Materials Handling Analysis
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Material Handling
Material handling is the function 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 to minimize production costs.
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Five Aspects of Material Handling
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Movement
Quantity
Time
Space
Control
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Goals of Material Handling



Maintain or improve products quality,
reduce damage, and protect materials
Promote safety and improve working
conditions
Promote productivity



Straight flow
Automate as required
Use gravity! It’s free power
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Goals of Material Handling

Promote increased facility use

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Cube utilization
Versatile equipment
Develop a PM program
Reduce tare weight (dead weight)
Control inventory
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Material Handling
Proper material handling can:


Improper Material Handling
accounts for 50% of all work
related injuries
Material Handling accounts for
40% of the organization’s
operating costs.
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Material Handling
Proper material handling can:





Improve ergonomics
Minimize total costs
Improve worker safety
Reduce human exertion
Minimize physical labor
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Material Handling Examples
Lift tables are available
with complete 360degree turntables so
that the operator can
work from one side.
They can also be made
to tilt up to 90
degrees so that
master cartons can be
accessed more easily
without bending over
into the carton
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Material Handling Examples
Filled drums can be
moved utilizing one
person will the proper
material handling
equipment.
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Material Handling Examples
How about combining four trips into one?
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Material Handling Examples
Sheet goods. . .why use
more than one worker
when you can achieve
the same results with
less waste of waiting
and risk of injury?
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Material Handling Examples
Odd shapes? No problem. . .
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Material Handling Examples
Heavy coil . . .
Heavy boxes . . .
Roll stock . . .
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Material Handling Examples
Conveyors . . .
Gravity Conveyor
Powered Roller Conveyor
Ball Transfer Table
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Material Handling Examples
Telescoping Conveyors . . .
15
Material Handling Examples
Stretchaveyor Systems. . .
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Material Handling Supporting
Pull Manufacturing


Custom built for
unique products.
Note: Holding slots
designed to aid
inventory control.
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Material Handling Supporting
Pull Manufacturing



Container holds
approximately 200
pieces.
Note: Kanban sign
Note: Tare weight for
weigh counting
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Material Handling Ideals
Material Handling Ideals to live by. . .
1. KISS – “keep it simple and sane”
2. “the best material handling system is
no material handling system at all”
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Material Handling Basic Questions






What operation are we doing?
Why do we need to move this material?
Where is the material going?
When and how often are we doing it?
How are we currently doing it?
Who is performing this function?
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Cost Justification Example
An oil remanufacturing company uses clay in its manufacturing
process. The clay comes into the plant in 80# bags (only size
available) stacked 40/pallet and 50 pallets/boxcar. Two
carloads per year are used. Since there is no railroad spur to
the dock, the union and company agreed that two part-time
workers would be hired for one week, twice a year at the rate of
$7.50/hr to unload these cars. You are asked to investigate the
process and provided recommendations for improvement.
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Cost Justification Example
Why is this done? We need clay, and the railroad is by far the
cheapest way to transport it. Let’s look at it like this:
What? = 80# x 40 bags x 50 pallets = 160,000#/boxcar
Where? = From the boxcar to the warehouse (300 feet)
Who? = Two temporary workers
When? = One week, twice a year
How? = Manually unload the pallets then move these
pallets into the storeroom with the fork truck that we own.
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Cost Justification Example
What do we know?
4 weeks x 40 hrs/week x $7.50/hr = $1,200/year
1. Is the current method the cheapest in the long run?
2. How could you justify a $2,400 expenditure (2 year ROI)
to improve the task that is performed so infrequently?
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Part of Body Affected by
Injury
Number of Nonfatal Occupational Injuries & Illnesses
Multiple Parts
10%
Neck
2%
Body Systems
1%
Shoulder
6%
Back
30%
Lower Extremities
24%
Upper Extremities
27%
1999 BLS Data
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Cost Justification Example
What do we know now?
1. Consider the worker.
2. Material handling is not a simple cost benefit analysis.
3. Look at the whole approach when asking the questions.
4. Consider the claim rates of the company.
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SECS

