Introduction to Material Handling Equipment

There are thousands of pieces of material handling devices. These equipments vary from the most basic manual too to the most sophisticated computer-controlled material handling systems that can incorporate a wide range of other manufacturing and control functions.

Handling and storing materials involve diverse operations such as hoisting tons of steel with a crane; driving a truck loaded with concrete blocks; carrying bags or materials manually; and stacking palletized bricks or other materials such as drums, barrels, kegs, and lumber. The efficient handling and storing of materials are vital to industry.

In addition to raw materials, these operations provide a continuous flow of parts and assemblies through the workplace and ensure that materials are available when needed. Material handling equipment (MHE) is used for the movement and storage of material within a facility or at a site. MHE can be classified into the following five major categories:

• Transport Equipment. Equipment used to move material from one location to another (e.g., between workplaces, between a loading dock and a storage area, etc.). The major subcategories of transport equipment are conveyors, cranes, and industrial trucks. Material can also be transported manually using no equipment.

• Positioning Equipment. Equipment used to handle material at a single location so that it is in the correct position for subsequent handling, machining, transport, or storage. Unlike transport equipment, positioning equipment is usually used for handling at a single workplace. Material can also be positioned manually using no equipment.

• Unit Load Formation Equipment. Equipment used to restrict materials so that they maintain their integrity when handled a single load during transport and for storage. If materials are self-restraining (e.g., a single part or interlocking parts), then they can be formed into a unit load with no equipment.

• Storage Equipment. Equipment used for holding or buffering materials over a period of time. Some storage equipment may include the transport of materials (e.g., the S/R machines of an AS/RS, or storage carousels). If materials are block stacked directly on the floor, then no storage equipment is required.

• Identification and Control Equipment. Equipment used to collect and communicate the information that is used to coordinate the flow of materials within a facility and between a facility and its suppliers and customers. The identification of materials and associated control can be performed manually with no specialized equipment.

Did you Know? Traditionally, material-handling equipment may be grouped into 4 general categories and they are fixed-path system, the fixed area material handling system, variable-path variable-area equipment and the lastly the fourth category consist of all the auxiliary tools. In the first category (fixed-path system or also referred to as the continuous flow system) it consists of point-to-point equipments. This group of equipment serves the material handling need along a fixed path (like on a guided track).

The most common and familiar example of a fixed path system are trains and railroad tracks as trains can travel from any point to point, serving at any point that is along the track system. Other equipments under this category include the conveyor systems, powered, gravity-fed, automated guided vehicles and any other equipments that operate otherwise.

The second category is called the fixed area material handling system and this system can serve at any point within the three dimensional area or a cub. Examples such as the jib crane or the overhead traveling cranes can be installed on a floor pedestal to move parts and other material from any point to point in the x, y, z direction: however, this ability is limited within confines of the equipment. Automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) also falls into this category.

AS for the third category, it consists of variable-material variable-area handling equipments or equipments that can move to any area of the facility.

Examples such as motorized vehicles, forklift trucks and all manual carts can be dragged, driven or pushed throughout the plant. Lastly, the fourth category consists of all auxiliary tools and equipments such as pallets, skids, automatic data collection systems, and containers Haha :)

That is all for our introduction to MHE. Although there is still much more categories of equipment in the industries, our group will be only focusing at the transport equipments and one of the positioning equipment which is the hoist for this assignment.

Hope that it stirs some interest in you!! Keep a lookout for more of our detailed findings to each of the equipments. Bye:)cya soon....

Answer to facilitator question

Facilitator's Question:
Explain the reasons of high popularity of counterbalanced forklift truck (as shown in your Bog) for material handling.

Answer:
Inventory reduction efforts over the past couple of decades have increasingly changed the focus from warehousing and storage density to material handling and speed. With current years, warehouses are becoming more movement and productivity focused and, in rapidly changing markets, flexibility and cost are getting a lot of attention.
The fact is, the standard wide aisle counterbalanced lift truck design that’s been used for more than 50 years still remains a very viable option. This is due to the flexibility to pick a load out of pallet rack and load it immediately onto a trailer combined with fast travel speeds (compared to the reach truck), a short learning curve, low cost, higher weight capacities. Additionally, with great variety of forklift attachment such as the clamps, side shift, load push pull and rotating head available, it gives the forklift a great versatility when loading different shape, size and weight loads. With a great variety of attachment, it also mean that there is no need to invest in different types of equipment for a specific job, just get a forklift and its attachment for the job. Furthermore, the cost in investing in a forklift is so much lesser compared to the other equipments such as the reach truck. Wide aisles also provide more flexibility with diverse load sizes and weights.

