Material Handling and Packaging
The primary handling objective in a warehouse is to sort inbound shipments according to precise customer requirements.
The three handling activities are
receiving,
in-storage handling, and
shipping.
Receiving
Merchandise and materials typically arrive at the warehouse in larger quantities than when they depart.
The first handling activity required is unloading the transportation vehicle.
In most warehouses, unloading is manual.
Limited automated and mechanized methods have been developed that are capable of adapting to varying product characteristics.
The product is hand-stacked on pallets to form a unit load for movement efficiency.
In some cases, conveyors are employed to unload vehicles more rapidly
Larger types of merchandise may be unloaded directly from the car or truck to be moved into the warehouse.
In-storage Handling
In-storage handling consists of all movement within a warehouse facility
Following product receipt, it is necessary to transfer merchandise within the warehouse to position it for storage or order selection
Finally, when an order is received, it is necessary to accumulate the required products and to transport them to a shipping area.
Finally, when an order is received, it is necessary to accumulate the required products and to transport them to a shipping area.
Transfer
There are at least two and sometimes three transfer movements required within a typical warehouse.
The merchandise is first moved into the building and placed at a designated storage location.
The inbound movement is handled by forklift trucks when pallets are used or other mechanical traction for larger unit loads.
A second internal movement may be required prior to order assembly depending on the operating procedures of the warehouse.
When products are required for order selection, they are transferred to an order selection or picking area.
When the merchandise is physically large or bulky, such as a stove or washing machine, this second movement may be omitted.
In the final transfer, the assortment of products required for a customer shipment is moved from the warehouse to the shipping dock.
Selection
The selection process groups materials, parts, and products into customer orders.
It is typical for one section of the warehouse to be established as a selection area to minimize travel distance.
The typical selection process is coordinated by a computerized control system.
The primary focus for warehouse automation is the selection process
Shipping
Shipping with unit loads is becoming increasingly popular because considerable time can be saved in vehicle loading.
A unit load consists of grouped products, while a dead-stack or floor-stack load consists of boxes loaded directly from the floor
The following guidelines help the management in the design of material handling systems :-
(1) Equipment for handling and storage should be as standardized as possible.
(2) When in motion, the system should be designed to provide maximum continuous product flow.
(3) Investment should be in handling rather than stationary equipment.
(4) Handing equipment should be utilized to the maximum extent possible.
(5) In handling equipment selection, the ratio of deadweight to payload should be minimized.
(6) Whenever practical, gravity flow should be incorporated in system design.
A combination of labor and handling equipment is utilized in mechanized systems.
Generally, labor constitutes a high percentage of overall cost in mechanized handling.
Automated systems, in contrast, attempt to minimize labor as much as practical by substituting capital investment in equipment.
Mechanized systems employ a wide range of handling equipment.
The types of equipment most commonly used are:
Forklift trucks,
Walkie-rider pallet trucks,
Towlines,
Tractor-trailer devices,
Conveyors, and
Carousels.
Forklift trucks can move loads both horizontally and vertically.
A forklift normally transports a maximum of two unit loads (two pallets) at a time.
However, forklifts are not limited to unit-load handling.
Factors to consider when selecting a lift truck:
Fuel Types
Tire Types
Lift Capacity and Lift Height
Aisle Types
Truck Types
Attachments / Options
Electric
Electric vehicles are designed for indoor use only.
Advantages are the absence of fumes and their quiet operation.
Gasoline or Diesel
Outdoor use only.
Heavily used in construction.
LPG Liquid Propane
Advantages of using LP include minimal fumes
the ability to quickly change LP tanks
Fuel-cell Technology
hydrogen fuel cell power sources
providing the clean-air benefits of electric
Other types
Truck Types - Standard forklift/reach type
Conveyor Systems
Horizontal Carousel
Vertical Carousels
Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS
A system of rows of rack, each row has a dedicated retrieval unit that moves vertically and horizontally along the rack picking and putting away loads
Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV)
nVehicles that can be programmed to automatically drive to designated points and perform preprogrammed functions.
