Material Handling is one of the most important components in manufacturing.
What is it, you may ask?
In simple terms, it is defined as moving materials.
In manufacturing, the production system set-up is crucial. A plant’s efficiency, productivity, and profitability is dependent on successful material flow. Without it, production would grind to a halt. The effects of a material disruption can cost more than 30% of an organization’s revenue.
The goal of moving the right material to the right place, at the right time, in the right amount, in sequence, and in the right position or condition is to minimize production costs. Thankfully, there are a few tactics to help with this. Learn how StrataFlows automates material handling.
How to Meet Material Handling Objectives
The number one objective of material handling is to reduce unit costs of production. All other goals are subordinate to this. For help achieving this objective, the following list of sub-goals are a good checklist to help you keep costs down.
1. Maintain or improve product quality, reduce damage, and provide for protection of materials.
2. Promote safety and improve working conditions.
3. Promote productivity through implementing the following practices:
- Material should flow in a straight line.
- Material should move as short a distance as possible.
- Move more material at one time.
- Mechanize material handling.
- Automate material handling processes for disruption.
- Maintain or improve material handling/production ratios.
- Increase throughput by using automatic material handling equipment.
4. Promote increased use of facilities as follows:
- Promote the use of the building cube.
- Purchase versatile equipment.
- Standardize material handling equipment.
- Maximize production equipment utilization using material handling feeders.
- Maintain and replace all equipment as needed and develop a preventative maintenance program.
- Integrate all material handling equipment into a system.
5. Reduce tare (dead) weight.
6. Control Inventory.
Learn how to automate your Checklist
The 10 Principles of Material Handling
The Material Handling Institute Inc. has adapted 10 principles of material handling:
1. Planning Principle
2. Standardization Principle
3. Work Principal
4. Ergonomic Principle
5. Unit Load Principle
6. Space Utilization Principle
7. System Principle
8. Automation Principle
9. Environmental Principle
10. Life Cycle Cost Principle
We won’t go into detail of each one but will share some thoughts to consider on a few of them below.
Planning Principle
“In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower
We tend to side with Eisenhower on this one. It may seem straightforward to plan how to move materials. But planning ways to optimize and reduce disruptions is key to keeping materials flowing and helping you achieve your goal.
A series of questions have been used for generations that will serve you well in the planning stages: Why? Who? What? Where? When? How? If you answer these questions each time parts are moved, the solutions will become evident.
Say the goal is to unload 20,000 pounds of flat steel stock from a flatbed trailer into a plant. Here is an example of how you may answer the 5 Ws and an H.
- Why = you need steel in the plant (maybe coil would be better)
- What = 20,000-pound loads of steel (3-1/2 feet × 10 feet × 20 inches)
- Where = from flatbed trailer into storage area
- Who = receiving clerk When = 40,000 pounds per day (one truck)
- How = bridge crane
Even with detailed planning, one key consideration is materials missing at point of use. This will often stop the line and increase the cost of manufacturing a product.
Every company should have a standard process for handling material flow disruptions. Which brings us to the next principle. Find out how leading manufacturing companies are keeping materials flowing with StrataFlows.
Standardization Principle
Standardization is recording the method and procedures to arrive at the same result consistently. Companies must establish standard methods, equipment, controls, and software to meet performance objectives.
Automation Principle
Any operations that are involved in handling materials should be automated when possible. This will improve operational efficiency, increase responses, improve consistency and predictability, and lower
operating costs.
To see why this works, consider how much the industry has changed in the past 20 years. The number of people involved in each of the
stages of the process shrinks with new technologies. Currently, among the main technologies and solutions that are being used to improve the end of line process are:
- automatic palletizing like the ones offered by Premier Tech
- automated guided vehicles from Savant Automation
- production flow software by StrataFlows
Keeping Materials Flowing
In manufacturing, material handling accounts for 50% of the total operation’s cost. This fact alone justifies great effort on the part of material flow managers to save cost and minimize disruptions.
Let StrataFlows do the work for you so you can focus on what really matters in your business. We offer an affordable solution that can be customized for your organization. Over our 10-year history, we have created more than 40+ modules for manufacturing, logistics, construction, municipalities, and service industries. We can create solutions tailored to your needs in days not months or years. Even if your desired solution doesn’t fit within our 40+ created modules, it can be created from scratch. If you can define your process and we will build it in days. StrataFlows is used by the largest fortune 500 companies and also used by small and medium size businesses across all industries.
If you would like to learn more, Visit StrataFlows website or Schedule a Brief Web Call with one of our product specialists.