The table below gives you a comparision:
please view the table at this site: http://www.inventoryops.com/Aisle%20Width.htm

Lift trucks

Stacker Trucks:
These are light weight trucks, with maximum capacities up to about 2000kg, and can be pedestrian controlled and stand on .

Video on pedestrian Stackers

Free path high rack stacker.
These trucks up to 2 tones capacity, lift to about 12 M. they work in very narrow aisles between guide rails, with a mechanism on the mast which accesses stock from either side of an aisle. Since the truck does not have to turn to access the racks, the aisle width needs only to be slightly wider than the payload – about 1.5M in pallet racking. Some model have the operator at the ground level. In others, a rising cab raises the operator to working level

Stacker Crane
Stacker crane run between a floors mounted rail, and an overhead rail. They can single or twin mast (for heavy load), with a raising carriage for lifting abs lowering the load to the required height and for transferring the load into and out of the racking on either side of the crane aisle. They can have a rising cab for the operator, but they lend themselves to remote computer control. Drive in by an electric motor, while feed is by suspended of reeled power.

Side loader
Narrow aisle side loaders are the most space conserving mobile equipment for storeroom. The side loader has a mast, which reaches at 90 degrees to the direction of the truck travel and is used for loads up to 6 – 7M long handle in narrow aisle, or in outdoor stock areas. One of the most useful and unique use of the side loader is for the bar stock of up to 10 – 12 feet in length. There are many types of side loaders for different purpose, below are pictures of different side loaders used to different types, size, weight and shapes of load.

Fuel types for material handling equipment

There are many fuel types that can be use to run material handling equipment, below i have listed some examples.

Electric
Electric vehicles are designed for indoor use only. Their big advantages are the absence of fumes and their quiet operation. If you only intend to use your vehicles indoors, this is the way to go. In multi-shift operations you will need additional batteries and charging/transfer stations. In single shift operations, or, if the truck is not used 100% of the time, you can charge it during off hours. Note that the batteries and chargers for lift trucks are usually priced separately from the lift truck itself. You will also have choices of standard batteries or sealed maintenance-free types.

AC or DC
Recently AC (alternating current) motors are being offered by several lift truck manufacturers. AC powered lift trucks run off of DC batteries and convert the DC power back to AC to power the motor. The advantages of AC motors include faster acceleration, higher efficiency, and lower maintenance costs.

Regenerative braking
This technology recharges the batteries using the momentum of the lift truck when slowing down (braking). The frequent starting/stopping of lift trucks make them an excellent application for this technology. Similar to the technology used in hybrid automobiles.

Fast charging
Fast charging provides a means to reduce or eliminate the need to change batteries on multi-shift operations. The idea here is to quickly recharge the batteries during breaks, lunches, and between shifts (frequently called opportunity charging). Though more expensive than conventional charging systems, fast charging is growing in popularity.

LP Liquid Propane
Advantages of using LP include minimal fumes (however heavy use indoors requires adequate ventilation), the ability to use both indoors and outdoors, and the ability to quickly change LP tanks. Commonly used in indoor/outdoor operations such as lumber yards.

Gasoline or Diesel
Outdoor use only. Heavily used in construction, scrap yards, etc.

Fuel-cell Technology
There are a handful of companies already testing hydrogen fuel cell power sources for industrial trucks (more information on hydrogen fuel cells available at GeneralHydrogen.com , Hydrogenics.com or cellexpower.com ). The advantages of hydrogen fuel cell power include the ability to quickly refuel (similar to LP, Gas, or Diesel) avoiding the hassles and costs associated with battery changing/charging while providing the clean-air benefits of electric. Cost is still an issue at this point, but this is a technology to watch.

Truck attachment

There are an enormous variety of attachments and options available for lift trucks. While most attachments are designed for use on standard lift trucks, some of them are also used on reach trucks and VNA trucks. It's important to note that OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) requires that for any forklift attachment used, there must be an approval for use by the specific lift truck manufacturer. This regulation requires the buyer to go through the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacture) dealer for the purchase and installation of the attachment.

Forks are the most common attachment; they're not always the best solution for every application. In pursuit of higher productivity, less product damage and reduced worker injuries, many loads require an attachment other than a fork – clamps and push/pull units, for instance. And even if forks are the tool of choice, attachments such as side shifters and fork positioners are valuable aids for improving load handling.

