This blog will clear up all your questions about what is material handling. Material handling is essential to modern manufacturing, warehousing, and logistics operations. Effective material handling can help businesses improve productivity, reduce costs, and enhance workplace safety. On the other hand, poor material handling practices can lead to wasted time, damaged goods, and an increased risk of accidents and injuries.
Explore the importance of material handling and the fundamental principles businesses can apply to optimize their operations. Whether you are a warehouse manager or logistics professional, understanding the importance and principles of material handling can help you succeed in today's competitive marketplace!
What Is Material Handling With Example?
Throughout the supply chain, material handling refers to storing, moving, protecting, and supervising various products or materials that are required by a business. It includes activities such as loading and unloading, transporting, storing, and packaging materials and products.
Examples of material handling include:
- The movement of materials from one location to another is accomplished through conveyor systems.
- Forklifts and other material handling equipment that lift and transport heavy loads.
- Automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) that use robotics to move and store products.
- Packaging equipment that wraps, seals, and labels products for shipment.
- Pallet racking and shelving systems that organize and store products in warehouses.
- Material handling software that manages inventory levels, orders, and shipping schedules.
Types of Material Handling
Now that you know what is material handling and the scope of material handling, let's see all the types of material handling that you should know:
Manual material handling: This involves the use of human labor to move materials and products manually, such as pushing, pulling, lifting, or carrying. Examples include hand trucks and pallet jacks. However, it is common for people to make mistakes during the annual material handling process, such as dropping packages. Moreover, lifting heavy weights incorrectly can lead to injuries and can also be time-consuming.
Mechanical material handling: This involves using machinery and equipment to move materials and products, such as forklifts, conveyors, cranes, and automated guided vehicles (AGVs).
Automated material handling: This involves using robotics and automation to handle and transport materials and products, such as automatic storage and retrieval systems (ASRS), sorting systems, and pick-and-place robots. Automated material handling offers numerous advantages. Firstly, it speeds up the production process, and a machine's productivity rate is 100 times higher than that of a human. Additionally, automation also reduces accidents at work.
Bulk material handling: This involves the movement and storage of large quantities of materials such as minerals, grain, or chemicals, typically using specialized equipment such as silos, hoppers, and chutes.
Each type of material handling has its advantages and disadvantages depending on the specific application and requirements of the business. Effective material handling equipment can help companies to improve productivity, reduce costs, and enhance workplace safety.
Importance of Material Handling
Material handling is a vital part of business operations, and here is an overview of the importance of material handling:
Material handling can help businesses improve productivity by streamlining processes and reducing waste. With the right material handling equipment and techniques, businesses can move materials and products efficiently and effectively, reducing the time and effort required to complete tasks. It can help enterprises to increase output and improve overall efficiency.
Efficient material handling enables businesses to reduce costs by minimizing damage to materials and products, optimizing inventory levels, and reducing labor costs. Using the appropriate material handling equipment and techniques, businesses can reduce the risk of product damage during handling, transport, and storage. Additionally, companies can optimize their inventory levels by using efficient storage and retrieval systems, reducing the need for excess inventory and associated storage costs. Businesses can also reduce labor costs by automating repetitive material handling tasks using robotics and automation.
Material handling is essential for workplace safety. Manual material handling tasks can be physically demanding and lead to injuries and accidents if not performed correctly. By using appropriate material handling equipment and training workers on proper techniques, businesses can reduce the risk of workplace injuries and enhance workplace safety.
Principles of Material Handling
Material handling is based on some principles which are vital for the business. Here are some principles of material handling that make day-to-day business functioning more efficient and quick:
- **Planning:**Effective material handling requires careful planning and analysis to determine the optimal layout, equipment, and processes.
- Standardization: Standardizing material handling processes and equipment can improve efficiency and reduce errors.
- Ergonomics: Material handling tasks can be physically demanding, so it's important to consider ergonomics to reduce the risk of workplace injuries and improve worker comfort.
- Safety: In certain cases, material handling can be hazardous, so safety should be a top priority. Proper equipment and training can help minimize risks.
- Automation: Automated material handling can improve efficiency and reduce labor costs, but choosing the right technology and processes for the specific application is essential.
- **Flexibility:**Material handling needs can change quickly, so it's important to design systems that can adapt to evolving demands.
