NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

FACULTY OF INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL AND MANUFACTURING

ENGINEERING

STUDENT NAME: PHIRI JASINTUMBA M. M

STUDENT NUMBER: N02131222Y

DESIGN & CONTROL OF MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS [TIE 6111]:

ASSIGNMENT: MATERIAL HANDLING

LECTURER: Eng.S.MHLANGA

DUE DATE:10 March 2022

1.0 Introduction

In the past couple of years, a new industrial revolution seems to be emerging, supported once
again by the rapid advancements of Information Technology in the areas of Machine-to-
Machine (M2M) communication permitting large numbers of intelligent devices e.g., sensors
to communicate with each other and take decisions without any or minimum indirect human
intervention. The advent of these technologies has triggered the emergence of a new category
of hybrid (cyber-physical) manufacturing systems, combining advanced manufacturing
techniques with innovative M2M applications based on the Internet of Things (IoT), under
the umbrella term Industry 4.0. Even though the topic of Industry 4.0 has attracted much
attention during the last few years, the attempts of providing a systematic literature review of
the subject with regards to its applications to material Handling are scarce. In this paper, we
will try to cover that void and briefly outline what organisations tend to lose and gain from
not adopting and implementing / implementing these practices.
2.0 Literature Review

Material handling incorporates the movement, storage, protection and control of materials
and products throughout the complete lifecycle of manufacturing, warehousing, distribution
and disposal. The material handling process includes a wide range of manual, semi-
automated and automated equipment and systems supporting logistics and making the supply
chain work. The material handling systems and processes of a company are established to
enhance customer service, decrease inventory, shorten shipping times and decrease general
production, distribution and transportation expense.

Material handling may be considered a specialized activity for modern manufacturing units.
From the time, the input material or raw materials enter the industrial unit and go out of the
unit in the form of finished products, these are handled at all stages in between, no matter, on
the shop floor or in the stores. Material handling ca be further defined as the movement of
materials from the store room to the machine and from one machine to the next machine or
work station during the process of manufacture. The material handling problem must be
analysed thoroughly at the time planning of various machines and tools needed before
erection of factory building. While designing new plants, materials handling is a prime
consideration and several existing plants can be modified by the utilization of modem
material handling devices.

The cost of production is decreased by the use of these devices since these devices increase
output, improve the quality and speed up the deliveries. It has been estimated that the average
material handling cost is roughly 30 to 60% of the cost of production. This is so since
majority of production time is consumed in handling materials before, during and after the
manufacture. However, this cost can be reduced by proper selection, operation, maintenance
and layout of material handling devices but cannot be totally eliminated.

2.1 Objectives Of Material Handling

The common hand shovel, wheel Barrows, simple conveyors and the baskets were the only
material handling tools, until some years ago, but now due to increasing demand for
sophisticated handling equipment and advancement in technology, material handling system
has been revolutionized all over the world. The main objective of the efficient materials

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handling is to decrease the costs. Materials handling equipment does not come under the
production machinery but is an auxiliary equipment which can improve the flow of materials
between the previously mentioned which in turn shall reduce the stoppages in production
machines and thus increasing machine occupation time and overall good production time
which results improvement of utilisation of available equipment and machinery. Some of the
objectives of material handling are as follows

2.1.1 Cost Reduction

This achieved through the reduction of inventory levels as products can easily
and efficiently flow through the transformation process and out of the system to
the market thus reducing associated inventory handling costs. Material Handling
also seeks to further utilize available Space thus ensuring maximum utilization of
available resources. The combination of the two results in increased productivity
within the shop floor.

2.1.2 Waste Reduction

Material handling seeks the proper application and use of the specific handling
equipment for its intended purpose thus eliminating damage to material and
product during handling operations normally caused by use of wrong or non-
purpose intended equipment. Being flexible to meet specific handling
requirements of different nature and making proper control over stock during
in and out handling greatly reduces waste generation from handling activities.

2.1.3 Improve Productivity

This attained through Increasing productivity per man-hour. Increase in

machine efficiency through reduction of machine down time associated with
flow of material from one workstation to the other/ process to another is
eliminated through application appropriate MH. Lastly general productivity
improves after Smoothing out work flow and improving production control.

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 2.1.4 Improve working Conditions

Proper installation of material handling systems provides safe working

conditions and as a result reduces worker’s fatigue and improving personal
comfort.

2.1.5 Improve Distribution

Designated handling equipment decreases damage to products during handling

and shipping. They improving routing of material and product in and around
the production site increasing flexibility of the manufacturing operations.

