the handling unit

8/12/2019 The Handling Unit

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to be t imeles s , even though in many cases the authors and co mpanies c r ed i ted areto be t imeless , even though in many cases the author s and companies c r ed i ted are

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THE HANDLING UNIT1982 NATIONAL MATERIAL HANDLING FORUM

APRIL 19-21, 1982

STERLING ANTHONY, JR.

STERLING ANTHONY INC.

The Handling Unit is defined, for purposes of this presentation, as packaged or unitized

material or product.

The objective of this presentation is to promote a better understanding and appreciation of thehandling unit by addressing three interrelated positions:

1) The handling unit is the focal point of the material handling/packaging interface.2) The handling unit affects the costs and efficiencyand therefore, productivityof material

flows.

3) The handling unit, then, is a building block for productivity, and should be systematicallyplanned and managed.

The Material Handling/Packaging InterfaceWe have a Society of Packaging and Handling Engineers. The editors of the upcoming MaterialHandling Handbook have devoted a section of the volume to the subject of packaging. So the

suggestions are strong and explicit that there is a relationship between the material handling andpackaging functions.

What is the material/handling interface? It is the systems view that both material handling andpackaging are components of a larger system; namely, the material flow system, and that:


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I stated earlier that packaging methods affects productivity of material flows. Here are some of

the key areas in which greater productivity can be promoted:

Even as advances in automation become commonplace, and the prospects for the

automated factory loom a distinct possibility, the task of moving material throughout the flow

or made more efficient when:

1. Packaging allows the movement of a given quantity of material through a minimum number

of individual moves. In other words, its more efficient to move caseloads and unit loads

2.order picking, and inventory control activities. When the packaging is communicative andfunctional, there is less opportunities for mistaken identity, the wrong goods shipped,

3.minimize the chances of injured people, lawsuits, and negative publicity stemming from

packages that topple, strain the workers physical strength limits, or fail to protest the worker

Equipment Often mistakenly thought of as the opposite of labor, equipment is an adjunct to

chosen and acquired can affect a companys liquidity, profitability and competitive position for a

long time. The equipment issue, therefore, deserves careful analysis of many factors, not the

Lets examine some basic relationships between packaging and the three major equipmentcategories: trucks, conveyors and cranes/hoists.

Trucks The fork truck, the workhorse of industry, is inseparably associated with thefor either case. But such an argument would be pointless if it fails to realize that the

pallets identify crisis underscores the close interface between packaging and material

There are many opportunities to improve the utilization of trucks with packaging and

unitizing that better challenges the lift capacity of the trucks.

of packaged loads handled, and affects equipment utilization, operator skillrequirements, and the costs for equipment acquisition, operation and maintenance.

Conveyors Infeed, outfeed, integrating and linking of operations: these are the majorunit loads. Packaging, in order to run efficiently on conveyors, must beconscientiously designed to do so. A package too small or too large for the conveyor


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and declines that a conveyor route may take through a facility; or one too heavy for the

drive mechanism which powers the conveyor.

And. Of course, conveyorized movement imparts shocks, vibrations, and impacts to

the packaging; hazards which should be considered in determining the packagingsstrength requirements.

Cranes and hoists packaging handled by cranes and hoists must be suitable byproviding the means for attaching the slings, for instance.

Just as basic, is the recognition that acceleration, declaration, and gravitational forces act upon apackage as its lifted, held suspended, and lowered. Careful analysis is called for here, for if a

load becomes unhitched, or the bottom of, say, a crate falls out, product damage is a certainty,and personnel injury is real possibility.

Space Packages and unit loads occupy space in storage and in transportation vessels. Thattruth should be reflected in the determination of what the packaging should be in terms of shape,size and weight.

Simply put, packaging and unitizing should be designed for the efficient use of cube. It isdifficult to overstress that need in these times of transportation deregulation, and the trend

toward consolidation of warehousing facilities.

Technology Some of the newer technologies upon which industry is spearheading its

productivity drive are directly related to the packaging and material handling interface.Specifically: automated storage and retrieval, optical scanners, automatic guided vehiclesystems, and robotics.

As an example, unit loads in order to be compatible with automated storage/ retrieval systemsmust conform to the weight and cubic limitations of the storage addresses.

Optical scanners, in addition to relying upon the package to carry the machine decipherable code,are influenced by the printing quality and contrast of the code, as well as the orientation of the

package as it passes the code reader.

Automatic guided vehicle systems transport unitized loads. Those loads should be secure, stable,and within stated dimensional limitations, so that they dont tilt over, come apart, or otherwise

prove incompatible with the method of handling.

And, robots can be programmed to palletize, load and unload shipping containers, and evenperform package testing.

This generalization will tend to hold true: automation is basically inflexible. Standardized ormodular packaging can permit a greater degree of automation than is possible under conditions

of greater variability of packaging.


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An additional challenge to packaging takes the form of the need to be more exacting in holding

automation.

Planning and Managing the Handling Unit

By now, its hoped that we are in accord that the handling unit deserves description as a building

and managing the many factors that influence the nature of the handling unit. There is but oneway to achieve that, and it is to approach the handling unit decision from a systems approach.

Know to the fullest detail possible the entire system suppliers, your manufacturing

about your own operations. How is the handling unit concept used or underused atyour company? To what degree does the handling units for raw material received from your suppliersor production.

To what degree does captive-handling units, i.e. pallets, bins, trays, racks, and hoppersfacilitate in-process storage, inventory control, and production line feeding and out-

machinery, materials, and space used in assembling the handling unit.

To what degree does the handling unit of the finished product facilitate storage, orderpicking, loading into transport carrier, and low transportation damage rates. To what degree does the handling unit of the finished product facilitate your

The flow of raw materials from supply sources into the manufacturing location, the flow of in-

process materials through the manufacturing location, the flow of finished goods from the

and recalls back through the system: all can be made more efficient and productive by betterdesign and use of the handling unit.

rule, not the exception. For instance, there have been quite recent innovations in the entire majormeans unitizing pallets, slip-sheets, durable containers, stretch wrapping, shrink wrapping,

packaging system, which integrates well with material handling and other material flow


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functions. On the contrary, the path toward such packaging must be charted with systematic

analysis and decision making.

My concluding advice is that as industry plans layouts for new facilities and flow systems, and

revises existing facilities and flow systems in its pursuit of greater productivity, reduced costs,better customer service, and improved sales and profited, it should look to the handling unit - the

packaging/material handling interface as an indispensable building block towards those aims.

the handling unit

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