Chapter 13. Material Handling Systems ISyE （第13章。）.pdf

Chapter 13. Material Handling Systems This is an introduction chapter quotation. It is offset three inches to the right. 13.1. Material Handling Introduction Material Handling Definition Several definitions of Material(s) Handling exist. Materials Handling is defined in Compton’s Interactive Encyclopedia as “The movement of raw materials, semi-finished goods, and finished articles through various stages of production and warehousing is called materials handling.” Material Handling is concerned with the movement, storage, and control of materials in a (production) process. Material Handling and logistics are expensive operations which comprise of 10 % to 80 % of the product cost and this percentage tends to rise for inexpensive or commodity products. Physical distribution alone, i.e., the movement of products from the manufacturing plants to the customers, accounts for 25 % of the product cost. Internal to the plants, more than 90 % of the product flow time in a job shop is spent in material handling functions including waiting for an available machine. 1 ● Chapter 13. Material Handling Systems Logistics Systems Design Traditional and Modern Views Figure 13.1 . Material Handling in Early Automotive Assembly The traditional view of material handling sees material handling operations as non value-adding and only contributing to the cost of the product. As such, material handling should be avoided and minimized as much as possible. Since material handling operations often involve a substantial amount of direct labor and labor is expensive, many material handling design engineers were very supportive of automation. This trend is even more pronounced in Japan and Western Europe where labor is more expensive. The modern view recognizes the space and time utility of material handling operations, i.e., a product is