Attachments also allow users to reach to higher heights, to reach further out and to move heavier loads than could be moved manually. Attachments, when applied properly on a lift truck, substantially increase the amount of work that can get accomplished in the course of a day.

Additionally, attachments protect operators from ergonomic stress by keeping them on the seat of the truck rather than lifting, pulling or tugging loads that couldn't be moved with conventional forks.

Note that most attachments will change the capacity of the lift truck and a new placard should be placed on the truck showing the new specs

Below I will list some of the more common types of attachments.

Side shift
This is the most common attachment today the side shifter operates with a standard pair of forks. Operators can reposition the forks (allows the fork carriage to slide left and right) rather than reposition the truck by maneuvering it repeatedly in forward and reverse. This allows more accurate placement of the load as the forks or other attachment to be shifted by about 75MM. Side shifts will increase productivity and safety as well as reduce product damage by allowing the operator more flexibility in load placement. Side shifters are available as both single and double units, capable of handling one or two pallets at the same time

Fork positioner

With the variety of pallet dimensions out there, each with different pallet notch spacings, it would be impractical to have multiple lift trucks designated to handle each size. It would also be a very timely undertaking for an operator to have to climb down from the cab and manually adjust the fork spacing before every pick up.
Fork positioners, usually hydraulic-powered, are a solution. This device automatically adjusts the distance between the forks to handle an infinite number of pallet sizes, without the operator ever leaving the seat of the truck. In addition to the time savings, fork positioners also reduce the potential for back injuries or pinched fingers that could result from manual adjustments. Used primarily in high volume operations where there is a great variety of pallet and crate sizes handled.

Clamps
These are operated from the fork truck hydraulic system with movable and sometimes shaped arms for handling cartons, bales, reels and drums. Clamp attachments literally clamp opposing sides of a load, applying a sufficient amount of pressure to lift the load in a controlled manner without crushing or dropping it. Used in a range of applications, clamps handle loads that simply aren't transportable by pallet.

There are two types of clamp mentioned here, they are:

Carton clamp
Flat surface carton clamps are often used in the appliance industry to move high-bulk, low-weight items like refrigerators, washers, dryers, ovens, dishwashers and more. They're also used to move unit loads of beverages stacked without slip sheets or pallets.

Paper-roll clamp

Concave surface paper roll clamps designed specifically for the handling of large paper rolls. usually used in the paper and printing industries to move large rolls of paper throughout a facility. Clamps are also used to position rolls on equipment that converts raw paper into consumer goods like paper towels, toilet paper and tissues. the paper roll clamp clamps around the roll and also allows for a full 360 degree rotation

Load Push/pull units
Push/pull attachments work with loads on cardboard or plastic slip-sheets with a lip. The attachment clamps on to the lip and pulls the load onto a set of wide, low profile forks for transport.Once the load reaches its destination in the warehouse or on the trailer, it is then pushed off the forks by the attachment. They are most often used in situations where a facility has elected to eliminate pallet usage to cut costs. These attachments are also often found in food-processing applications, where users have replaced pallets with slip sheets for hygienic and sanitary reasons.

Multiple pallet handlers
Multiple pallet handlers can double or triple lift truck productivity by adding a second or third pair of forks to the truck. Some attachments handle loads that are two pallets deep.
By allowing operators to pick up more than one load at a time side by side, a greater number of pallets can be transported throughout the day. Multiple pallet handlers are most frequently found in high-volume operations such as beverage and food handling.
These attachments do present some limitations in horizontal clearance, limiting their access to certain aisles or other areas. However, some models feature retractable forks that permit single load handling and can travel through narrow aisles and doorways.

Rotating head
This device helps to change the orientation of a load, eg, a reel which is delivered horizontally and is needed to be stack vertically.

Rotators
This attachment features forks mounted on a rotating apron that turns anywhere from 180 to 360 degrees. Rotators are most often used in operations where bulk bins or containers store and transport large volumes of small items. Once the truck has delivered the bin to its destination, the rotator turns to dump the contents out into another hopper or processing station.
These attachments are used extensively in scrap metal applications. Other uses include food and wine processing. Rotators are part of the sorting and production process as bins of fruits and vegetables are received from the fields and then poured into processing equipment.

Drum handling attachments

There are a lot of different designs for attachment used to handle 55 gallon drums. Some are smaller versions of a paper roll clamp while others may engage the upper rim of the drum, or the lower rings. Some drum attachments are capable of picking up multiple drums at the same time.

