Question

Discuss with examples two (2) advantages and two (2) disadvantages of automated materials handling systems and manual handling systems

Answer 1

The material handling system and equipment in industries include a diverse range of vehicles, tools, appliances, storage units, and accessories that are used for storing, transporting, enumerating, controlling, and protecting the products at the different stages of distribution and manufacturing, consumption, and disposal.

a. Automated Material Handling System

An automated material handling system will use the robots and computer devices for lifting, moving, pushing, pulling, retrieving, and storing products and not human labor. The industrial lifting devices including electric chains and hoists, intelligent lifting devices, vacuum lifters, conveyors box lifts, and pallet lifting devices are some examples of automated material handling systems.

Advantages of Automated Material Handling Systems

1. Reduce recurrent labor costs- Automated material handling systems are often one-time investments that reduce labor costs drastically. For instance, Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) can transport materials within facilities and with their sensors, they do not bump into anything. These automated material handling equipment can drastically reduce the cost incurred towards hiring employees, and the payment of salaries, payroll, taxes, health care coverage, vacation time, and other expenditures that a company incurs towards retaining human resources.

2.Safety- One of the biggest advantages of automated material handling equipment is the safety they can provide. Because there is no human input, the chances of errors, and therefore accidents drastically reduce. In the above example, the AGV is also equipped with the sensors, lasers, and cameras that allow it to operate safely around the structures and personnel.

Disadvantages of Automated Material Handling Systems

1. A huge investment- Automated material handling systems including the aerial lifts, the automated storage and retrieval systems, the automated pallet racks, the automated forklifts, the automated conveyors, and the automated racking systems, robots, and cranes all usually have a large upfront cost. For instance, the cost of an AGV can be somewhere between $ 20,000 to $ 40,000. Companies often look for financing options or rent automated equipment for a certain time period, which may be a cause of uncertainty and ambiguity. Smaller firms may not easily dare to buy such costly equipment and systems in most cases, and usually go for the manual material handling processes and systems.

2. High maintenance cost- a high service and maintenance cost is usually a disadvantage associated with the many different automatic material handling systems and equipment. For some systems and equipment including aerial lifts, preventive maintenance may also be required, which is another added expense adding up to the total ownership cost. However, such investment and care are necessary for avoiding accidents.

b.Manual Material Handling Systems

The manual material handling systems need human operators for moving the materials and handling them. The physical input can be evident in human assistance of an older forklift version, manual use of the hook lifters, and in other areas, and may also vary depending on the type on machines. While there may be a partial usage of machinery, the interference of humans makes these setups slower when compared to the fully automated material handling systems.

Advantages of Manual Material Handling Systems

1. Human interference may be needed in all instances- It may not be possible to have an industrial and production process entirely free of human interference. For instance, in an industry that uses robots for load lifting or for depalletizing, there are some odd sizes that cannot be handled by the robot. In these instances, human interference will be necessary. Therefore in many instances, the automated systems may not provide adequate reliability. Automatic machinery also does not tolerate any differences for changes, but a human can adjust to minor differences. Therefore, manual material handling systems provide better reliability and ensure that the work is accomplished in its entirety in one go.

2. Lesser investment- There is substantially less investment associated with manual material handling systems. Newer technologies cost huge until they fade. Also, there is no end to automation, which is only getting sophisticated and more advanced with time. We can make a comparison here by considering the cost invested in moving material by using a $ 40, 000 AGV and a manual system.

Disadvantages of Manual Material Handling Systems

1.No scope for customization/personalization: The manual material handling systems do not provide for personalization and customization and have few options regarding it. That is why the use of the automated and material handling systems has been on an increase in the E-Commerce segment, where the companies are using these new systems to process the most complex orders. While options including automated sorters, automated racking systems, and the automated storage and retrieval systems, provide for the handling of customers' orders at a fast pace, no such provisions are available with the manual systems.

2. Slow- Manual material handling systems are slow and therefore reduce the overall efficiency of a firm and its operational processes. In an era when efficiency and rapid delivery is key to competitiveness, companies cannot rely on the older manual systems to process the delivery of the orders at a fast pace, which is what the modern customers desire. Further because of the involvement of humans to a greater extent in the manual processes and material handling systems, the chances of error increase. On the other hand, the use of automated systems including the automatic storage and retrieval system ensures that there is no error in locating and delivering the accurate and precise product to a given customer.