MATERIAL HANDLING AND

EQUIPMENTS

CHAPTER-ONE

INTRODUCTION
1
Lecture 2
_________________________________________________________________

By:
Diriba Bekele (MSc)
Phone: +251933619638
+251 976862253
Email: Osheabekele@gmail.com

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Material Handling Definition
Materials handling can be defined as the art and science of
moving,
handling,
packaging and
storing,
controlling the material
MH integrates the processed for smooth flow of subject
man/material/machines such that it reduces
֍ Extent of movement
֍ Accident
֍ production cycle time
֍ Space requirement
֍ Delays
֍ Cost 3
• Form (storing gases and • Size (from nano to huge engines)
transporting gases ) Ship engine and smallest computer

• Safety location

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Cont . . .
 The basic difference between MH and manufacturing is that, manufacturing will create
form utility by changing the shape, form, and makeup of materials.
 MH means providing the right amount of the right material, in the right condition , at
right place, at the right time, in the right position and for the right cost by using the
right method.
 It is simply picking up, moving and lying down of material.
 It applies to the movement of raw materials, parts in process, finished goods, packing
materials and disposal of scraps.
 MH take place between one process to another process within the area or from one
department to another department.
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 Manufacturing
Processing
Grinding Every movement of the materials
Drilling during these processes requires
Painting material handling equipment.
Assembly
Packaging, etc..

The material handling is providing the right material

◦ of right amount
◦ in the right condition
◦ at the right place
◦ in the right position
◦ in the right sequence
◦ in the right time
◦ for the right price
◦ by the right method

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Objectives of Material Handling:
The primary objective of a MH system is to reduce the unit cost of production.
The other subordinate objectives are
1. Increase efficiency of material flow
2. Reduce delays and damages
3. Improve safety and working conditions.
4. Facilitate the manufacturing process
5. Increase productivity:
 Materials should flow in a straight line.
 Materials should move as short a distance
as possible.
 Use gravity
 Move more materials at one time.
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Cont . . .
• Promote increased use of facilities:
• Purchase versatile equipment
• Develop a preventive maintenance program.
• Maximize the equipment Utilization
Cost of Material Handling:

 Cost of material handling equipment (Includes both fixed and operational cost)
 Cost of labor (Includes direct and indirect cost)
 Cost of maintenance of equipment.
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Material handling equation
• A simple but useful way of planning and designing a materials
handling problem is described by the materials handling
equation:
• If Materials Handling is necessary, then
Materials + moves + methods= preferred system

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(characteristics) A good material handling system is
• Flexible

• The handling equipment has the capacity to respond to confirm to new situation easily

• The system can be easily adapted to changing product sizes, volumes, or layouts.

• Compatible

• Requires the number of varieties of models and,

• Moves of the equipment to be reduce

• Reliable

• Is the handling of the materials without the damage regardless of the frequency of the
movement of material inside industrial plant

• ability of a system to operate safely

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and frequently when ever needed
Material Handling Equipment 10
 Benefits of a good handling system
1. Reduce the cost
By utilizing the space effectively
By increasing productivity
By making few number of effective movements
2. Reduce waste
by eliminating damage to materials during handling process
by maintaining proper control over the in-and-out of stock handling process
3. Improve the working conditions
by providing safer working conditions
by reducing the workers fatigue
4. Improve the efficiency of the plant
by providing a better organization of storage facilities.

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Equipment 11 2/22/2024
Design of MH Systems
 A common approach to the design of MH systems (MHSs) is to consider MH as a
cost to be minimized.
 This approach may be the most appropriate in many situations because, while MH
can add real value to a product, it is usually difficult to identify and quantify the
benefits associated with MH; it is much easier to identify and quantify the costs of
MH (e.g., the cost of MH equipment, the cost of indirect MH labor, etc.).
 Once the design of a production process (exclusive of MH considerations) is
completed, alternate MHS designs are generated, each of which satisfies the MH
requirements of the production process. The least cost MHS design is then
selected.
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Design of MH Systems (Cont.)
 If it is too costly to even consider changing the basic layout of a facility and the
production process, then MHS cost is the only criterion that need be considered.
 In practice, it is difficult to consider all of the components of total production cost
simultaneously, even if a new facility and production process is being designed.
 Aspects of the design that have the largest impact on total cost are at some point
fixed and become constraints with respect to the remaining aspects of the design.

