The Five Categories of Material Handling Equipment Part One
Material handling equipment, also known by its acronym MHE, is used to assist in moving and storing material on-site or at a facility. There are five basic categories for MHE.
The first two are concerned with moving and positioning material.
- Transport Equipment gets the materials from point A to point B. For example, offloading from a dock to the storage area, or moving from workspace to workspace. This equipment includes industrial trucks, cranes and conveyors.
- The second category is called Positioning Equipment. This is used at a single site or location and is often used to position materials correctly for further on-site use.
While these terms are quite elementary for those with experience in materials handling, trainees, interns and other newcomers to your business will most likely need a quick education on areas those with seniority take for granted.
What Material Handling Solution Is Best For My Operation?
Finding the right material handling solution can be tricky, especially for those who have stepped or been thrust into the middle of a situation where action is needed immediately. If you have any doubts about what material handling solution is best for your situation, you may wish to compare notes with a MHE sales rep from the company you are currently using to meet your material handling needs.
Also, find out what?other companies usually do in your situation.?
- Is there a precedent or an industry standard?
- Does your shop need this or a modified version of it depending on size and configuration?
- Are you a federal government contractor? If so your choices could be affected by your status. Some government contractor discounts may apply in your case, depending on the vendor. This could definitely change your budget for the better.
Ask your sales rep for some case histories where similar operations met their material handling solution needs.
How Does Your Current Vendor Measure Up?
Bulk material handling presents its own set of unique challenges--one of which has nothing to do with the operation itself, but rather choosing the right vendor for supplying your equipment.
- Are you in the market for a new supplier?
- Are you wondering about your current supplier?
Assess the strengths of a given vendor by reviewing the?literature that company puts out with regard to industry issues and usage of the equipment the company sells; bulk material handling white papers, product descriptions, instructions for use and safety, etc.
- Are these documents addressing current issues and concerns?
- Is there complete and well-written instructions with regard to safety?
- What are the company policies regarding customer support, on-site assistance and other critical issues that affect your bulk material handling equipment?
These are very important questions, and the answers could help you choose?a company. You may discover that it's important to compare your current vendor with others to see how they are keeping up in today's marketplace with regard to these issues.
Bulk Material Handling Safety Issues Part One
Take a good look at your material handling supply; that is, take a hard look at your supplier AND your current roster of equipment.
- What is the state of your material handling equipment?
- If you haven't had an inspection recently, you're probably overdue.
- Is your supply due for an upgrade, repairs or replacement? Some equipment seems to last forever; others may develop 'make-do' problems your crew learns to work around. It may be time for a risk assessment of problem equipment.
- In the age of lawsuits and increasingly bad press with regard to mishaps, can you afford to let your 'make-do' equipment stay on the floor?
- If your crews become lax with regard to safety equipment and procedures, even the newest piece of your material handling equipment supply is at risk.
- Safety goggles, helmets and especially hearing protection can be worn improperly or not at all. Most shops have requirements in place to insure the proper use of these items, but it could be time to take a lesson from some military repair depots who use a 'buddy system' to insure safety compliance.
Your supplier may have inspection checklists or maintenance schedules you can use to create your own calendar of routine safety checks and balances.
What kinds of single-operator MHE is available?
Single-operator material handling equipment can be excellent risk-management tools as well as workforce multipliers, as they allow much heavier loads to be relocated by a single crewmember.
Single-operator material handling equipment comes in all shapes and sizes; everything from the low-profile pallet truck to the liquid dispensing caddy. This gear usually doesn't requires spotters for standalone operation unless you have a high-traffic environment, such as a jet engine repair depot where there are blind corners and other maneuvering obstacles.
One very efficient single-operator machine is the trash can dumper, which allows one person to safely dump a stuffed full-size trash can into a receptacle without backstrain or the potential for injury.
Material Handling Safety Part Two
One of the key factors in material handling safety involves ergonomics. Repetitive use injuries related to environments where material handling solutions should be found are widespread.
There are a wide variety of material handling solutions that can ease or eliminate bad ergonomics. The Opti Bench, for example, features a variable height work surface to accommodate workers of different heights. With a five hundred pound capacity, this material handling solution can handle pneumatic wrenches, tool boxes, spare parts and many other work-related items.
Be sure and ask your customer service representative how you can give your work centers better ergonomics. Sometimes, an assessment can be made to see about replacing old material handling solutions that don't conform to modern ergonomic standards.
Five Categories of Material Handling Equipment Part Two
Material handling equipment has five basic categories. One of those categories is equipment used to bind a group of materials so they may be transported or delivered as one unit.
If you have a pile of timber or rebar, it must be bound up as a unit. The equipment responsible for handing this binding is called Unit Load Formation Equipment, and can include palletizes and shrink wrappers. It can also include the shrink-wrap itself, crates and pallets.
If you are training interns, new hires or even conducting a familiarization tour of your facility these will be good concepts to pass on to your newcomers.
Five Categories of Material Handling Equipment Part Three
Two more?categories of Material Handling Equipment: Identification and Control Equipment and Storage Equipment.
- Control Equipment is used to gather data to help the smooth flow of materials from the facility and the worksite or its customers. This gear can include portable data terminals, barcoders and RF taggers.
- Storage Equipment is used for holding materials for any length of time. These can include drive-in racks, cantilever racks and storage carousels.
If you are new to the industry and need some familiarization, take a good look around your worksite to see how many of these items you can identify in everyday operation.