- **Space utilization:**Efficient use of space can help reduce costs and improve efficiency. It can be achieved through proper layout design and equipment selection.
- **Sustainability:**Material handling can have a significant impact on the environment, so it's important to consider sustainable practices such as recycling, energy-efficient equipment, and reduced packaging.
- Maintenance: Proper maintenance of material handling equipment is essential to ensure safety, efficiency, and longevity.
- **Training:**Proper training of workers is critical to ensure they can safely and effectively operate material handling equipment and perform tasks correctly.
Benefits of Material Handling
With an effective material handling system, your company can store the necessary stock in smaller spaces. Material handling has many benefits that help the business run smoothly. Here are some of those benefits:
Increased productivity
With efficient material handling processes and equipment, businesses can move materials and products more quickly, reducing production time and increasing output.
Cost savings
Optimizing material handling can help reduce storage, transportation, and labor. It can also reduce the risk of product damage during handling, saving businesses money in the long run.
Improved workplace safety:
Performing manual material handling tasks can be dangerous. Therefore, giving the employees proper equipment and training can reduce the risk of injuries and accidents in the workplace.
Better inventory management:
Another benefit of efficient material handling is that it can help businesses optimize inventory levels, reducing the need for excess inventory and associated storage costs.
Enhanced customer service:
Improved material handling can benefit businesses by fulfilling orders more quickly and accurately, improving customer satisfaction.
Increased sustainability:
Sustainable material handling practices such as recycling and reducing packaging can help businesses reduce their environmental impact. It greatly benefits companies to reduce their carbon footprint, lowering wastage and increasing their profit margin.
Objectives of Materials Handling Process
Apart from knowing what is material handling, it is also vital to understand its objectives. So, let's look at some objectives of material handling:
Efficient movement of materials
The primary objective of materials handling is to move materials from one location to another most efficiently and effectively as possible. It helps to reduce waste, increase productivity and minimize damage to materials.
Optimal utilization of space
An effective materials handling process aims to optimize the use of space in terms of storage and movement of materials. It helps to reduce storage costs, increase storage capacity and improve the accessibility of materials.
Minimization of costs
Materials handling processes must strive to minimize costs associated with the handling and moving of materials, including labor, equipment, and storage costs. It can be achieved by reducing the time and effort required to handle materials and improving equipment and storage space utilization.
Improved safety
A key objective of materials handling is to ensure the safety of workers and materials. It can be achieved by providing adequate training to workers, using appropriate equipment and procedures, and ensuring that materials are handled and stored safely and securely.
Customer satisfaction
Another objective of the material handling process is to help to ensure that materials are delivered to customers on time and in the desired condition. It can help to improve customer satisfaction and build long-term relationships with customers. Delivering goods at the right time and in good condition is one of the primary responsibilities of any business, which ultimately leads to increased profitability and success.
Environmental sustainability
An effective materials-handling process aims to minimize the ecological impact of materials-handling activities by reducing waste, promoting recycling, and using energy-efficient equipment. Companies can reduce the wastage caused by poor material handling by focusing on the orders placed and moving the materials with total safety.
Quality control
Materials handling process can help to ensure that materials are handled in a way that minimizes the risk of damage or contamination, thus helping to maintain product quality. It can be achieved through appropriate handling procedures and equipment, regular inspections, and quality control checks. By ensuring high-quality materials, businesses can improve customer satisfaction and build a positive reputation in the market.
Enhance Material Handling Efficiency With TranZact
Material handling is an essential process that is often overlooked yet critical to the success of businesses in industries such as manufacturing, construction, warehousing, and logistics. Having understood what is material handling, you can automate your core material planning operations with TranZact's material requirements planning solution. It helps you to can get a complete view of raw material needs, as per existing inventory on hand and purchased stock in a single click. Therefore, TranZact enables you to optimize your operations significantly and achieve success with order delivery and customer satisfaction!
FAQs on Material Handling
1. What do you mean by material handling?
Material handling is the process of moving, controlling, and storing materials and products throughout the supply chain, from raw materials to finished goods.
2. Why is material handling important?
Material handling is an essential aspect of any industrial operation, as it involves the movement, storage, protection, and control of materials and products throughout the manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution process. It significantly improves productivity, reduces labor costs, enhances worker safety, and optimizes the use of available resources.
