Introduction:
When the raw material enters in the industry initially
and departs from the industry in the form of finished product, it is handled at
all the different stages in between. Say it maybe is simply stored in the
godown, shop floor. Basically the material is transported from one place of the
industry to another and this is termed as material handling.
Why is material handling an important phenomenon?
It is a specialized activity for the present-day
manufacturing units. Nearly, 20-30% of total labour cost is material handling
cost and reduction in production cost by saving in material handling cost will
be highly beneficial for the factory. This can be done by operation, proper
selection, maintenance and layout of material handling process.
Material handling can be thus defined as, “an art and
science of moving, sorting and packing of the product in any form.”
Object of material handling:
The prime aim of material handling is to move the desired
product from one place to other with no or less efforts ensuring less human
handling, waste, cost and production loss with causing any form of accident and
damage to the product during the transportation with the stipulated area.
What are the functions of good material handling?
- The very obvious function is to cut down the movement involved in the production operation.
- Wherever possible, utilizing gravity for assisting material movements.
- To design drums or container packages to economize handling and to reduce damage to the material.
- To ensure that the equipment should not interfere with the production line.
- To move maximum number of products in one unit.
- To employ mechanical aid in place of manual labour.
It is suggested to periodically check the material
handling equipments so it can be repaired or replaced if required.
What are the principles of material handling?
There are four basic principles involved in the material
handling namely the planning principle, operation, equipments and the costing
principle. Let us examine each in detail.
The costing principle:
Obviously buying the equipment requires capital. The
purchaser need to check a few considerations before buying the equipment, he
should ensure that at the time of buying the equipment we should get back the
cost of the equipment from the savings made out of the use within the fair time
period.
Operation:
To avoid any type of mishap or accidents, a proper set of
rules are prepared which the material handlers are bound to follow while
handling or operating the material.
Equipment:
There are wide ranges of options available in the market
to choose from. Hence, before buying the equipments one should examine the
needs, nature of the material to be handled. This in fact ensures proper
handling with efficiency.
Planning principle:
Planning principle is perhaps the significant principle
as far as the material handling is concerned. One should consider relation
between storage and the movement of the material, effect of material handling
on the production cost and one should have proper understanding of methods to
gain efficient relationship between costs of production factors.
Factors affecting problems of material handling:
Economic factors:
Economic factors includes the rent of the space, cost of
supervision, cost if insurance, cost of power, taxes and insurance, cost of
labour, cost of maintenance and repair etc.
Engineering factors:
Engineering factors can be divided into four subgroups
namely,
- Factors related to handling of equipment: This generally includes suitability of the job and the capability as far as the volume of work and working hours are concerned. Power required and the economy of installations.
- Existing material handling equipment: The efficiency of the material handling can be drawn from various factors such as its performance while dealing with different products.
- Production process: Production process basically involves method of production, quality of the products and majorly the sequence of operations.
- Nature of the equipment's: The nature of the material refers to the weight, size, bulk, shape and whether the material is handled by group or a single person.
0 Comments