Article Categories

»	Arts & Entertainment
»	Automotive
»	Business
»	Careers & Jobs
»	Education & Reference
»	Finance
»	Food & Drink
»	Health & Fitness
»	Home & Family
»	Internet & Online Businesses
»	Miscellaneous
»	Self Improvement
»	Shopping
»	Society & News
»	Sports & Recreation
»	Technology
»	Travel & Leisure
»	Writing & Speaking

Reprint Article Code

Category: Articles » Technology » Computers » Article » Article Code

Material handling equipment guide 101

With the growing economy the Material Handling industry is also expecting a boom. As an industry, Material Handling involves various stages like planning, organizing, application, etc. It revolves around the acts of loading, unloading and moving goods within a factory using mechanical devices that are called Material Handling Equipments. Material handling equipment means equipment, including its supporting structures, auxiliary equipment and rigging devices, used to transport, lift, move or position persons, materials, goods or things. It also includes mobile equipment used to lift, hoist or position persons, but does not include an elevating device that is permanently ... read more

Article Title:

Article Body:

Material handling equipment means equipment, including its supporting structures, auxiliary equipment and rigging devices, used to transport, lift, move or position persons, materials, goods or things. It also includes mobile equipment used to lift, hoist or position persons, but does not include an elevating device that is permanently installed in a building. As per a recent research report conducted in the industry, there are almost 4000 distribution outlets for the Material Handling Equipment in the US. Together they score a combined annual sales figure of $15 billion. Material Handling Equipments include lift trucks and inventory handling systems like conveyors, sorters, storage racks, shelving systems and carousels. Lift trucks account for half of these total sales figures. Basically it can be categorized under five main heads, which are, transport equipment, positioning equipment, unit load formation equipment, storage equipment and identification and control equipment.

Transport equipment is the equipment that is used to move material from one location to another, for example, conveyors, cranes and industrial trucks. Positioning equipment consists of the equipment that is used to handle material in a single location for the purpose of machining, transport or storage. Unit Load Formation Equipment is the equipment used to restrict materials so that they maintain their integrity when handled. If material is self-restraining (e.g. a single part or interlocking parts), then they can be formed into a unit load with no equipment. Storage Equipment is used for holding or buffing materials over a period of time, for example, S/R machines of an AS/RS, storage carousels etc. Identification and Control Equipment consists of those equipments, which are used to collect and communicate the information to be used for coordinating the flow or materials within a facility and between the facility and the suppliers and customers.

In the field of Material handling, ease of maintenance and uptime, both are essential. Together they have an impact on productivity and profits. Maintenance is a poor constituent of "true cost". It can therefore, often tend to become a hole in the budget. Hence, when choosing equipment due consideration should be given to the cost of maintenance. Certain mishaps can throw the production off gear. Companies must look for a system that requires minimal maintenance. Equipments that are made of durable plastic call for low maintenance. They are non-corrosive and lightweight. At the same time such equipment are impact-resistant, hence require little need for maintenance. Apart from this other unknown mishaps that may put off production, and factors like warranty coverage must also be given due consideration. Identify and go in for equipment that can get repaired quickly and does not require specialized labor. Plastic material handling equipment is easier to maintain and cleaner than metal ones. Water and detergents can easily clean plastic, without causing rust. Most conventional conveyors need lubrication apart from belt tensioning as against some modular systems that are maintenance free.

Author Bio:

Some other recently published computers articles

Microsoft Word. The power is under the hood by Robert Duval
Recently I have had the opportunity to play around with Microsoft Word. We all use daily, but 99% of the users don't take advantage of its incredible features. Even worse, if we think just ...

How To Select The Best Business Laptops by Tim Childree
The corporate life is hectic, so it is important to have a fast, reliable, lightweight notebook that can maximize your daily output by keeping your projects organized and your workflow streamlined. One of the first ...

How To Select The Best Gaming Laptops by Tim Childree
Most veteran PC gamers know exactly what they want in a gaming laptop, and those who have the time and money have probably already built ...

High-Tech Computer Rental for Business Promotion by Michael Braganza
In current development of technology, everyday comes with some enhancements in latest technology. To grow business and to compete with competitors, high tech equipments are required for office use and ...

Managing a Worldwide Print Infrastructure from a Single Workstation in a Central Location by Rick Ferguson
Company – This US based company is one of the world's largest manufacturers of automotive parts and sub-assemblies in the world. Their customers include: BMW, ...

A Sneak Peek Into The World Of Refurbished Laptops by Javier Fuller
A refurbished or recertified laptop is one that has been previously used for a short period of time and after being returned to the manufacturer ...

Publisher Guidelines

You may reprint this article electronically in your newsletter or on your website, free of charge.

If you reprint this article from our site, then you must keep everything intact. This includes the articles title, author name, articles body, authors bio / resource box, the links contained within the article, all copyright notices and the link pointing back to our site. All links within the article must also be made active / hyperlinks.