3.0 Audit of Current situation in Company

For academic purposes, Nestle Zimbabwe Limited will be used as the study reference for this
assignment. Nestlé Zimbabwe (Private) Limited is one of the operating companies under
Nestlé East and Southern Africa Region (ESAR) Limited. Nestlé Zimbabwe has four
subsidiary branches in major four cities, Bulawayo, Gweru, Mutare and Masvingo. The Head
Office is based in the Central Business District of Harare and the Harare Southerton factory
supplies products to the local market and exports to South Africa, Zambia and Malawi. The
products that Nestle produces include beverages, bottled water, cereals, coffee, chocolate,
dairy and other food types. For these products to be valuable to the customer, there is a need
for a supply of raw materials, work in process, exchange of information and delivery of
finished goods This supply is enabled by supply chain management encompassing all the
related logistics, the aim being the supply of products with the right quality, in the right
quantities at the required place and time.

Evaluation of existing Material Handling systems can be done/evaluated based on the

following criteria tabulated on table below. Areas highlighted in yellow have been further
discussed in this paper blow as they have resemblance to the ongoing practices at Nestle
Zimbabwe Harare factory.

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  Backtracking in  Semi-Automatic  Lack of parts and
material flow path Material Handling supplies
 Built-in hindrances  Two-person lifting
to flow job
 Cluttered aisles  Overcrowding  Poor inventory
control
 Confusion at the  Product damage  Service areas not
dock conveniently
located
 Excess scrap  Long hauls  No
standardization
 Excessive handling  Failure to use  Fragmented
of individual pieces gravity operations
 disorganized storage  Excessive walking  Idle machines
 Excessive manual  Inefficient use of  High indirect
effort skilled labour labour cost

3.1 Manual Material Handling

Manual material handling is when facility workers move and handle products with their
hands. They will typically lift, sort and carry products throughout the facility and between the
facility and the transportation vehicle. This style of material handling is more common
among smaller, independent facilities. Over time, manual material handling can lead to a
higher rate of workplace injuries. According to the National Safety Council, overexertion,
including lifting, lowering and repetitive motions, accounts for 33.5 percent of workplace
injuries. Contact with objects and equipment account for 26 percent of workplace injuries.
Workers may also get injured walking across the facility floor. Slips, trips and falls account
for 25.8 percent of workplace injuries. At Nestle some sections of the processing lines and
filling lines heavily depend on Manual material Handling. Processing lines use bulk
conveying system through the use of high-pressure blower lines, positive displacement
pumps and suction lines as well. On the contrary, filling lines depend on manual labour to
pick and place sachets/boxes/cartons of product from conveyor line into carton/pallets as
needs be. This results in excessive handling of individual pieces.

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 3.2 Semi-Automatic Material Handling

Semi-automatic material handling refers to the use of material handling machines that must
be operated by a human, such as mechanical lift trucks, conveyor belts and packing
equipment. While human workers still make up the bulk of material handling processes,
workers aren’t responsible for moving these objects by hand, which can help prevent the
number of workplace injuries such as sprains, muscle cramps and aches and lower back
problems. At the Nestle factory, some sections of the line use semi-Automatic Material
handling systems. This is due to the facility layout, product formulation and therefore the
subsequent use of Hydraulic jack is inevitable at the moment. Packaged product is palletized
into unit loads and is transported to warehouse awaiting dispatch. The plant operates on a
limited number of fork lift trucks against the needs of the plant. Therefore, as a result
hydraulic trolley jacks are used in some sections whenever needs arises and all forklifts are
occupied. This further gives rise to the need of a scheduling system where all works can be
logged and then a algorithm distributes the work to a specific resource in based on some set
urgency criteria.

3.3 Automatic Material Handling

Automatic material handling means the entire material handling operation is automized.
Machines such as automatic pickers and stockers, packaging systems and self-driving lift
trucks are responsible for the movement and handling of individual items. Workers may
supervise these operations, but they are not driving or handling the equipment themselves.
This is the case with the processing side of both plants, Milks and Cereals plant. Once
processing starts due to the fact that the nature of the processes is batch-continuous there is
minimal to no direct human involvement in terms of material handling required on the
processing lines. The Milks plant further uses gravity in the ergon Spray drying Process. On
the filling side, automatic material handling is still a thing of the future and currently our
production volumes don’t justify the capital injection necessary to invest dedicated automated
Material Handling systems.

3.4 Overview

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In the quest to attain World Class Manufacturing standards and adopt Industry 4.0, Nestle
factory still has some milestones to achieve and gaps to cover. Due to the high dependence of
manual labour on the filling and packaging lines, there is excessive scrap generation that
results from that. Humans are subject to, environmental, and social implications, emotions etc
and all that has an effect on their overall performance on the job. Six sigma manufacturing
seeks to lower product defects to a negligible value which cannot be attained when there is
high dependence on manual labour which results in back tracking, product defects, variations
caused by inconsistent performance etc. Nestle Harare factory needs a review of its Material
handling equipment.

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4.0 Improvements

1. Gain an understanding of the current state of your distribution center.

This means you must first measure and capture all data relevant to your company’s operation.
This would include labor expenses with overtime separated out, number of orders processed
in a given amount of time, number of lines pulled by each operator, number of forklifts in
operation during that time and the expense of leasing or operating each one, overall utility
costs to run the distribution center and total cost per square foot of operating space in your
facility.