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When to Design of MH Systems?

 A new product is being planned to manufacture

 Change in existing product design requiring a corresponding the change of

layout.

 Obsolescence of facilities

 Frequent accidents

 Adoption of new safety standards

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Factor to be considered in Designing of MH Systems
1. Form- gas, liquid, semi-liquid, solid etc.,
2. Nature- bulk, unit load, individual items, fragile, sturdy etc.,
3. Characteristics- chemical, electrical, mechanical etc.,
4. Quantity- pieces, pounds, gallons etc.,

5. Moves:

 Source to destination
 Route-location, range, path, cross traffic etc.,
 Distance- horizontal, vertical and inclined.
 Frequency- uniform, regular, irregular
 Speed
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 6. Methods:

 Unit load, bulk items, containers

 Man power- one, several, many
or none.
 Equipment- conveyor, forklift
truck, crane etc.,

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Principles of Material Handling
• There are no definite “rules” that can be followed when designing an effective MHS
• The following “Ten Principles of Material Handling, represent the distillation of many
years of accumulated experience and knowledge of many practitioners and students of
material handling.
 Planning Principle: All MH 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.
 Standardization Principle: MH methods, equipment, controls and software should be
standardized within the limits of achieving overall performance objectives and without
sacrificing needed flexibility, and modularity.
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Cont . . .
 Work Principle: MH work (defined as material flow multiplied by the distance moved)
should be minimized without sacrificing productivity or the level of service required of
the operation.
 Ergonomic Principle: Human capabilities and limitations must be recognized and
respected in the design of MH tasks and equipment to ensure safe and effective
operations.
Unit Load Principle: Unit loads shall be appropriately sized and configured in a way that
achieves the material flow and inventory objectives at each stage in the supply chain.
Space Utilization Principle: Effective and efficient use must be made of all available
(cubic) space.
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Cont . . .
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, and transportation,
and the handling of returns.
Automation Principle: MH 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.

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Cont . . .
 Environmental Principle: Environmental impact and energy consumption should be
considered as criteria when designing or selecting alternative equipment and MHS.
 Life Cycle Cost Principle. A thorough economic analysis should account for the entire
life cycle of all MHE and resulting systems.

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Characteristics of Materials
The characteristics of materials affecting handling include:
• size (width, depth, height);
• weight (weight per item, or per unit volume);
• shape (round, square, long, rectangular, irregular);
• other (slippery, fragile, sticky, explosive, frozen).
See the table:
Physical State
Material Category
Solid Liquid Gas

Individual Item Part, subassembly - -

Containerized item Carton, bag, tote, box, pallet, bin Barrel Cylinder 21
Cont . . .
The impact of the material category listed in above Table on the type of MH equipment is as
follows:

• Individual units and containerized items ⇒discrete material flow ⇒ unit loads ⇒ unit
handling eqpt

• Bulk materials ⇒ continuous material flow ⇒ bulk handling equipment

Figure below shows an example of alternate ways of handling a dry bulk material: as
containerized (bagged) items on pallets handled using unit handling equipment (boxcar, pallet,
Fork truck), or as bulk material handled using bulk handling equipment (hopper car, pneumatic
conveyor, bulk storage bin).
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Cont. . .

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 Classification of Material Handling
There are two categories(sets) of classifying material handling system
1. Based on the material being handled (Functional division)
2. Based on the equipment used to handle the material (according to design feature)
Functional division
1. Bulk handling
Form of particles or lumps of homogeneous materials or powder
like materials, which can not be counted by numbers, it is called as
“Bulk load”.
Defined by: Bulk Density, Lump-Size, Flowability, Abrasiveness.
Involves all states of materials, i.e. solids, liquids and gases.
Particularly in processing, basic heavy industry and mine industry.

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Equipment 24 2/22/2024
Cont..
2. Unit Handling
The basic concept is to move maximum load at a time so that the number of moves for a definite
quantity of load to be moved is minimum and so is the cost of handling.
Handling of unit loads ranging from pins to locomotives.