Study

Eliminate

Combine

Simplify
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Large Vs. Small Unit Load
One should always try to maximize / optimize the quantity,
size, and weight of the load handled.
The intent is to reduce the overall number of movements or
trips required to move or transport a given quantity of
materials. Don’t increase load at the expense of inventory!
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Materials Handling and Cycle
Time
Move
Operation A
Move
Operation B
Lot Size
Operation C
Container Size Cycle Time
1
1
30 min
100
100
3,000 min
100
1
1,020 min
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Cycle Time Example
Remember the second ideal?
“the best material handling system is no material
handling system at all”
How about SECS?
Do we really need to move between the operations?
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Material Handling Utopia

The best of both worlds combines
manufacturing and shipping containers




Prevalent in the auto industry
Stackable / nestable racks
Collapsible containers
Inexpensive to acquire and retain
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Material Handling with Pallets
The most common unit load is the pallet. Almost anything
can be stacked on a pallet, tied with bonding or plastic
wrap, and moved around the plant or world as on unit.
Pallets are made of a variety of materials with greatly
differing costs.
Cardboard pallets @ $1 ea will make one trip
Plastic pallets @ $4 ea will make 20 trips
Wooden pallets @ $20 ea will make 100 trips
Steel skids @ $150 ea will make 2,000 trips
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Material Handling with Pallets
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Collapsible Containers
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Collapsible and Nestable
Containers
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Materials Handling Analysis Tools



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Operation process chart (OPC) is used to analyze
relations between operations and is useful for
analyzing assembly operations and layout
Flow process chart is used to identify detailed
problems such as delay in time, storage costs and
material handling costs
Flow diagram mainly concerns with floor space,
traffic congestion and traveling distance
PERT chart is used as a project scheduling tool and
concerns with timing objective and costs for major
projects
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The Performance Principle
Know what your material handling costs are and continuously
work to reduce them. The process chart provides the form
to calculate the unit cost of every move. Tracking this
percentage can show the improvements in performance.
Material Handling Hours
Percentage of M.H. =
Total Labor Hours
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From-To Charts


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Can indicate both volume and process flow
Constructed like a mileage chart
List the process steps in their “natural”
direction
Can be computer generated or simple hash
tabulation marks
Note both the required sequence and
intensity of materials flow
Note the handling difficulty and cost
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From-To Chart



Most exact technique of
the three
Considers the importance
of the parts
Establishes a relative
importance ranking
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From-To Chart Example

Step 1
Establish the Relative Importance factor
Part No.
Quantity per Day
Weight in Pounds
Total Weight (lbs)
Relative Importance
1
2
3
2,000
2,000
3,000
0.5
9.0
15.0
1,000
18,000
45,000
1.0
18.0
45.0

Step 2– Create the from-to matrix
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To Example
From-To Chart
R
R
A
B
C
1
18
45
FROM
A
1
B
C
D
D
18+45
1
Total
64
45
18
S
18
1
64
19
1
64
45
46
Total:
257
S
40
From-To
Chart
Example
 Step 3
Assign the penalty points
To
R
R
A
B
C
1
1
18
36
45
135
1
1
A
FROM
C
S
Total
P.P.
64
172
64
208
19
20
1
2
64
252
45
45
46
47
18
72
1
2
18+45
252
1
2
D
Double
P.P.
45
135
18
18
B
D
S
T
P.P.
64
252
19
37
64
155
46
137
64
119
257
699
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From-To
Chart
Example
 Step 4
Determine the efficiency and evaluate
To
R
R
A
B
C
1
1
18
36
45
135
1
1
A
FROM
C
45
135
18
18
B
D
18
72
1
2
18+45
252
1
2
D
S
Total
P.P.
64
172
64
208
Efficiency = 257 / 699
19
20
1
2
64
252
45
45
46
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Can we
do better?
S
T
P.P.
64
252
19
37
64
155
46
137
64
119
= 37%
257
699
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5 Ms
Five basic factors affect all moves:
 Man
 Materials
 Methods of handling
 Moves – distances and elevations
 Money – cost of materials movement
and handling equipment
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Questions and Comments
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