Warehouses and distribution centers are busy work environments that require a steadfast focus on efficient layout and workflow to optimize productivity and remain competitive in their market. Thankfully, forward-thinking facility operators have a variety of material handling equipment and design solutions at their disposal to improve dock-to-stock cycle times and order-picking capacity, reduce product damage, increase safety, and improve their fill rates and on-time shipments.

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In this blog, we will run through a high-level overview of distinct types of material handling and storage equipment and its benefits for your business.

What Is Material Handling?

MHEDA, the Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association, defines material handling as &#;the movement, protection, storage and control of materials and products throughout manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, consumption and disposal.&#; Eastern Lift Truck Co. has been a member of MHEDA since and is proud to be a MHEDA MVP (most valuable partner).

Types of Material Handling Equipment

There are three distinct types of material handling equipment that are used to ensure the movement and storage of resources, materials, and goods.

1. Powered Industrial Trucks

Powered industrial trucks are the most recognizable type of material handling equipment. Commonly known as forklifts or lift trucks, these industry workhorses have been around for more than one hundred years. Today, lift trucks are available in an amazing variety of types, with capacities ranging from a few hundred pounds to well over one hundred thousand pounds.

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) classifies powered industrial trucks as vehicles used to &#;move, raise, lower, or remove large objects or a number of smaller objects on pallets or in boxes, crates, or other containers.&#; Used in nearly every industry, they are most often used to move raw or finished materials.

Examples of powered industrial trucks include:

• Electric Sit-down Rider: Powered by lead-acid, lithium-ion, or hydrogen fuel cell.
• Electric Narrow Aisle: Single and Deep Reach Trucks, and Order Selectors
• Electric Pallet Trucks: Walk behind or Ride-on, with or without a mast, includes small tow tractors, and low-level order pickers.
• Very Narrow Aisle Trucks: Turret, Articulated Mast, Side-loader, and 4-Directional Trucks.
• Internal Combustion Solid Tire: Wide range of capacities, indoor use.
• Internal Combustion Pneumatic Tire: Wide range of capacities, outdoor use.

In addition to powered industrial trucks, there are a variety of other types of material handling equipment that support warehouse and distribution operations such as:

• Robotic Forklifts: Yale and Hyster robotic forklifts are capable of switching from traditional operator control to automated control and back again, and are used to pick up, transport, drop off pallets, and move carts.
• Layer Pickers: These sophisticated front-end forklift attachments allow quick assembly of a customized blend of products on a single pallet.
• Tuggers: Also known as tow tractors; often paired with multiple tracking trailers
• Rough Terrain: Often 4WD, with fixed or telescopic masts, for outdoor use.
• Personnel and Burden Carriers: Vehicles designed to move people or small loads.
• Mobile Elevated Work Platforms: Also known as aerial lifts; includes scissors and boom lifts, as well as manlifts.
• Utility Work and Low-Speed Vehicles: Includes UTVs and street-legal, electric people shuttles and work vehicles.

2. Storage and Handling Equipment

Storage and handling equipment keeps goods secured while in storage and before transit. This type of equipment can protect materials for any amount of time. Some examples of storage and handling equipment include:

• Pallet Rack: Selective, Push-back, Cantilevered, Pick Modules, Drive-Thru and more.
• Wire Partitions and Cages: Secure sensitive product; protect from dangerous equipment.
• Mezzanines and Work Platforms: Utilize unused space.
• Shelving and Bins: Keep smaller products better organized.
• Packaging Equipment: Shrink and Stretch Wrapping Machines.
• Workstations: Improve ergonomics for warehouse employees.
• Guarding Equipment: Guardrails, Handrails, Barriers, Gates, Bollards, Rack Guards, Column Protectors

3. Engineered Systems & Automation

Engineered systems, or automated systems, are a type of material handling equipment that utilizes computer-operated technology and robotics to transport and store goods. Some examples of automated and engineered systems include:

• Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs): AMRs, such as those from OTTO Motors, use laser-based perception and navigation algorithms to dynamically move through facilities, infrastructure-free.
• Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs): Travel a limited and predefined path using magnetic tape, beacons, barcodes, or laser paths.
• Automated Storage & Retrieval Systems (AS/RS): These are computer-controlled material handling equipment solutions. They deposit and retrieve goods in warehouses.
• Robotic Cells: For repetitive work tasks, palletizing and pallet wrapping.
• Layer Picking Modules: Popular with 3PLs and cross-dock operations
• Parts on Demand: Use of AMRs to deliver assembly parts to a production line.
• Integrated Conveyance Systems: For Sorting and Accumulation functions.

We also have expertise in:

• High-Density Storage Systems (integrating AS/RS and shuttle systems)
• Bulk Storage Design & Integration

Benefits of Material Handling Equipment

Using the right material handling equipment can bring many benefits relating to productivity, product quality and customer service. Explore these advantages below. 

1. Increased Productivity and Workflow

The biggest advantage of using material handling equipment is how much it increases productivity. Stay competitive in the manufacturing sector by optimizing your material handling capabilities.

Material handling equipment improves the efficiency of your floor staff. Whether through automated or manual operation, material handling equipment helps them be more productive. Workers with the right tools and equipment are less likely to experience fatigue. Being trained in using the equipment results in fewer mistakes and injuries and improves productivity. 

2. Reduced Operational Costs

Utilizing material handling equipment is an innovative way of reducing operational costs. While it might be costly initially, the increase in productivity will compensate for it. The right equipment also means fewer staff members are required for specific tasks, so you can allocate team members to other job duties that suit their skills.