2. Have a clearly developed customer service policy. The most important question you should
ask yourself is “What is my commitment to my customers?” The answer could be as simple
as: One hundred percent of all customer orders received by 4 pm will be processed and
shipped to the customer as a perfect order within 72 hours.

In this case, a perfect order would be measured by its successful on-time delivery, with no
damage and all documentation and labeling complete and accurate. Determine what is
realistic and achievable for your organization and what will position you in front of your
competitors. Develop your internal processes to achieve that high level of service.

3. Measure touch points. Measure and record how many times an item is touched from the
time it is ordered until the time it leaves the building.

Look for ways to eliminate handling items twice, keeping in mind that every time an item is
touched there is the opportunity for human error. For example: Instead of picking items into a
tote first and then dumping them out on a table, only to be re-packed into a carton, why not
pick items directly into the shipping box?

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4. Business can start picking up when companies start looking up. Traditionally, companies
tend to expand their operations laterally as they grow and the number of stock keeping units
(SKUs) increases.

It’s easy to forget that your facility may have more available overhead space that can be
utilized. By elevating some or most of the processing, packing or picking operations, use of
free cubic overhead space may allow the distribution operation to extend the number of years
within the existing facility. This bodes especially well from an economic standpoint for
companies with favorable lease rates or those that own their building outright.

5. Gather data on the SKUs you currently have in inventory frequently. Slot your facility
carefully to ensure that each SKU is mapped for the shape, weight and velocity of its
particular use. Identify how fast the items move from a demand perspective, according to
class and make sure the most active SKUs are assigned to locations closest to input/output
points in order to maximize throughput efficiency.

Measure the dimensions and weights on all existing and in-bound SKUs. This can be
accomplished accurately by using a CubiScan or other suitable measuring device. Knowing
the volume of each SKU will allow you to slot efficiently, facilitate accurate check weighing,
if appropriate, and accommodate current and future picking technologies.

The data also allows you to take advantage of the cubing features of most Warehouse
Management Systems (WMS) in order to calculate the appropriate-sized carton to use for a
respective order. The difference between using a larger and smaller carton when shipping an
order may not seem like a high-priority decision. But a smaller carton costs less and reduces
the dead space that usually requires fillers such as Styrofoam peanuts and plastic pouches.

6. Consider or re-think your current picking technology. Assuming you have measured
accurately the number of lines being pulled by each operator, now may be the time to
evaluate the feasibility of using a picking technology such as Radio Frequency (RF), Pick-

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To-Voice or Pick-To- Light, thus eliminating paper based picking which may not be cost-
efficient for your shipping needs. Factors in making the proper picking technology decision
should include density of SKU locations, required throughput, characteristics of the items you
are picking, and any specialized procedures in place, such as serial number tracking.

7. Select the picking method that is right for your company. Evaluate the merits of piece
picking, where a picker picks one order at a time by walking up and down each pick aisle
until the entire order is complete. How cost-effective is this versus, say, batch picking (a
picker picks all orders at the same time in the same pass), zone picking (pick area is broken
up into individual pick zones, similar to an assembly line), or wave picking (all zones are
picked at the same time, rather than having orders move from zone to zone)?

8. Practice task interleaving. This refers to the process and method of combining your active
picking with the put-away process. Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) utilize logic to
direct lift truck operators to put-away a pallet while enroute to the next full pallet pick. For
example, if a forklift operator receives instructions to put away a pallet, the WMS will initiate
a pallet pick so the forklift operator does not come back without a load. Since the average
forklift operates on a 33.5 lb. LP tank, that costs an average of $25-$30 to fill, with a tank life
of only about eight hours, you can see the cost-effectiveness of not coming back empty-
handed.

9. Keep system downtime to a minimum. Conveyors, carousels, palletizers and other devices
such as tapers, case erectors, and stretch wrappers require planned maintenance. Equipment
should be inspected, maintenance records stored with easy access, and small problems
corrected immediately.

Automated distribution centers should conduct planned maintenance at regular intervals,

particularly belt tracking for conveyors, taking motor temperatures and lubricating as
necessary. Spare parts, such as motors, belts, bearings and rollers, should always be on hand.

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The investment in a good maintenance plan will keep your orders moving and potential large
investments in replacing equipment to a minimum.

10. Examine your equipment’s vulnerable points from a power management perspective.
Mother Nature is not always a friend to a distribution center. If lightning issues or erratic
power outages are frequent in your area, protect your distribution center from potential power
spikes by using surge protectors and conditioning your service from the local electric utility
provider.

Don’t let the minimal cost of surge protection cause major damage to your equipment or wipe
out the programming in your controls. Remember, one damaged power supply can shut down
a sorter, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in overtime and delayed transportation
expenses.

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5.0 Results

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6.0 Conclusion

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References
There are no sources in the current document.

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