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Introduction of Material Handling

Material Handling (MH) is an essential, often underestimated, function within Production and Operations Management. It governs the movement, storage, protection, and control of materials and products throughout their entire lifecycle within an organization – from receiving raw materials, through production processes, warehousing, distribution, until final disposal. While the physical act of moving material doesn't typically add direct value that a customer pays for (like assembly or machining does), its efficiency significantly impacts overall cost, time, safety, and productivity.

As defined by Haynes, it involves handling products in various states using manual, gravity-based, or power-actuated methods within a facility. In India's increasingly complex manufacturing and logistics landscape, optimizing MH is vital. Consider that MH activities can constitute up to 40% of production costs, and materials often spend 80% of their manufacturing time being moved or waiting, not being processed. Inefficient MH directly translates to delays, bottlenecks, increased Work-In-Progress (WIP), potential damage to goods, higher operational costs, and increased safety risks for employees. Therefore, effective MH aims to minimize unnecessary handling and make necessary movements as efficient, safe, and cost-effective as possible.

  • Core Concept: Material Handling is the art and science encompassing the movement, handling, storage, protection, and control of materials throughout the manufacturing and distribution process.
  • Value Proposition: A critical point is that MH typically does not add intrinsic value to the product itself but unavoidably adds cost. Therefore, the fundamental goal is to minimize handling wherever possible and to perform necessary handling with maximum efficiency and minimum cost.
  • Scope: The scope is broad, covering:
    • Receiving raw materials and components.
    • Storing incoming materials.
    • Moving materials between workstations (Work-In-Progress).
    • Positioning materials for processing.
    • Transferring finished goods to storage.
    • Storing finished goods.
    • Loading products for distribution.
    • It also includes related aspects like packaging design (for ease of handling), unit load formation (e.g., palletizing), and selection of appropriate handling equipment.
  • Impact:
    • Poor MH: Leads to increased lead times, production delays, machine/labor idling, higher WIP inventory, potential product damage, higher operational costs, and increased workplace accidents.
    • Effective MH: Results in streamlined workflow, reduced cycle times, lower costs (labor, inventory, damage), improved space utilization, enhanced safety, and increased overall productivity.
  • Indian Example: Imagine a large e-commerce fulfillment center operated by Flipkart or Amazon in India. Material handling here involves unloading trucks, moving items to storage racks (using forklifts, conveyors, or potentially AGVs), retrieving items for orders (picking), moving them to packing stations, and finally conveying packed orders to the shipping/dispatch area. The speed and accuracy of this handling are crucial for meeting delivery promises.

Objectives of Material Handling

The strategic implementation of a material handling system aims to achieve several key objectives:

  1. Minimize Cost of Material Handling: This is often the primary objective. It involves reducing expenses related to labor, equipment (purchase, operation, maintenance, energy), space utilization, and damage incurred during handling.
  2. Minimize Delays and Interruptions: Ensure a continuous and timely supply of materials to workstations and processes. This prevents bottlenecks, reduces idle time for machines and labor, and supports smooth production flow, crucial for systems like Just-In-Time (JIT).
  3. Increase Productive Capacity: By reducing handling time and minimizing delays, MH systems can improve the utilization of existing production facilities, effectively increasing throughput and capacity without investing in more production machinery.
  4. Improve Safety and Working Conditions: Reduce the physical strain and risk of accidents for employees by mechanizing or automating the handling of heavy, bulky, hot, or hazardous materials. This leads to fewer injuries and a better work environment.
  5. Maximize Utilization of MH Equipment: Ensure that investments in conveyors, forklifts, cranes, etc., are justified by their effective and efficient use. Avoid situations of having expensive equipment sitting idle.
  6. Prevent Damage to Materials: Use appropriate handling methods, containers, and equipment to protect materials, components, and finished goods from damage during movement and storage.
  7. Lower Investment in Process Inventory (WIP): Efficient handling reduces the time materials spend in transit between operations, thereby decreasing the amount of Work-In-Progress inventory required and its associated holding costs.
  8. Improve Space Utilization: Make effective use of building volume (cubic space), not just floor area, through appropriate storage and handling methods (e.g., high racking systems).

Principles of Material Handling

These 20 principles serve as guidelines for designing, selecting, managing, and improving material handling systems:

  1. Planning Principle: All MH activities require thorough planning based on objectives, needs, and performance requirements before selecting methods or equipment.
  2. Systems Principle: Integrate MH activities with all related operational functions (receiving, storage, production, inspection, packaging, warehousing, supply, transport) into a unified, coordinated system. Consider the entire material flow.
  3. Space Utilisation Principle: Optimize the use of building volume (cubic space), including vertical space, for storage and handling, not just the floor area.
  4. Unit Load Principle: Move materials in unit loads (e.g., pallets, containers, totes) that are as large and uniform as practical to minimize the number of moves.
  5. Gravity Principle: Use gravity for material movement (e.g., chutes, sloped conveyors) whenever feasible, as it reduces power consumption and cost.
  6. Material Flow Principle: Design layouts and sequences to optimize the flow path of materials, aiming for short distances, minimal backtracking, and reduced congestion.
  7. Simplification Principle: Simplify handling by reducing, eliminating, or combining unnecessary movements and/or equipment.
  8. Safety Principle: Prioritize safety in all MH methods and equipment design and operation to prevent injuries and accidents.
  9. Mechanisation/Automation Principle: Employ mechanical or automated equipment where it is efficient, economical, and improves safety or consistency compared to manual handling.
  10. Standardisation Principle: Standardize MH methods and equipment types/sizes where feasible to enhance flexibility, interchangeability, operator training, and maintenance efficiency.
  11. Flexibility Principle: Select methods and equipment that can adapt to a variety of tasks and changing operational requirements.
  12. Equipment Selection Principle: Base equipment selection on a thorough analysis of the material properties, movement requirements (distance, frequency, path), and the handling method to be used.
  13. Dead Weight Principle: Minimize the ratio of the equipment's own weight (dead weight) to the weight of the load carried (payload) in mobile equipment to save energy.
  14. Motion Principle: Keep transport equipment moving productively; minimize idle travel or unnecessary stops.
  15. Idle Time Principle: Minimize unproductive time for both MH equipment (waiting, breakdowns) and operators.
  16. Maintenance Principle: Implement a planned preventive maintenance and repair schedule for all MH equipment to ensure availability and reliability.
  17. Obsolescence Principle: Periodically review MH methods and equipment; replace outdated or inefficient systems when better, economically justifiable alternatives emerge.
  18. Capacity Principle: Utilize MH equipment to its full rated capacity where practical and safe, avoiding consistent underutilization.
  19. Control Principle: Use MH systems to facilitate better tracking and control of materials throughout the production and inventory cycle.
  20. Performance Principle: Measure MH system performance, primarily based on the cost per unit handled, and continuously seek improvements.
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