The Ten Principles of

Material Handling

The Key to Greater Productivity, Customer Service

and Profitability
1. PLANNING PRINCIPLE

All material handling should be the result of

a deliberate plan where the needs, performance
objectives and functional specification of the
proposed methods are completely defined at the
outset.
PLANNING PRINCIPLE

A plan is a prescribed course of action that is

defined in advance of implementation. In its
simplest form a material handling plan defines
the material (what) and the moves (when and
where); together they define the method (how
and who).
PLANNING PRINCIPLE
Key Points
The plan should be developed in consultation
between the planner(s) and all who will use and benefit
from the equipment to be employed.

Success in planning large scale material handling

projects generally requires a team approach involving
suppliers, consultants when appropriate, and end user
specialists from management, engineering, computer
and information systems, finance and operations.

The material handling plan should reflect the

strategic objectives of the organization as well as the
more immediate needs.
PLANNING PRINCIPLE
KEY POINTS
The material handling plan should reflect the
strategic objectives of the organization as well as
the more immediate needs.

The plan should document existing methods

and problems, physical and economic
constraints, and future requirements and goals.
PLANNING PRINCIPLE
KEY POINTS

The plan should promote concurrent

engineering of product, process design, process
layout, and material handling methods, as
opposed to independent and sequential design
practices.
2. STANDARDIZATION PRINCIPLE

Material handling methods, equipment,

controls and software should be standardized
within the limits of achieving overall performance
objectives and without sacrificing needed
flexibility , modularity and throughput.
STANDARDIZATION
PRINCIPLE
Standardization means less variety and
customization in the methods and equipment
employed.
STANDARDIZATION PRINCIPLE
Key Points
The planner should select methods and
equipment that can perform a variety of tasks
under a variety of operating conditions and in
anticipation of changing future requirements.

Standardization applies to sizes of containers

and other load forming components as well as
operating procedures and equipment.
STANDARDIZATION PRINCIPLE
Key Points

Standardization, flexibility and modularity

must not be incompatible
3. WORK PRINCIPLE

Material handling work should be minimized

without sacrificing productivity or the level of
service required of the operation.
WORK PRINCIPLE

The measure of work is material handling flow

(volume, weight or count per unit of time)
multiplied by the distance moved.
WORK PRINCIPLE
Key Points
Simplifying processes by reducing,
combining, shortening or eliminating
unnecessary moves will reduce work.

Consider each pickup and set-down, or

placing material in and out of storage, as distinct
moves and components of the distance moved.
WORK PRINCIPLE
Key Points
Process methods, operation sequences and
process/equipment layouts should be prepared
that support the work minimization objective.

Where possible, gravity should be used to

move materials or to assist in their movement
while respecting consideration of safety and the
potential for product damage.
WORK PRINCIPLE
Key Points

The shortest distance between two points is a

straight line.
4. ERGONOMIC PRINCIPLE

Human capabilities and limitations must be

recognized and respected in the design of material
handling tasks and equipment to ensure safe and
effective operations.
ERGONOMIC PRINCIPLE

Ergonomics is the science that seeks to adapt

work or working conditions to suit the abilities
of the worker.
ERGONOMIC PRINCIPLE
Key Points
Equipment should be selected that eliminates
repetitive and strenuous manual labor and which
effectively interacts with human operators and
users.

The ergonomic principle embraces both physical

and mental tasks.

The material handling workplace and the

equipment employed to assist in that work must be
designed so they are safe for people.
5. UNIT LOAD PRINCIPLE

Unit loads shall be appropriately sized and

configured in a way which achieves the material
flow and inventory objectives at each stage in the
supply chain.
UNIT LOAD PRINCIPLE

A unit load is one that can be stored or moved as

a single entity at one time, such as a pallet,
container or tote, regardless of the number of
individual items that make up the load.
UNIT LOAD PRINCIPLE
Key Points
Less effort and work is required to collect and
move many individual items as a single load than to
move many items one at a time.

Load size and composition may change as

material and product moves through stages of
manufacturing and the resulting distribution
channels.

Large unit loads are common both pre and post

manufacturing in the form of raw materials and
finished goods.
UNIT LOAD PRINCIPLE
Key Points
During manufacturing, smaller unit loads,
including as few as one item, yield less in-process
inventory and shorter item throughput times.

