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Importance of Automated Material Handling Systems in Optimizing Productivity

Logistics Tech Outlook | Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Consumer spending will increase in a post-pandemic world, forcing manufacturers and warehouse owners to expand their business. Automated material handling systems can improve productivity.

FREMONT, CA: Industrial facilities can boost production and deliver improved service levels more quickly and easily thanks to industrial automation, which includes automated material handling systems.

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Several key performance indicators are used to calculate the productivity in industrial facilities (KPI). The overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) ratio, machine utilization, and throughput are some of these important performance indicators. The following examples will demonstrate how automating material handling systems can improve most KPIs to measure productivity.

The industrial sector is continuing to grasp the advantages of industrial automation and process optimization, as seen by the growing adoption rate of Industry 4.0 business models. The following methods of automated material handling systems can boost productivity:

Increased machine efficiency

Equipment on the shop floor does not function in a vacuum. Poor material handling hinders production and slows materials delivery to workstations, resulting in shorter machine utilization times. To ensure the machine receives the tool heads, supplies, and information, it needs to function, a number of interrelated procedures must occur.

Automating material handling systems lowers human mistake rates and eliminates the shop traffic that delays material deliveries, eliminating downtime brought on by insufficient material flow or handling. Getting supplies and tools to the right workstations ensures that machinery operates as efficiently as possible during its operational cycles and that workers have the necessary tools to make components.

Decreased operating costs

The energy used to move materials around the shop floor and the energy that material handling equipment use are included in the total cost of production or warehousing. Although manual carts utilize very little electricity, increasing shop floor traffic might result in mishaps or delivery delays, raising the overall manufacturing cost. Forklifts also cause the majority of shop floor safety incidents. A significant amount of energy is also consumed by them.

Industrial automation solutions like automated guided vehicles, which can transport heavier loads than manual carts while using less electricity than forklifts, are examples of automated material handling systems. The labor cost involved with manually moving items across the manufacturing floor is also decreased by automated material handling equipment.

Supporting initiatives toward lean manufacturing

Lean manufacturing is based on the idea that reducing waste at every stage of the production cycle would boost throughput. The use of industrial automation in material handling results in a more effective method of handling materials. Automated material handling systems' capacity to faithfully adhere to operational schedules and guarantee materials arrive on time is one such.

Putting in place a just-in-time material transportation system lowers waste and queues on the factory floor. An optimized material-handling process lowers waste in industries that handle raw materials with short shelf life.

Cleaning up the production area

Unplanned downtime occurs because supplies take longer to reach their destination due to traffic on the factory floor generated by moving tools and materials across the shop floor. As heavy equipment travels along a predetermined course across the manufacturing floor, an automated material handling system significantly lowers traffic on the shop floor. Productivity is boosted by giving equipment and operators the tools they need when they need them.

Implementing Industry 4.0 business models requires an automated material handling system since it facilitates gathering layout data from the shop floor. Automated material handling systems can be tailored to a facility's unique needs, making it simpler to scale up in response to rising demand. Industrial cloud platforms can be developed and integrated with data-driven solutions to increase efficiency.

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