Any tool used to assist in the transportation, protection, storage, and management of materials and products is known as material handling equipment. Your organisation is more likely to harm items or fell behind in production if it lacks the necessary equipment and systems. You can better provide your warehouse or distribution centre with the correct equipment and systems for your company's needs by learning more about material handling equipment in Malaysia. There are also some way to improve the efficiency of warehouse.
The Categories of Material Handling Equipment
1) Storage and Handling Equipment
This category of equipment is self-explanatory. Materials are held in storage and handling equipment while they are not in use. The materials often held on this sort of equipment are normally in the process of being manufactured or delivered. The following are some of the most popular storage and handling devices:
Drawers, bins, and shelves: They are the most basic storage pieces that are typically used to arrange smaller objects.
Racks: It allows businesses to keep products in easily accessible areas while also saving space on the floor.
Stacking frames: Interlocking pieces called stacking frames allow things to be piled without being crushed.
2) Bulk Handling Equipment
Bulk handling equipment is machinery that delivers, keeps, and manages bulk commodities. This sort of equipment is typically used to transport and store loose goods. The following are some examples of this sort of equipment:
Stackers: Similar to forklifts, stackers assist in the lifting and stacking of big objects on the dock or in the warehouse.
Reclaimers: Large machines called reclaimers are used to retrieve bulk items from a stockpile.
Bucket elevators (also known as grain legs): They are used to transport bulk commodities vertically.
Silos: They are storage structures for materials. Grain, woodchips, coal, and sawdust are all common materials stored in silos.
3) Industrial Trucks
Warehouses and distribution facilities require industrial vehicles. Forklifts and other motorised vehicles carry enormous volumes of items around the production floor. They are also used to effectively load and unload big things into delivery vehicles.
Hand trucks (also known as dollies): They are the basic piece of equipment that provides workers with the leverage they need to transport heavy goods to new sites.
Sideloaders: They are designed to fit into tight aisles. They pick up objects from many directions, making them perfect for warehouses with narrow aisles.
Pallet trucks: Often known as forklifts, are equipment that help operators carry big pallets. As the operator transports the pallet to a new position, the forks slip under it, raise it, and secure it.
4) Automated Systems
Automated material handling equipment, often known as engineered systems, is used to transport and store items. An automated system is usually made up of numerous pieces rather than a single piece of equipment. Here are some automated system examples:
Conveyor systems: Automated conveyor systems use belts, flexible chains, or live rollers to transport heavy goods to specific locations. It is a very efficient piece of machinery for moving big amounts of material fast.
Automated guided vehicles (AGVs): They are mobile robots that transport heavy goods throughout a production facility or warehouse by following specified markings or wires in the floor. AGV navigation can be accomplished using vision, magnets, or lasers.
Robotic delivery systems: They are the machines that transfer items and commodities within a facility. Typically, these systems assist in the movement of items down a production line.