Smaller unit loads are consistent with

manufacturing strategies that embrace operating
objectives such as flexibility, continuous flow and
just-in-time delivery.
UNIT LOAD PRINCIPLE
Key Points

Unit loads composed of a mix of different

items are consistent with just-in-time and/or
customized supply strategies so long as item
selectivity is not compromised.
6. SPACE UTILIZATION

Effective and efficient use must be made of

all available space.
SPACE UTILIZATION

Space in material handling is three dimensional

and therefore is counted as cubic space.
SPACE UTILIZATION
Key Points
In work areas, cluttered and unorganized
spaces and blocked aisles should be eliminated.

In storage areas, the objective of maximizing

storage density must be balanced against
accessibility and selectivity.

When transporting loads within a facility the

use of overhead space should be considered as
an option.
7. SYSTEM PRINCIPLE

Material movement and storage activities

should be fully integrated to form a coordinated,
operational system which spans receiving,
inspection, storage, production, assembly,
packaging, unitizing, order selection, shipping,
transportation and the handling of returns.
SYSTEM PRINCIPLE

A system is a collection of interacting and/or

interdependent entities that form a unified
whole.
SYSTEM PRINCIPLE
Key Points
Systems integration should encompass the
entire supply chain including reverse logistics. It
should include suppliers, manufacturers,
distributors and customers.

Inventory levels should be minimized at all

stages of production and distribution while
respecting considerations of process variability
and customer service.
SYSTEM PRINCIPLE
Key Points
Information flow and physical material flow
should be integrated and treated as concurrent
activities.
Methods should be provided for easily
identifying materials and products, for
determining their location and status within
facilities and within the supply chain and for
controlling their movement.
SYSTEM PRINCIPLE
Key Points

Customer requirements and expectations

regarding quantity, quality, and on-time delivery
should be met without exception.
8. AUTOMATION PRINCIPLE

Material handling operations should be

mechanized and/or automated where feasible to
improve operational efficiency, increase
responsiveness, improve consistency and
predictability, decrease operating costs and to
eliminate repetitive or potentially unsafe manual
labor.
AUTOMATION PRINCIPLE

Automation is a technology concerned with the

application of electro-mechanical devices,
electronics and computer-based systems to
operate and control production and service
activities. It suggests the linking of multiple
mechanical operations to create a system that
can be controlled by programmed instructions.
AUTOMATION PRINCIPLE
Key Points
Pre-existing processes and methods should
be simplified and/or re-engineered before any
efforts at installing mechanized or automated
systems.

Computerized material handling systems

should be considered where appropriate for
effective integration of material flow and
information management.
AUTOMATION PRINCIPLE
Key Points
All items expected to be handled
automatically must have features that
accommodate mechanized and automated
handling.

Treat all interface issues as critical to

successful automation, including equipment to
equipment, equipment to load, equipment to
operator, and control communications.
9. ENVIRONMENTAL PRINCIPLE

Environmental impact and energy

consumption should be considered as criteria
when designing or selecting alternative equipment
and material handling systems.
ENVIRONMENTAL PRINCIPLE

Environmental consciousness stems from a

desire not to waste natural resources and to
predict and eliminate the possible negative
effects of our daily actions on the environment.
ENVIRONMENTAL PRINCIPLE
Key Points
Containers, pallets and other products used
to form and protect unit loads should be
designed for reusability when possible and/or
biodegradability as appropriate.

Systems design should accommodate the

handling of spent dunnage, empty containers
and other by-products of material handling.
ENVIRONMENTAL PRINCIPLE
Key Points

Materials specified as hazardous have special

needs with regard to spill protection,
combustibility and other risks.
10. LIFE CYCLE COST PRINCIPLE

A thorough economic analysis should

account for the entire life cycle of all material
handling equipment and resulting systems.
LIFE CYCLE COST PRINCIPLE

Life cycle costs include all cash flows that will

occur between the time the first dollar is spent to
plan or procure a new piece of equipment, or to
put in place a new method, until that method
and/or equipment is totally replaced.
LIFE CYCLE PRINCIPLE
Key Points
Life cycle costs include capital investment,
installation, setup and equipment programming,
training, system testing and acceptance, operating
(labor, utilities, etc.), maintenance and repair, reuse
value, and ultimate disposal.

A plan for preventive and predictive

maintenance should be prepared for the equipment,
and the estimated cost of maintenance and spare
parts should be included in the economic analysis.
LIFE CYCLE PRINCIPLE
Key Points
A long-range plan for replacement of the
equipment when it becomes obsolete should be
prepared.

Although measurable cost is a primary factor, it

is certainly not the only factor in selecting among
alternatives. Other factors of a strategic nature to
the organization and which form the basis for
competition in the market place should be
considered and quantified whenever possible.
Thank you!