Prongs

A Prong is a specialized rod type attachment used for picking up rolls of materials such as carpet rolls, wire and cable spools, and rolled steel, by inserting the prong into the center of the spool.

Fork extensions

Fork extensions slide over the existing forks on the truck to allow you to pick up longer loads.
Height selector. A height selector is an option that allows you to preset certain fork heights to correspond with rack levels. This option is most commonly used on reach trucks working at heights above 20 ft.

Tilt control

Tilt control allows you to preset fork tilt angles.
Fork pivot. Allows the forks and carriage to pivot (rotate). Used for transporting and dumping specially designed hoppers.

Slip sheet atachment

Slip sheet attachments are used where slip sheets (a sheet of cardboard, paperboard, or plastic) are used rather than pallets. The slip sheet attachments has a push/pull mechanism that clamps onto the slip sheet and pulls the load onto a thin platform and then pushes the load off of the platform when the truck reaches the destination.

Latest trend
For the future of lift truck attachments, suppliers are working to develop higher levels of monitoring attachment use through bar coding and radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. "These technologies provide opportunities to embed information such as the clamp forces required to handle a product safely without overclamping and crushing the load," explains Mike Kern, vice president of MHP marketing and sales at Cascade Corporation." Even though operators have attachments now, they don't always know when it's appropriate to change from one setting to another. This technology makes it easier for the user not to have to make a determination and it helps to increase productivity.

For more information, please visit these sites:

OSHA: http://www.osha.gov/

OEM: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_equipment_manufacturer

Reach Truck

The reach truck is a loading device that is used by a number of different types of businesses that maintain a storage area that involves the arrangement of supplies and finished goods on pallets that are inserted into tall shelving structures. It is also a narrow aisle (8'-10') truck designed specifically for racked pallet storage. The reach truck provides safe and easy retrieval of the loaded pallets, as well as efficiently storing pallets of goods that are not required for immediate use. Using a reach truck to store supplies, pallets of finished goods, and in general to keep the storage area in order is a common practice. It also consists of outriggers in front and telescoping forks that use a hydraulic scissors type mechanism that allow you to pick up the load and retract it over the outriggers reducing the overall truck and load length allowing you to turn in a narrower aisle. Reach trucks are driven electrically with AC technology. Double-deep versions use an extended reach mechanism that allows for storing pallets two deep in specially designed double-deep rack. Two pallets deep will save about 50 percent of the aisle space. Double deep reach trucks are also known as stand up reach, straddle reach, and double-deep reach. Reach trucks is easy to operate, the reach truck can help make better use of both time and available storage space.

Here is a description (characteristic) of the basic reach truck, as well as examples of the three main types of reach trucks.

Characteristic:
The basic reach truck has an outrigging mechanism on the front of the truck. Mounted to the outrigging is a set of telescoping forks that move up and down. The forks also include a hydraulic setup that allows the operator to pick up the load and reposition it over the outriggers. This not only provides a more even balance of the load, but also makes it easier to maneuver the reach truck into narrow aisles between the storage shelves.

When the reach truck arrives at the shelves designated for the pallet, the hydraulics allow the forks to swing and lower the pallet into the shelving, sliding the pallet into place. Generally, a reach truck will easily fit into an aisle that is less than ten feet across with no problem, assuming there are not pallets sticking out from the shelving.

Three different examples of reach trucks:

Reach truck
There are several models of the reach truck. The stand-up reach model is the most simple. Essentially, this basic reach truck will slide the forks under the pallet, transport it to the desired storage location, and slide it into place. For shelving units that are no deeper than required to place one pallet of goods, this type of reach truck is ideal.

The second variation is the Straddle reaches. Essentially a mode of reach truck that can not only slide under the pallet, but also grab the sides as well, the straddle reach model works well when grasping the sides of the pallet and goods will not result in damage. These can be helpful when the shelving units are accessible for more than one direction, allowing the easy retrieval of a pallet that may be third or fourth in the line.

Has a lifting capacity from 1000kg - 3500kg with a maximum lifting height of 8M. Able to work in aisles as narrow as 2.7m.

Double-deep reach truck
The double-deep reach truck is the third variation of reach truck. It performs in the same basic manner as the stand-up type, but has telescopic forks that are long enough to slide a pallet into place when the shelves are deep enough to accommodate two pallets of goods. Because the double-deep reach truck can easily place the pallet at the back of the shelving unit, there is no need to push the pallet back when there is another pallet to go into the same shelving section.

