How materials are handled matters, but it’s not just about how they’re moved around. Everything from the building layout to employee training plays a role in improving efficiency and productivity for your business.
What Is Material Handling?
Material handling is the process of controlling the movement and storage of materials throughout the life of the material, beginning with manufacturing and warehousing and ending with distribution and disposal.
Handling materials requires intricate processes to preserve the integrity and quality of the materials. When executed properly, materials are stored and transported safely in a way that minimizes accidents and damage to the materials.
Why Is Material Handling Important?
What’s the importance of material handling? Material handling matters because it impacts business operations. An efficient material handling process will have a positive impact, while an inefficient or unsafe process will have a negative impact.
For example, when products are moved and stored efficiently, they’re available when needed, orders can be processed faster, and it’s easier to keep an accurate inventory. This supports a business’ bottom line.
Another factor regarding the importance of material handling matters is safety. While it’s important to teach workers to safely use equipment, there are more skills involved. Workers also need to recognize safe clearances, avoid other workers, and secure their loads properly.
Proper training is important for preventing injuries, no matter how minor. Every day, over 200 material handlers experience a cut that qualifies for being reported. Cuts are common because workers are constantly removing straps with blades, cutting open taped boxes, and cutting wire and rope. Material handling best practices can reduce the potential for accidents and damaged materials.
Logistical Components to Material Handling
Although handling of actual materials is easy to understand, there’s another aspect to material handling that plays an equal role: warehouse design and systems. These components contribute to material handling best practices.
Warehouse Design
How a warehouse or other storage area is designed impacts the workflow of handling materials. For instance, the width and length of aisles, the height and spacing of shelving, and where shelves and other storage spaces are located throughout the warehouse. A well-designed warehouse will be built to facilitate a quick flow from unloading to storage and retrieval for orders.
Conveyance and Storage
How materials are moved from one location to another matters. An efficient process will move materials quickly and safely, avoiding damage to the materials. This requires maintaining safe and efficient conveyor systems. The same is true for material storage. Some materials can be stacked, but others can’t. Sometimes there’s a weight limit for stacks, and other times limits are for worker safety.
Structural Engineering of the Storage Facility
A storage facility needs to be built to handle the weight and volume of materials being stored. An efficient warehouse is built to handle excessive weight and will be structurally strong.
Improve Warehouse Efficiency by Refocusing Your Approach to Material Handling
If your warehouse is a little less efficient than you’d like, we can help you increase efficiency in your processes and systems. With our material handling services, you’ll get streamlined delivery times, lower costs, and less downtime. We’ll also help you decrease damage and increase worker safety. Contact us today to learn more about our services.
How Are Materials Handled in a Facility?
Materials are moved around within a facility for several reasons. Most frequently, they’re moved in order to protect, store, and make them easier to access. They’re also moved to prepare them for order processing.
Materials stored in a facility are generally moved from shelving and other types of material slots located around the facility. For example, a warehouse might have sections full of shelving to stack materials and vertical dividers on the ground to separate materials that need to be stored unstacked.
Human Beings
When your materials are small and light enough, they’re often moved around by workers. This is usually reserved for small tasks, like gathering small or specific items for an order. When large quantities of small items need to be moved, they’re generally moved with equipment to save time.
Order-Picking Equipment
Order-picking equipment is what workers in a large space use to collect items for an order. For example, order picker platforms and stock pickers are common pieces of equipment workers use to prepare orders.
Forklifts
Forklifts are the most common piece of equipment used to move materials around in a large space. Forklifts are essential for moving materials that are large, heavy, and need to be loaded onto high shelves.
There are several different attachments that give forklifts varied uses, like drum handlers, carpet poles, and forks. Depending on the material being moved, workers will change out the attachment to get the job done.
Safety Baskets
A safety basket is something workers stand in to be lifted into the air to reach high places. These are most commonly seen on construction job sites, but are also used in warehouses and other materials storage facilities.
Unloading and Loading Equipment
Loading docks require special equipment to unload and move materials from trucks. Some common pieces of loading dock equipment include dollies, carts, dock bumpers, dock plates, dock levelers, and dockboards.
Why You Need a Material Handling Plan
When your goal is to save money and increase your profits, the importance of material handling comes into play when you need to streamline your warehouse operations. To maximize your profits, all of your systems need to be efficient, including systems that determine how materials are to be moved and stored, and systems designed to keep workers safe.
Systems efficiency is also tied to your inventory management. If you’re struggling to keep accurate inventory counts, once you improve how materials are moved through your warehouse, you’ll see results in your inventory system as well.
HTX Understands the Significance of Material Handling in Texas
Operating a successful warehouse requires using the right equipment and keeping that equipment well maintained. When you partner with us, we’ll help you streamline your material handling best practices with a focus on improving safety for your teams.
We provide forklift rental services, forklift maintenance and repair, and warehouse dock design services to improve your product flow. If your warehouse needs a boost in efficiency, contact us today to learn more about our services. We understand the importance of material handling.
Why Is Material Handling Important?
What’s the importance of material handling? Material handling matters because it impacts business operations. An efficient material handling process will have a positive impact, while an inefficient or unsafe process will have a negative impact.
For example, when products are moved and stored efficiently, they’re available when needed, orders can be processed faster, and it’s easier to keep an accurate inventory. This supports a business’ bottom line.
Another factor regarding the importance of material handling matters is safety. While it’s important to teach workers to safely use equipment, there are more skills involved. Workers also need to recognize safe clearances, avoid other workers, and secure their loads properly.
Proper training is important for preventing injuries, no matter how minor. Every day, over 200 material handlers experience a cut that qualifies for being reported. Cuts are common because workers are constantly removing straps with blades, cutting open taped boxes, and cutting wire and rope. Material handling best practices can reduce the potential for accidents and damaged materials.
Logistical Components to Material Handling
Although handling of actual materials is easy to understand, there’s another aspect to material handling that plays an equal role: warehouse design and systems. These components contribute to material handling best practices.
Warehouse Design
How a warehouse or other storage area is designed impacts the workflow of handling materials. For instance, the width and length of aisles, the height and spacing of shelving, and where shelves and other storage spaces are located throughout the warehouse. A well-designed warehouse will be built to facilitate a quick flow from unloading to storage and retrieval for orders.
Conveyance and Storage
How materials are moved from one location to another matters. An efficient process will move materials quickly and safely, avoiding damage to the materials. This requires maintaining safe and efficient conveyor systems. The same is true for material storage. Some materials can be stacked, but others can’t. Sometimes there’s a weight limit for stacks, and other times limits are for worker safety.
Structural Engineering of the Storage Facility
A storage facility needs to be built to handle the weight and volume of materials being stored. An efficient warehouse is built to handle excessive weight and will be structurally strong.