contacted any time by phone at 1-800-451-0030, or through our contact form
