Materials handling is the moving of goods between incoming transport, storage, processes and outgoing transport and controls the set of activities that move production inputs and other goods within plants, warehouses and transportation terminals.

Providing the right amount of material:
in the right condition
at the right place
at the right time
in the right position
in the right sequence
for the right cost
by using the right methods.

Materials Handling Manager 
The task for the materials handling manager is to find the methods, the routes, the layouts and the right components to minimize handling.  Six main responsibilities of the materials handling manager:

packaging - unitising
internal transport
storage
retrieval
identification
communication.

Material Handling System Design
The design of a material handling system depends upon the type and the characteristics of the materials to be handled.

Material Handling System Components
Material handling equipment:
unitizing equipment
material transport equipment
storage and retrieval equipment
automatic identification and communication equipment.

Material Handling System Components.
Unitising equipment:
containers, such as cartons, boxes, and bag
carriers or support, such as pallets, skids, and plywood
stretch wrap
shrink-wrap.

Material transport equipment:
conveyors (belts and rollers)
industrial vehicles, such as pallet trucks, lift trucks, and automated guided vehicles (AGV)
monorails
hoists
cranes.

Storage and retrieval equipment:
unit load storage equipment
unit load retrieval equipment
small load storage and retrieval equipment.

Material Handling System Components
Automatic identification and communication equipment:
bar coding
radio frequency tag
magnetic stripe
smart cards
voice headsets
machine vision.

Suggestions for materials handling:
use identification systems, such as bar coding to handle the right material:
give a unique part identification number
give a unique location identification number
handle similar materials, packaging and size of loads at the same time
implement improvements in material handling systems which will increase the efficiency of the overall system.

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