Towline system is designed for movement of materials and products over paths.
Dock levelers are used to bridge the gap between the dock and the trailer and adjust for any height differences.
A step up from the mechanical dock leveler, the hydraulic dock leveler uses an electric pump and hydraulic cylinder to engage/disengage the dock leveler.
The pull-chain mechanical dock leveler is the most common type used
Reducing Efficiency and Reducing Costs With Packaging Automation
Automation allows companies to reassign human resources to more productive areas such as quality control, customer service or product design. And, while workers are sometimes concerned that machines will "replace" them (not usually true), automated systems can let companies allow employee attrition to take its natural course, without sacrificing productivity.
Automated systems can be counted on to produce given amounts of throughput in given amounts of time - every day. And, that means the world to companies who must compete in a world of demanding customers, tight quality standards and JIT inventories.
Automated systems, properly set-up and maintained, will put the right label in the right place on the right box, every single time.
Automated Case Sealers/Erectors - A case sealer takes a flat box, forms it, seals the bottom and presents it for loading. This offers three main advantages. First, less people are necessary to perform this menial task. Second, it eliminates an ergonomically undesirable process. And third, it presents each box only moments before it is needed, rather than the alternative - paying for both a laborer to form a shift's worth of boxes ahead of time and the wasted plant capacity used to store empty boxes.
Automatic Stretch Wrappers - The strength of stretch wrap comes not from the volume used, but from maximizing "material memory" by stretching the wrap to within a few foot-pounds of its breaking strength. Stretch wrappers use exactly the amount needed and wrap to a standard tension, every time. As a rule, any operation that needs to wrap 15 or more pallets each day can see a cost-benefit from automated stretch wrapping systems.
Automatic Strapping/ Unitizing - Many manufacturing and distribution operations can benefit from Automated Strapping Equipment in their UPS shipping operations. These systems pay for themselves on a simple premise. It's a lot cheaper to ship one 20-pound package than it is to ship four 5-pound packages to the same place. These units automatically gather and strap similar packages going to shared destinations.
The three handling activities are
receiving,
in-storage handling, and
shipping.
Receiving
Merchandise and materials typically arrive at the warehouse in larger quantities than when they depart.
The first handling activity required is unloading the transportation vehicle.
In most warehouses, unloading is manual.
Limited automated and mechanized methods have been developed that are capable of adapting to varying product characteristics.
The product is hand-stacked on pallets to form a unit load for movement efficiency.
In some cases, conveyors are employed to unload vehicles more rapidly
Larger types of merchandise may be unloaded directly from the car or truck to be moved into the warehouse.
In-storage Handling
In-storage handling consists of all movement within a warehouse facility
Following product receipt, it is necessary to transfer merchandise within the warehouse to position it for storage or order selection
Finally, when an order is received, it is necessary to accumulate the required products and to transport them to a shipping area.
Finally, when an order is received, it is necessary to accumulate the required products and to transport them to a shipping area.
Transfer
There are at least two and sometimes three transfer movements required within a typical warehouse.
The merchandise is first moved into the building and placed at a designated storage location.
The inbound movement is handled by forklift trucks when pallets are used or other mechanical traction for larger unit loads.
A second internal movement may be required prior to order assembly depending on the operating procedures of the warehouse.
When products are required for order selection, they are transferred to an order selection or picking area.
When the merchandise is physically large or bulky, such as a stove or washing machine, this second movement may be omitted.
In the final transfer, the assortment of products required for a customer shipment is moved from the warehouse to the shipping dock.
Selection
The selection process groups materials, parts, and products into customer orders.
It is typical for one section of the warehouse to be established as a selection area to minimize travel distance.
The typical selection process is coordinated by a computerized control system.
The primary focus for warehouse automation is the selection process
Shipping
Shipping with unit loads is becoming increasingly popular because considerable time can be saved in vehicle loading.
A unit load consists of grouped products, while a dead-stack or floor-stack load consists of boxes loaded directly from the floor
The following guidelines help the management in the design of material handling systems :-
(1) Equipment for handling and storage should be as standardized as possible.
