INTRODUCTION Material handling is a manufacturing term relating to moving, storing, protecting and controlling of raw materials, goods and products. Material is handled as it is cleaned, prepared, manufactured and consumed while refuse is disposed. The types of equipment used in the materials handling process includes systems for storage and engineering. It also includes industrial trucks, conveyors, on-rails transfer carts and cantilevered crane loading platforms.
HANDLING AND STORAGE EQUIPMENT The apparatus covered under this description are non-automated. It covers racking, shelving, carts, cages and pallets. Collectively, handling and storage apparatus are called catalog items, because they are all made to a universal standard and may be ordered straight out of the catalog. Everybody knows what a pallet looks like, right?
PALLETIZATION Everything from bricks to bagels, from television sets to toilet paper, spends at least some of its life cycle shrink-wrapped and stored on pallets. Most people are familiar with pallets made from wood, and this is the vision of pallet that springs immediately to mind. However, pallets are also made from steel and other types of material as the need dictates.
ENGINEERED SYSTEMS These are the opposite of catalog products in that engineered systems are custom-designed for the purpose in mind. Engineered systems are things like robots, conveyors and AS/RS (automated storage and retrieval systems). Of particular interest are systems that are going to be used to handle products that are going to be eaten or consumed as beverages. Special care has to be taken to make sure that the goods that come into contact with the equipment do not become contaminated in any way.
INDUSTRIAL TRUCKS The most common type of industrial truck is the powered industrial truck, or forklift. There are dozens of different kinds of forklifts. Tow tractors and stock chasers are other types of industrial truck. Each of these conveyances may be equipped with a wide variety of different attachments, making them extremely versatile.
ON-RAIL TRANSFER CARTS These are used to carry bulk materials in the heavier industries. They are used in the mining industry, in heavy manufacturing and in metallurgy.
SAFETY Safety is everything in manufacturing. One of the blackest areas in manufacturing in terms of safety is the forklift. Hundreds of lives are needlessly lost each year and tens of thousands of injuries are suffered in accidents that could mostly be eradicated by proper training. OSHA comes down hard on employers who allow untrained and uncertified forklift operators to work in their premises.
Genevive B. Mata has taught plastics molding techniques for over 15 years. He specializes in injection molding and thermoforming. If you are interested in learning more about plastic pallet crates then he recommends you visit his friends at PTM: Custom Plastics Injection Molding Company.