Material handling is an extremely important part of operations in a wide range of industries, including warehousing, distribution, logistics, and manufacturing, to name just a few.
All of these businesses need solutions that guarantee a quick, efficient, and safe movement and storage of materials in every step of the supply chain. This job is taken care of by dedicated material handling solutions that are designed to enhance safety both for the material in question and the workers who are responsible for handling it.
This blog covers some common material handling solutions along with their uses and benefits to help you understand how they can boost productivity in your workplace, so keep on reading till the end.
- What Are Material Handling Solutions?
- Some Common Material Handling Solutions Used in Industries
- Electric Stacker Truck Lifts
- Folding Platform Trolleys
- Hand Pallet Trucks
- Forklift Loading Dock Ramps
- Drum Handling Equipment
- Benefits of Using Material Handling Solutions
What Are Material Handling Solutions?
Material handling solutions refer to tools or strategies that facilitate an efficient, safe, and cost-effective movement, storage, or control of materials that your industry either produces or handles.
The core principles that guide the design of every material handling solution are planning, work simplification, standardization, and automation.
The choice of a material handling system depends on a number of factors like the size of your operation, the types of goods you handle, space requirements, and the level of automation you need.
Based on these factors, there are several material handling solutions currently being used across different industries. These can be divided into the following broad categories.
- Manual Material Handling Solutions
These include tools that require human labor for tasks like lifting, stacking, and carrying. These solutions are perfect for small loads and limited warehouse spaces. These tools include carts, wheelbarrows, and lifting aids.
- Mechanical Material Handling Solutions
These are material handling solutions that utilize machinery to lift, carry, move, or stack objects. These solutions can easily handle heavy loads due to their sturdy frames and high-quality materials.
These solutions include cranes, hoists, forklifts, hand trucks, pallet jacks, and automated guided vehicles.
- Automated Material Handling Solutions
These are sophisticated material handling solutions that use robotics, automated storage, and automated retrieval systems to give you greater speed, safety, and accuracy.
These solutions include sorters, conveyors, automated guided vehicles, and autonomous mobile robots etc.
Some Common Material Handling Solutions Used in Industries
The following section lists some very specific material handling solutions that your industry can implement to boost efficiency and save a lot of time.
1. Electric Stacker Truck Lifts
An electric stacker truck lift allows operators to lift and move heavy boxes and pallets on warehouse racks with very little effort. Compared to manual stackers, these tools can handle very heavy loads more efficiently without causing any physical strain to the operator.
Principle
This material handling solution uses hydraulic systems and a battery-powered motor to lift, move, and stack very heavy pallets. This device combines the lifting capability of a forklift with the maneuverability of a pallet truck, which enhances efficiency significantly.
Uses
- It is used to lift and stack heavy pallets.
- It is used to handle mid-level or 1–5-meter lifting tasks.
- It can also transport materials over short distances within the workspace.
- It also works best in narrow aisles or limited warehouse spaces.
2. Folding Platform Trolleys
A folding platform trolley is like a wheeled cart with a foldable handle. This material handling solution features a flat platform, swivel or fixed castors, and a very high load support. This tool is perfect for shops, warehouses, and even offices where you need to move bulky loads often.
Principle
A folding platform trolley consists of a collapsing handle mechanism and a chassis with castors, which move when the operator applies a little force on the handle.
Uses
- It is used to move small to medium-sized containers, tools, or equipment.
- It can be used in warehouses, retail stores, and areas where space is limited.
- These are used in workshops for carrying tools and machine parts.
- Maintenance crews and caretakers also use these to transport equipment.
3. Hand Pallet Trucks
The hand pallet trucks are specially designed to lift and transport palletized goods over short distances. This manually operated material handling solution consists of a hydraulic pump system, forks, a set of wheels, and a sturdy handle for maneuvering.
Principle
This innovative tool works on Pascal’s principle, which states that when you apply pressure to an enclosed fluid, it is transferred to every part of the fluid as well as the walls of the container.
When you pump the handle of the hand pallet truck, you operate a hydraulic pump that pressurizes a fluid. This fluid creates a force that pushes a piston and lifts the forks.
Uses
- These are used in factories or warehouses to move palletized goods.
- They can be used for short-distance transportation within the warehouse as well.
- Retail stockrooms and general loading/unloading zones also use hand pallet trucks.
4. Forklift Loading Dock Ramps
A forklift loading dock ramp, also known as a mobile loading or ground-to-dock loading ramp, is used in applications where forklifts have to move heavy loads from ground level to a truck or a loading dock that is at a different height.
This ramp is placed between the dock and the vehicle, and it provides a stable and safe surface for the vehicle to travel up and load or unload the stuff.
Principle
This tool uses the principle of inclined planes, which gives you a gradual change in elevation, reducing the force needed to shift heavy objects to greater heights.
Uses
- These are used to facilitate smooth loading and unloading from trailers.
- Construction sites, warehouses, and logistics centers also use these ramps to ensure safety and high speed.
- These are utilized in areas with temporary or no built-in docks.
- Freight transfer operations also use forklift loading dock ramps.
5. Drum Handling Equipment
Another key material handling solution is drum handling equipment that usually includes drum trucks or drum trolleys. Drum trucks are specialized tools that can lift, transport, tilt, and rotate heavy drums in industrial settings.
The components and working of a drum truck resemble a lot like hand pallet trucks. One notable difference is that in this case, there are jaws or clamps instead of forks for grabbing the objects.
Principle
Drum trucks also use Pascal’s principle, where the operators use the handle to initiate a hydraulic system that lifts the drum when the liquid inside applies pressure onto the piston.
Uses
The following are some key uses of this material handling solution.
- These are used to lift and move 55-gallon or similar-sized drums.
- Chemical plants, warehouses, and manufacturing plants use drum trucks to enhance safety and efficiency.
- These are used for dispensing liquids from one container to another.
- These are used to handle drums with toxic chemicals that pose greater manual handling injury risks.
Benefits of Using Material Handling Solutions
There are many benefits of utilizing material handling solutions in your operations instead of investing in manual labor, which is both more risky and costly. The following section lists a few of these to give you a general idea.
- These solutions speed up tasks like lifting, transporting, and stacking, which leads to greater efficiency, faster order fulfillment, and better material flow.
- Material handling solutions reduce the need for manual lifting and moving, which reduces injury risks and leads to lower insurance and compensation costs.
- Tools like stackers and hand pallet trucks allow you to store items vertically, which leads to better space utilization.
- Some of these tools come in compact sizes that can operate in tight warehouse spaces.
- Material handling solutions minimize product damage, which fosters customer trust and leads to fewer product returns.
- These solutions allow you to show full compliance with industry standards for handling extra-heavy or hazardous goods.
Conclusion
Every business that is struggling with lower efficiency, employee safety issues, and high labor costs must consider investing in material handling solutions. These solutions ensure neither your employees nor the material they handle is ever in danger’s way.
With dedicated material handling equipment, you can ensure the products you manufacture, distribute, or transport are always protected.
However, before choosing a material handling system, always make sure to consider a few things like the volume and type of goods, your budget, space availability, and the speed and accuracy requirements.
By considering these factors, you can easily pick a material handling tool or a set of tools that meet your every operational requirement and ensure maximum productivity and safety.Visit us at Accurate Meezan today to explore our wide range of industrial and commercial material handling solutions to enhance both efficiency and safety in your workplace.