Warehousing and Materials Handling

 

 

Material handling – making the supply chain work

 

Material handling is a wide discipline encompassing all the aspects of the supply chain. Using the right materials handling equipment can bring about efficiency improvements, with robotics taking efficiency to a whole new level.

Defined as both an art and a science, material handling is an extensive field of expertise, covering all the aspects relating to the movement, storage, control and protection of materials, goods and products throughout the process of manufacturing, distribution, consumption and disposal.

The objectives of material handling are:
– Increasing efficiency of material flow
– Increasing productivity
– Improving safety and working conditions
– Reducing material handling cost
– Improving facility utilization
– Facilitating the manufacturing process

Considering these objectives, it becomes clear why material handling and the equipment used to achieve it, is increasingly becoming an issue of strategic importance for companies who understand the competitive advantages it can create.

Material handling equipment is the mechanical equipment involved in the complete material handling system and is generally separated into four main categories: Storage and Handling Equipment, Engineered Systems, Industrial Trucks and Bulk Material Handling.

See the general overview of each category below.

Racking and Shelving, Storage and handling equipment –

Storage and handling equipment includes the non-automated storage equipment including products such as pallets, racking, shelving, carts, etc. These items generally have globally accepted standards and are often sold as stock materials out of catalogues.

Companies supplying racking and shelving include Acrow, Barpro Storage, Dexion Racking and Shelving Systems, EM Shelving & Racking, ESE Manufacturing, Krost Shelving, Linvar, and Palian to name but a few.

Conveyors and Engineered systems –

Engineered systems are typically custom engineered material handling systems, such as conveyors, AS/RS, AGV and other automated material handling systems. Engineered systems are often a combination of products integrated to one system. Many distribution centers will optimize storage and picking by utilising engineered systems such as pick modules and sortation systems.

The use of the right materials handling technology determines the productivity in your warehouse and so choosing the correct conveyor system for your warehouse is vital.

There are a number of companies in South Africa supplying conveyors and conveyor equipment including Belting Edge, Chiorino, Conveyco, Interroll, IPCO, Jadec, Mexan and Progretto to name but a few.

Industrial trucks / Forklifts –

Industrial trucks usually refer to operator-driven motorised warehouse vehicles, of which forklifts must be the most common example, but certainly not the full extent of the category. It also includes, for example, tow tractors and stock chasers.

Suppliers of Forklift Trucks and moving equipment include ASquare, Avis Forklift Centre, Bidvest Forklifts, Eazi Access , EIE Group/Toyota Forklifts, Elite Forklifts, Jungheinrich, Linde Materials, Masslift/Mitsubishi Forklifts and Shamrock Handling Concepts.

 

Bulk material handling equipment –

Bulk material handling equipment is used to move and store bulk materials such as flour, liquids and cereals.
Choosing the right material handling equipment in each category increases throughput, control costs, and maximise productivity. There are several ways to determine if the material handling equipment is achieving peak efficiency.

These include capturing all relevant data related to the warehouse’s operation (such as SKUs – stock-keeping unit ), measuring how many times an item is “touched” from the time it is ordered until it leaves the building, making sure the proper picking technology is used, and keeping system downtime to a minimum.

Robotic Systems / Robots –

There has been a major increase in the use of robotic systems in warehouses, and logistics and distribution centres. While historically limited to the automotive and electronic sectors, the robotics industry is now venturing into new territory and particularly in consumer goods, such as in the food, beverage and pharmaceuticals sectors. “Robotics is becoming a viable alternative to achieving a greater degree of flexibility in today’s more complex materials handling operations.

With the many new technology advancements and the promise of exceptional efficiency created by robotics, warehouse and logistics managers are well advised to ensure each category of their materials handling equipment is producing maximum efficiency to contain costs and improve productivity.

The specialists in robotics in South Africa are ABB and Yaskawa South Africa