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Equipment 25 2/22/2024
 Unit load
Transporting loads as a unit

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Equipment 26 2/22/2024
The Unit Load Concept
A unit load is either a single unit of an item, or multiple units arranged so that they can be handled
as a single unit and maintain their integrity.
Advantages of unit loads:
 More items can be handled at the same time, thereby reducing the number of trips required,
potentially reducing handling costs, loading and unloading times, and product damage.
 Enables the use of standardized material handling equipment.
Disadvantages of unit loads:
 Time spent forming and breaking down the unit load.
 Cost of containers/pallets and other load restraining materials used in the unit load
 Empty containers/pallets may need to be returned to their point of origin
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Cont . . .
Basic ways of restraining a unit load:

 Self-restraining—one or more units that can maintain their integrity when handled as a single
item (e.g., a single part or interlocking parts)

 Platforms—pallets (paper, wood, plastic, metal), skids (metal, plastic)

 Sheets—slip sheets (plastic, cardboard, plywood)

 Reusable containers—tote pans, pallet boxes, skid boxes, bins, baskets, bulk containers (e.g.,
barrels), intermodal containers

 Disposable containers—cartons, bags, crates

 Racks—racks
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Cont . . .
 Load stabilization—strapping, shrink-wrapping, stretch-wrapping, glue, tape,

wire, rubber bands.

Use of a lifting device under the mass of the load (e.g., a pallet and fork truck)

Inserting a lifting element into the body of the load (e.g., a coil of steel)

Squeezing the load between two lifting surfaces (e.g., lifting a light carton
between your hands, or the use of carton clamps on a lift truck)

Suspending the load (e.g., hoist and crane)

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Cont . . .
Unit Load Design
Unit loads can be used both for in-process handling and for distribution
(receiving, storing, and shipping).

Unit load design involves determining the:

 Type, size, weight, and configuration of the load

 Equipment and method used to handle the load

 Methods of forming (or building) and breaking down the load

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Cont. . .
Selecting unit load size for distribution depends on

 Containers/pallets are usually available only in standard sizes and configurations.

 Truck trailers, rail boxcars, and airplane cargo bays are limited in width, length, and
height.

 The existing warehouse layout and storage rack configuration may limit the number of
feasible container/pallet sizes for a load.

 Customer package/carton sizes and retail store shelf restrictions can limit the number of
feasible container/pallet sizes for a load.

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 Division based on design feature

MHE

Hoisting Conveying Surface and overhead

Equipment Equipment Equipment

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1. Hoisting Equipment 2. Conveying Equipment 3. Surface & overhead

Are a group of machines Are a group of machines Are a group of machines

with lifting gear for which move load in which handle loads in
moving loads mainly with continuous flow. batches.
batches. intended for bulk and Fork Lifts
Hoisting machinery Truck and Lorries
unit loads one at a time.
Cranes Railway Cars and Wagons
All conveyors
Elevators

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Equipment 33 2/22/2024
Typical Hoisting Machines
Screw jack Electric Hoists Electric capstan(Horizontal
drum)

Rope pulleys

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Equipment 34 2/22/2024
Typical hoisting machines- cranes
Single guider bridge crane Crane Trolley

Crane on a truck
Wall Jib Crane

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Equipment 35 2/22/2024
Typical conveyors
Belt conveyor Oscillating conveyor Apron conveyor Flight conveyor

Screw conveyor

Bucket Elevator

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Equipment 36 2/22/2024
Selection of Material Handling
Material Handling Equipments are selected based on the following criterions:
1. Nature of operations
 Whether handling is temporary or permanent
 Whether the flow is continuous or intermittent
 Material flow pattern – Vertical or horizontal
 Type of layout – Plant layout, product layout or combination
layout
2. Materials to be handled
 Size and shape of the material
 Quantity and weight of the material
 Material Characteristics
 Susceptibility to damage during handling
3. Distance over which the material to be removed
 Fixed distance
 Long distance
 Walk distance

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Equipment 37 2/22/2024
Cont…
4. Installation and operation cost
 Initial investment
 Operating and maintenance costs

5. Plant facilities
 Types of building
 Floor load capacity

6. Engineering factors
 Door and ceiling dimensions
 Floor conditions structural lengths
 Traffic Safety

7. Equipment reliability
 Use of standard components
 Service facilities
 Supplier reputation

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Equipment 38 2/22/2024
Applications areas of MHE
1. Manufacturing industry
2. Building construction industry
3. Heavy construction industry
4. Mining industry
5. Food industry
6. Automotive and transportation industry

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Equipment 39 2/22/2024
THANK YOU…

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