MATERIALS HANDLING SYSTEM DESIGN - Environmentally Conscious Materials Handling - page 2

Therefore, keeping the material handling activity at a minimum is very important
for companies.
Due to the increasing demand for a high variety of products and shorter
response times in today's manufacturing industry, there is a need for highly
flexible and efficient material handling systems. In the design of a material han-
dling system, facility layout, product routings, and material flow control must be
considered. In addition, various other factors must be considered in an integrated
manner. The next section describes the ten principles of material handling as
developed by the Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA). It presents a
guideline for selecting equipment, designing a layout, standardizing, managing,
and controlling the material movement as well as the handling system. Another
section describes the common types of material handling systems. This chapter
also discusses types of equipment, how to select material handling equipment,
an operating model for material handling, and warehousing issues. It ends with
a case study that implements some of these issues.

2 TEN PRINCIPLES OF MATERIAL HANDLING

If material handling is designed properly, it provides an important support to
the production process. Following is a list of ten principles as developed by the
MHIA, which can be used as a guide for designing material handling systems.

2.1 Planning

A plan is a prescribed course of action that is defined in advance of implemen-
tation. In its simplest form, a material handing plan defines the material (what)
and the moves (when and where); together, they define the method (how and
who). Five key aspects must be considered in developing a plan:
1. The plan should be developed in consultation between the planner(s) and
all who will use and benefit from the equipment to be employed.
2. Success in planning large-scale material handling projects generally
requires a team approach involving suppliers, consultants when appro-
priate, and end-user specialists from management, engineering, computer
and information systems, finance, and operations.
3. The material handling plan should reflect the strategic objectives of the
organization, as well as the more immediate needs.
4. The plan should document existing methods and problems, physical and
economic constraints, and future requirements and goals.
5. The plan should promote concurrent engineering of product, process
design, process layout, and material handling methods, as opposed to
independent and sequential design practices.