Importance of Material Handling in today’s Scenario:

Material Handling embraces all the basic operations involved in the movement of bulk, packaged and
individual products in a semisolid or solid state by means of machinery and within the limits of a place of
business

Material Handling is directly related to productivity, efficiency as well as cost effectiveness.

The objectives of Material Handling are further defined as :

• Increase efficiency in the material flow .
• Improve facility utilization
• Improve safety as well as working conditions .
• Facilitate the manufacturing process faster.
All the above at reduced cost would automatically take care of the productivity.

And why not? Material handling can account for 30-75 % of production costs and can reduce
operational costs by 15-30 %!!. Hence it does become an obvious area of focus for any productivity
enhancement and cost reduction movement .

Following are the principles of Material Handling System Design and Link to productivity. The 10 most
important principles used today in the field that will help in the establishment of efficient material handling
systems and also in assessing the ones that require improvement are :

PLANNING PRINCIPLE :
Choice of material handling equipment should be the result of a structured unit of specific course of action
i.e., a plan to determine what material and how much needs to be moved, when and where it will be moved,
and how it will be done.

STADARDISATION PRINCIPLE :
Methods, equipment, control devices, and software should be standardized without reducing the level of
performance and the need for flexibility.

WORK PRINCIPLE :
Material Handling flow should be kept to as minimum as possible within the requirements demanded by the
effectiveness and efficiency of a Material Handling system. “The best flow is no flow.”

ERGONOMIC PRINCIPLE :
Material Handling activates should be designed and proper equipment chosen after taking into consideration
human capabilities and limitations to enhance the level of safety and working conditions .

UNIT LOAD PRINCIPLE :

The amount of Material to be moved or stored as a unit should be sized and configured according to the
specific needs and objectives of the Material Handling facility.

SPACE UTILIZATION PRINCIPLE :

The cubic [volumetric] space should be used as effectively and effectively as possible.
SYSTEM PRINCIPLE :
A Material Handling system consists of a collection of elements working and interacting together as a unit to
perform a common function .

AUTOMATION PRINCIPLE :
The level of mechanization and automation depends on the operational requirements and financial
capabilities specific to each situation.

ENVIRONMENTAL PRINCIPLE :
Environmental impact and energy consumption should be important factors in the selection of a material
Handling system.

LIFE CYCLE COST PRINCIPLE :

In the economic analysis of a material Handling system all cash flows need to be considered along the
service life of the system.

Improvements of between 30 % and 70 % in overall efficiency are considered normal after a correctly
structured optimization exercise. This is in addition to the potential advantages to be obtained in such areas
as stock levels and improved production output. Productivity benefits of such improvements are:

• Reduced Stockholding .
• Improved stock accuracy.
• Improved stock visibility.
• Reduced cost of material handling process.
• Reduced reaction time .
• Improved order fulfillment.
• Speed and accuracy
• Improved production OEE from improved material availability.
• Higher storage utilization.

3 ‘R’ s to be considered prior to investment in Material Handling Optimization.

By following three simple concepts, Plant managers can realize the significant cost savings from material
handling systems and equipment.

Most plant managers grapple with the question –how do you reduce costs without hurting output? One
answer lies in optimizing current material handling system and equipment By following a few simple steps,
plant managers can prolong service life, minimize downtime and cut capital expenditures. These strategies
fall under three easy –to remember approaches –reduce, reuse and recycle .

RECYCLE : To keep equipment running at peak capacity and thus reduce inefficiencies, managers should
implement a performance audit and adopt predictive, instead of reactive, maintenance. These two strategies
allow managers to maximize current material Handling systems and equipment without accelerating wear
and tear or driving up maintenance costs.
The first strategy –a performance audit –represents the most effective, yet underused, way to gauge how
efficiently systems are running. In particular, it can reveal if your requirement is functioning properly or if it
requires a tune-up. With an audit, you can find out how well system operators are doing and whether they
need extra training Additionally, you can ascertain if your material handling equipment is still meeting the
plant’s needs and get an idea of the system’ s overall performance .
A performance audit can help you zero in on productivity drains, evaluating such areas as picking, queuing
staging and sorting rates. A complete audit will analyze system from both an operational and functional
standpoint, including a final report detailing recommended adjustments. Thus, managers can pinpoint and fix
inefficiencies, realizing cost savings from improved productivity rates and system performance .Reliable and
cost-effective, predictive maintenance is another way to get the most out of material handling systems and
equipment. It can help you determine when components will fail so you can do corrective work on them
before they break down. In particular, it allows you to set baseline failure rates over time. Thus, you can keep
systems running at peak efficiency and avoid the high cost of malfunctioning equipment including
downtime for emergency fixes and hefty replacement expenses for components beyond repair, As a result,
you can cut expenditures on equipment overhauls and maintain your capital.

REUSE:
To reuse existing equipment and avoid the high cost of replacement, consider retrofitting, which can boost
efficiency by 15-20 % or more. By retrofitting, plant managers can allow systems to function beyond initial
capacity limits and to satisfy increased production demands. it can involve incorporating new technology,
upgrading components or increasing capacity and often represents as a feasible solution as many new
technologies work well with older models.
Plant managers material handling systems and equipment can choose from a number of solution. For
example, they can opt to add adaptive control systems or broaden access to real-time operational data. They
can also choose to incorporate volume and weight data for checking and invoicing or integrate sophisticated
induction and sorting capabilities. Additionally, managers can perform the retrofit in-house, with illustrated
step-by-step instructions, or outsource in to service professionals.
By retrofitting equipment instead of replacing it, managers can enjoy considerable saving. For one thing, the
cost of repurposing equipment is often less than 60% of a new machines cost. Moreover, by retrofitting and
modernizing equipment, managers can boost its reliability and renew its service life. They can also improve
production cycle times and cut maintenance and operating expenses.
Furthermore, by retrofitting, managers can ensure compliance with current federal and state safety
regulations, thereby helping reduce work-related injuries and insurance premiums, including compensation
for workers. Finally, a retrofit allows for parts standardization, further trimming costs as well as making parts
easier to replace .

Recycle : instead of purchasing new equipment when production requirements change, plant managers can
buy remanufactured equipment. They can thus take advantage of lower capital equipment costs, as
remanufacturing retains much of the original item’s value while removing a big chunk of new equipment
overhead, from material costs to transportation. Indeed, the remanufacturing process- disassembling,
cleaning, replacing non-working parts, refinishing and reassembling requires less labour, energy and
resources than purchasing new equipment. What’s more, remanufactured equipment often offers the same
warranty as new machinery . aside from offering substantial savings, purchasing remanufactured equipment
also benefits the environment. By opting for
remanufactured instead of new machinery, plant managers are helping to reduce the following-the amount of
raw materials going into the waste disposal stream, materials disposal-related costs, and the volume of
industrial solid waste headed for landfills.
The three R’s: In short, by reducing, reusing and recycling, plant managers can realize considerable cost
savings while boosting the ROI from material handling systems and equipment. While managers must
understand that these strategies can’ t push back new capital expenditures indefinitely, these tactics represent
effective ways to get the best performance and value out of materials handling systems. By following these
three R’s. managers can gain months or even years of prolonged service life at lower cost.
Productivity gain from Material Handling Equipment can accrue on three counts.

1) Appropriate, economic and efficient choice of Material Handling Systems.

2) Lean and flexible process design, with focus on elimination /minimization of Non Value Added activities.
Thus requirement of material handling is minimized and where inevitable, is done efficiently

3) Maximize availability of Material Handling Equipment through effective maintenance practices. Good
choice of equipment and lean processes will be futile if the equipment fails to be “available for productive
purposes.