3. Improved Customer Service

Properly applied material handling equipment helps businesses improve their on-time deliveries to end users. Satisfied customers are repeat customers, and positive referrals result in more business.

4. Enhanced Worker Satisfaction and Attract Employees

Material handling is physically intensive work that can result in worker fatigue, injuries, and dissatisfaction. Streamlining their workflow makes their working conditions far more favorable. Better work conditions allow business to attract and retain employees.

Having the right tools and equipment will also boost your team&#;s confidence. This confidence translates into higher-quality work and better morale.

5. Decreased Risk of Damage and Injury

On top of improving productivity, having access to proper equipment reduces the risk of injuries and mistakes. With the right training and utilities, you can reduce the risk of damaging your stock and materials.

Explore Our Selection of Material Handling Equipment

Eastern Lift Truck Co., Inc. has an extensive range of forklifts and material handling equipment available to lease, purchase, and rent. After more than 50 years of business, we are still finding new ways to extend our range of products and services to provide our customers with the best possible material handling solutions.

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Benefits of Material Handling Equipment

The market volume of material handling equipment has been on the rise encompassing about 1.5 million units in up from 974,000 units in . These numbers point to a rapidly and consistently growing market. This growth combined with the fact that material handling comprises more than 20% of the U.S economy, means that there has never been a better time to adopt these solutions.

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Below we look at some of the benefits of using material handling equipment.

1. Save Money

With decreasing profit margins within the construction industry, saving money is a big consideration for logistics and manufacturing projects. Material handling equipment may initially be costly but is a huge money saver in the long run. Using such equipment delivers products more efficiently without stretching the budget or adding more manpower.

Reducing the number of people needed to sort, ship, and handle items not only saves money but dramatically reduces the time it takes to ship a package. What this means is that work gets done faster with less people.

Equipment such as robotic delivery systems help with load consolidation and route planning, which helps save on resource expenditures.

2. Maximize Space

Space within the production floor is important for ease of movement of staff, products, and equipment. Storage and handling equipment such as stackable frames help maximize space on the production floor as they help with holding products that are not being transported. In turn, this saves on storage space and maximizes space utilization on the production floor.

Using storage equipment such as stackable frames means materials can be stacked higher resulting in more space on the facility floor. Equipment such as Automated storage & Retrieval Systems (ASRS) that help with inventory storage and retrieval also maximize floor space by storing large volumes of material within a small footprint.

3. Decrease Product Damage

Manual movement of materials or products across the facility floor could result in product damage if the materials are not handled carefully.

Requiring facility staff to lift and transport goods manually increases the risk of product damage. For instance, this could happen when one accidentally drops products, hence destroying them.  This is where material handling equipment comes in, delivering products safely thereby decreasing product damage. This is also a money saver for the facility since damaged products could prove to be costly if the facility is required to replace and ship them all over again.

An example of such equipment would be forklifts that are meant to lift heavy materials, protecting them from accidental drops and damage.

4. Improved Customer Service

Shorter shipping and delivery times translates to more business and happier customers. Using material handling equipment ensures faster production and delivery times facilitating faster order fulfillment.

Ensuring that customers receive their shipments on time and undamaged, not only helps maintain the customer base but brings in new business through customer referrals.

5. Increase Work Efficiency and Productivity

Staying competitive within manufacturing sector (predicted to have a 1.9% growth in ), requires increased efficiency for operations and logistics.  Incorporating material handling solutions is one way to increase efficiency as it enables workers to focus on one project at a time. Without having to do everything at once, workers can prioritize projects which improves productivity.

Material handling systems also increase efficiency of floor staff through automating labor. Consequently, workers are able to accomplish more work in less time.  These systems are also able to increase the unit load by reducing the number of trips in a warehouse facility.

Material handling solutions not only increase work efficiency but also productivity. When workers are forced to handle bulk materials, they experience fatigue which often decreases productivity. Material handling equipment increases productivity by taking this burden off the workers&#; shoulders. Equipment such as automated conveyer belts also increase productivity by speeding up the manufacturing speed and cycle.

6. Reduce Accidents in Facilities

Much of the material moved across a facility floor is heavy and comes in bulk. Manually moving such materials can not only result in product damage but also in employee injuries .

The construction industry is already known to present many hazards to its workers resulting in a higher injury rate compared to other industries. Construction activities such as lifting heavy and bulk materials could potentially cause lifelong injuries.

Reducing the number of materials to be handled manually reduces the number of potential back and hand injuries. Therefore, opting for material handling solutions is a measure that can help improve the safety of facility workers.

Systems such as automated conveyer belts use integrated automation to move materials around the manufacturing facility with little manual effort.  As the unit load increases,  lift trucks mitigate the risk of employees overexerting themselves in the event that  the total weight exceeds their physical limitations.

7. Attract employees and Improve Worker Satisfaction

Implementing ideal material handling systems that keep workers safe  will help attract good quality workers. This type of environment also attracts high caliber employees with experience and training to handle such systems.

Employees are also able to perform tasks with confidence since these systems help ensure accuracy, control, and safety. In turn,. this promotes a positive workplace culture and  a higher level of employee satisfaction.

Incorporating material handling equipment means that workers will have an easier time performing their job. They will be able to prioritize projects and accomplish more in a shorter period, promoting not only their satisfaction levels but also their productivity. When inventory is at the right place at the right time, workers are not forced to search for misplaced items. Employees also do not have to deal with damaged products which could result in frustration and lower morale.