Faced with an ever growing list of regulations and labor issues that threaten to drain productivity and raise cost, many companies are looking at ways to fine tune their operations.

Barring any new major catastrophe, we could see the current recession, and subsequent “buyers market”, come to an end in the not too distant future. If so, there may be no better time to update and perhaps systemize your material handling operations than right now, before the cost of equipment and services return to normal levels.

But, how do you know you have a material handling problem that might need a “system” approach? Many times it’s good to compare your material handling operating ratio (which is material handling labor to total labor) to other companies within your industry. This then becomes a good indication of where you stand relative to the need to mechanize, automate, or to look into some other method of improving your total productivity numbers.

There certainly are many other symptoms that can be found, if you’re willing to look for them, to show that a system approach might be required in your operation. Such things as: 

• Failure to optimize floor space and cube utilization
• Inventory accuracy issues
• Piles of material in aisles, and on the floor in various departments
• Excessive manual handling and re-handling
• Long movements resulting in too much walking/traveling time
• Unbalanced sequence of operations
• Operators waiting for material handling equipment
• Worker safety issues
• Excessive temporary storage
• Shipping delays
• Errors and product damage
• Excessive backcharges

 The list could probably go on and on. All, however, are symptoms of operational issues that exist, whether they are major or minor, and could be eliminated or improved with application of an overall integrated system solution.

Adopt the Most Successful System Planning Model

Just what constitutes a system? How do you review your material handling operation within that “systems” concept? How does system size affect the implementation of the plan? How do you go about “systematizing” your operation? These are not easy questions/issues to define because they mean different things to different companies.

Unfortunately, the system concept has been abused in the past. Anyone who has a few pieces of equipment that fit together can claim it’s a system and frequently do. This makes it difficult to really differentiate between what might be termed a system, and what is merely hardware equipment assembled to correct a short term productivity problem somewhere within the operation. In addition, the term “automated system” is being thrown around to represent conveyorized systems where human beings are doing most of the work.

A successful program of mechanization or automation is more dependent upon the steps taken to implement it than the equipment itself. A material handling system is one which requires the assembling of pertinent data, analyzing that data in light of the problem, and then applying material handling principles so as to produce an organizationally integrated plan for achieving the expected results.

So, with that thought in mind, many companies are considering improving the performance of their current material handling operations to give them a competitive advantage going forward into the next robust business cycle. For those companies it is very important that they adopt a planning model that insures success – namely:

1. Assembling pertinent data

2. Analyzing the data

3. Applying material handling principles

4. Integrating it organizationally

5. Evaluate expected results

This then establishes some of the steps that are required to properly define and solve the material handling problem.

Allow Sufficient Time

When you know a material handling problem exists, start by examining the total picture. Make sure a specific problem isn’t a symptom of a still far greater problem, perhaps more serious in nature. Sometimes it’s the sub-rosa problems (those that are unknown) which sap the organization’s vitality. Dig and dig deep. This sometimes requires help. Take enough time. Set a realistic schedule.

Some solutions seem to be easily defined and easily implemented. Even on these, allow sufficient time to properly prepare your management and your work force and perhaps determine whether an outside objective viewpoint is needed – whether it is a vendor or a consultant.

On the larger system projects it may take at least months or perhaps years to develop a viable system depending on its overall size. As an example, just determining the objective of a large system and getting the agreement of various parts of your management can be a long, drawn out process, as many of you can attest. There is a tremendous amount of data to be accumulated. Getting everyone’s input is also a difficult and time-consuming effort. Unfortunately, this background work has to be done prior to analyzing data, doing any preliminary engineering or even being able to get a hint as to the economic justification of the system contemplated. Top management must realize that a definite time element exists. They must condition themselves to allow enough time, since moving ahead too quickly defeats the whole system approach and can ultimately defeat the project

At this point in systematizing your operation creativity begins. Perhaps a conventional mechanized solution to your problem is the answer. Doing this, however, may only allow you to stay up with the competition, not beat it – and you cannot afford to do that. It takes ingenuity to stay ahead of competition in our highly competitive global market place. This is the time to really get as much help and use as much creativity as possible in developing your system.

Creative thinking and ingenuity is essential if any comprehensive attempt is made to take into consideration all of the new regulations that are affecting manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution operations today – such as OSHA requirements relative to noise and operator safety, lean and green initiates, customer demands, employee motivation, human engineering, and any number of other emerging programs like union card check. All of which creates uncertainty, which is of course hard to manage. Still, putting a system in place can be and is a rewarding experience. Everyone who works on it usually leaves a little of themselves with it. When you plan to systematize, don’t shortcut it in anyway, and you will reap improved productivity, improved profits, and a heck of a lot of self-satisfaction in the bargain.

It can be difficult to come up with a truly new system concept in material handling today. Usually whatever is laid out is only a variation of an earlier concept or material handling principle. Supply Chain Digest & Distribution Digest is developing a new report on Automated Case Picking, which will be available soon and will provide tremendous insight into exciting new automated material handling methods.

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