Question

Discuss the types of situations for which the following material handling / storage equipment is appropriate and discuss the cost differences based on the “Rules of Thumb for Estimating Material Handling Cost” located in Course Documents - Material Handling Costing:

            a) live roller conveyor (150 feet)

            b) belt conveyor (400 feet)

            c) jib crane (5000#)

            d) ten (10) counterbalance lift trucks

            e) five (5) vehicle unit load AGV system

Answer 1

Material handling involves moving products and goods over a short distance, usually within a factory, warehouse, or a gated area. Typical material handling actions include lifting, picking, storing, pushing, pulling, loading, and unloading. It may or may not involve automation. While a complex system of conveyor belts moving raw materials in a manufacturing plant is an example of automated material handling, workers moving products using side-loaders and forklifts is manual material handling.

• Conveyor systems come in a variety of types, depending on what they are meant to transport, including vibrating, overhead, chain, vertical, and apron conveyors.
• Automatic Guided Vehicles (AGV) are independent computer-operated trucks that transport loads along a predetermined path, with sensors and detectors to avoid bumping into anything
• Hand trucks, one of the most basic pieces of material handling equipment, feature a small platform to set the edge of a heavy object on, and a long handle to use for leverage. Whatever is being moved must be tipped so that it rests on the handle, and is carried at a tilt to its destination.
• Pallet Trucks, also known as pallet jacks, are a type of truck specifically for pallets. They slide into a pallet and lift it up to move it. Pallet trucks come in both manual and electrical types.
• Many types of AGV, or automatic guided vehicles, shuttle products along a route automatically, without human guidance.

• A Plus Warehouse Equipment & Supply, in Lynn, MA, distributes a variety of warehouse equipment including material handling equipment. Their selection includes storage shelving, racks, bins, conveyors, forklift attachments, hoists, carts, trucks, hoppers, and stackers, among other things.

  In Birmingham, AL, Warehouse Equipment & Supply Company, Inc. offers containers and bins, pallet positioners, racks, trucks, lockers, shelving, carts, ramps, wrapping systems, doors, fans, impact barriers, dock products, casters, and shelf decking.

  Lifting Gear Hire provides pallet lifters, cranes, booms, trucks, material lifts, and skip pans, as well as hoisting, pulling, rigging, jacking, and safety equipment