Video on reach truck

Warehouses often make use of one or more types of the reach truck, as well as the supply areas for many textile firms and manufacturing facilities. Using a reach truck to store supplies, pallets of finished goods, and in general to keep the storage area in order is a common practice. As a device that is easy to operate, the reach truck can help make better use of both time and available storage space.

The reach trucks has an advantage that during horizontal movement, the load is carried within the area enclosed by the truck wheels and this allows a shorter overall length than the CBFLT and eliminates the need for a counter-balance weight.

However the down side of the reach truck is ergonomic factor of the reach truck. Especially for the 30 feet reach truck as it becomes very difficult to place loads at that height and puts a lot of strain on the operator's neck and eyes.30 feet as it becomes very difficult to place loads at that height and puts a lot of strain on the operator's neck and eyes.

Operator have to lift the head very often to see where is the load to pick (as seen in the picture). This causes strain on the neck. Thus, the ergonomic challenge, then, is to position the operator relative to the truck to safely take advantage of this performance, yet avoid the musculoskeletal extremes of posture that lead to soft tissue damage and repetitive motion disorders.

To analyze and then design this operator/truck system, we must ask these questions:
What is this merged man-machine system required to do? What are its tasks? To get the answers we must conduct a task analysis that consists of an examination of how the truck is used in the warehouse, and then analyze how the operator relates to both the tasking and to the truck to accomplish this tasks. To get more information of the reach truck application and ergonomic, please visit this site: http://www.raymondcorp.com/das/PDF_storage/TechnicalPapers/Form0052.pdf

To resolve such a problem and to improve on ergonomic, presents reach trucks that has an adjustable seat. this helps to improve visibility, stability and operator comfort.

Reach truck with a adjustable seat to allow better visibility ans reducing the strain on the operator's neck

For more information on the reach truck with the adjustable seat, please vist this site: http://www.ferret.com.au/c/Toyota-Material-Handling/Bt-Reflex-Reach-Truck-With-Tilting-Cabin-p12537

Non-Lift truck

There are various type of non-powered trucks and trolly, often designed for various appliccation. There are two-wheel hand truck, four wheel hand cart, powered or non powered pallet hand jack and lastly tugs and tractors.

Two-wheel hand cart
Weights up to 500pounds and can be moved by a single person with goods on the two-wheel hand truck. this hand truck can be used in every area of a business, even in the office.

2 wheel hand cart

Four-wheel hand cart
There are hundreds of shapes and sizes, and uses of hand carts. You can build any shape om the platform and move very special materials. Such as the four wheel hand carts, they are very versatile, many things (goods) can be loaded and moves nearly anywhere.

4 wheel hand cart, versatile, can be chsnge for any purpose

Pallet hand jack (Pallet truck-hydraulic lift)
A pallet jack, also known as a pallet truck or pump truck, is a tool used to lift and move pallets.The front wheels are mounted inside the end of the forks, and as the hydraulic jack is raised, the forks are separated vertically from the front wheels, forcing the load upward until it clears the floor. The pallet is only lifted enough to clear the floor for subsequent travel

Manual pallet hand jack
Pallet hand jacks are rolled under a pallet, the handle is pumped (hydraulic pump handle), the pallet is lifted of the floor a few inches, and now the pallet up to 900kg of material can be moved easily by hand.

Manual pallet hand jack

Powered pallet hand jack
Powered pallet jacks are motorized to allow lifting and moving of heavier and stacked pallets. These generally contain a platform for the user to stand while hauling pallets around a warehouse or loading/unloading trucks. The powered pallet jack is generally moved by a throttle on the handle to move forward or in reverse and steered by swinging the handle in the intended direction. Some contain a type of deadman's switch rather than a brake to stop the machine should the user need to stop quickly or leave the machine while it is in use.

Powered pallet hand jack

Operational limitations:

• Reversible pallets cannot be used.
  
• Double-faced nonreversible pallets cannot have deckboards where the front wheels extend to the floor.
  
• Enables only two-way entry into a four-way notched-stringer pallet, because the forks cannot be inserted into the notches.
  

Video on Pedestrian Powered Pallet Trucks



Tugs and tractors
Tugs and tractors are used for long horizontal movement. Tugs maybe more economic and appropriate than forklift trucks when the loads are being carried on paltform or trailers.