(2) When in motion, the system should be designed to provide maximum continuous product flow.
(3) Investment should be in handling rather than stationary equipment.
(4) Handing equipment should be utilized to the maximum extent possible.
(5) In handling equipment selection, the ratio of deadweight to payload should be minimized.
(6) Whenever practical, gravity flow should be incorporated in system design.
A combination of labor and handling equipment is utilized in mechanized systems.
Generally, labor constitutes a high percentage of overall cost in mechanized handling.
Automated systems, in contrast, attempt to minimize labor as much as practical by substituting capital investment in equipment.
Mechanized systems employ a wide range of handling equipment.
The types of equipment most commonly used are:
Forklift trucks,
Walkie-rider pallet trucks,
Towlines,
Tractor-trailer devices,
Conveyors, and
Carousels.
Forklift trucks can move loads both horizontally and vertically.
A forklift normally transports a maximum of two unit loads (two pallets) at a time.
However, forklifts are not limited to unit-load handling.
Factors to consider when selecting a lift truck:
Fuel Types
Tire Types
Lift Capacity and Lift Height
Aisle Types
Truck Types
Attachments / Options
Electric
Electric vehicles are designed for indoor use only.
Advantages are the absence of fumes and their quiet operation.
Gasoline or Diesel
Outdoor use only.
Heavily used in construction.
LPG Liquid Propane
Advantages of using LP include minimal fumes
the ability to quickly change LP tanks
Fuel-cell Technology
hydrogen fuel cell power sources
providing the clean-air benefits of electric
Other types
Truck Types - Standard forklift/reach type
Conveyor Systems
Horizontal Carousel
Vertical Carousels
Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS
A system of rows of rack, each row has a dedicated retrieval unit that moves vertically and horizontally along the rack picking and putting away loads
Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV)
nVehicles that can be programmed to automatically drive to designated points and perform preprogrammed functions.
Towline system is designed for movement of materials and products over paths.
Dock levelers are used to bridge the gap between the dock and the trailer and adjust for any height differences.
A step up from the mechanical dock leveler, the hydraulic dock leveler uses an electric pump and hydraulic cylinder to engage/disengage the dock leveler.
The pull-chain mechanical dock leveler is the most common type used
Reducing Efficiency and Reducing Costs With Packaging Automation
Automation allows companies to reassign human resources to more productive areas such as quality control, customer service or product design. And, while workers are sometimes concerned that machines will "replace" them (not usually true), automated systems can let companies allow employee attrition to take its natural course, without sacrificing productivity.
Automated systems can be counted on to produce given amounts of throughput in given amounts of time - every day. And, that means the world to companies who must compete in a world of demanding customers, tight quality standards and JIT inventories.
Automated systems, properly set-up and maintained, will put the right label in the right place on the right box, every single time.
Automated Case Sealers/Erectors - A case sealer takes a flat box, forms it, seals the bottom and presents it for loading. This offers three main advantages. First, less people are necessary to perform this menial task. Second, it eliminates an ergonomically undesirable process. And third, it presents each box only moments before it is needed, rather than the alternative - paying for both a laborer to form a shift's worth of boxes ahead of time and the wasted plant capacity used to store empty boxes.
Automatic Stretch Wrappers - The strength of stretch wrap comes not from the volume used, but from maximizing "material memory" by stretching the wrap to within a few foot-pounds of its breaking strength. Stretch wrappers use exactly the amount needed and wrap to a standard tension, every time. As a rule, any operation that needs to wrap 15 or more pallets each day can see a cost-benefit from automated stretch wrapping systems.
Automatic Strapping/ Unitizing - Many manufacturing and distribution operations can benefit from Automated Strapping Equipment in their UPS shipping operations. These systems pay for themselves on a simple premise. It's a lot cheaper to ship one 20-pound package than it is to ship four 5-pound packages to the same place. These units automatically gather and strap similar packages going to shared destinations.
