Five Major Objectives of Material Handling Equipment

Material handling is considered as a crucial aspect of modern production and inventory management units. It is a systematic and scientific method of moving raw material, junk items, and packing materials in the facility as well as storing finished goods at appropriate locations. It involves as much as 40-50% of the total production cost of a business and hence, is a prime consideration when designing new plants or modifying existing industrial facilities.

There was a time when material handling was done manually by the workers. However, the way it threatened the health and safety of staff, organizations switched to conveyor belts, robotic delivery systems, pallet jacks, industrial trolleys, and other practical ways to reduce the health risk to everyone and cut down the moving cost and time overall. Though, such equipment doesn’t come under production machinery, it does serve as additional help to improve the material flow.

Following are the major objectives of material handling equipment you must know:

1. Reduce Production Costs

The biggest target behind using material handling equipment in a business facility is to tame the level of production expenses. As already mentioned, it is the material handling that consumes a significant portion of the budget. Thus, by reducing the labor, assigning the work to only skilled individuals, preventing the damage during handling procedures and cutting down in process storage, you can achieve a successful cutback in production costs.

2. Improve Warehouse Layout

A timely and accurate flow of materials between different departments is crucial for an efficient material handling system. So, when a facility aims at that, it has to first work around the warehouse layout so that space requirements and flow paths are optimized and travel times are brought down. Thus, as a result, product waste and the damage are reduced, and the material handling process becomes cost-effective with higher productivity of workers.

3. Optimize Warehouse Capacity

When the goods aren’t stored in a warehouse properly, the empty space seems like it is being wasted and keeps on adding to the costing of the product. That is why warehouse experts recommend focussing on storage – both in terms of cubic and floor space, and also minimizing the aisle space with the right kind of racks, storage shelves, and other material handling tools.

4. Control Equipment Utilization

It happens quite a lot of times that the expensive equipment lying in business facilities don’t perform to their full potential. An inefficient material handling system is to be blamed here. When the rate at which materials are supplied or removed drops, the equipment is left idle for that time being. However, you can maximize its utilization by setting up a well-structured material handling system.

5. Increase Workers’ Safety

By using suitable handling equipment, bulky and complex jobs can be handled easily, quickly, and at a constant rate throughout. That not only prevents the loss of money but also enhances the safety of workers. Also, it leaves no chances of con­fusion or placement of material at wrong locations or disrupted production anyhow.

This article is sponsored by Advance Optimum Group, the leading manufacturers and importers of high-quality medication carts, linen trolleys, bin trolleys, storage trolleys, and customized trolleys in Australia.