Automated Material Handling systems are often the unsung heroes of efficiency and safety in the modern factory. While the concept might sound simple—moving things from one place to another—effective implementation is the key to unlocking major operational improvements. Here is a closer look at what Automated Material Handling entails, why it’s essential, and the critical factors to consider before implementation.
At its core, Automated Material Handling involves moving parts from one point to another. It is a broad umbrella concept that covers many applications across various industries.
Material handling is often viewed as the low hanging fruit or the “easy part” of overall automation. Compared to highly complex tasks, such as driving screws during assembly or ensuring tolerance fits, the physical movement of materials is relatively straightforward. However, its widespread applicability means that addressing material movement is often the first step in achieving broader factory automation goals.
Manufacturers implement Automated Material Handling for reasons centered around performance, efficiency and worker well-being. These benefits generally fall into three categories:
Automated material handling supports a major lean manufacturing principle: “Don’t touch a part if you’re not going to add value.” In many outdated manufacturing processes, parts are unnecessarily handled—taken out of a machine, put into a bin, transferred via a cart, and then staged for the next process. This involves a lot of handling and touching that doesn’t advance or add value to the product. Automated Material Handling eliminates these steps, helping companies maintain a lean operation.
If production demands exceed human capability, automation becomes essential. Or, to put it another way, Automated Material Handling is required for speeds that humans cannot sustain. For example, a process involves packaging frozen turkey burger patties at a rate of 300 burgers a minute. Achieving this kind of high throughput necessitates multi-robot solutions and specialized material handling systems because accomplishing a similar throughput with human labor would require a lot of operators.
One of the fastest-growing drivers for adopting Automated Material Handling is worker safety. These systems help eliminate repetitive motion injuries, such as shoulder or elbow strain, particularly in jobs like palletizing (picking up boxes and putting them on a pallet).
By using automation (such as robots or conveyors), companies remove human operators from tasks that cause worker injuries. Automated Material Handling allows automation to handle anything that is heavy, awkward or large. Automation also ensures the protection of operators by keeping them out of dangerous areas or environments.
When developing an automated material handling system, discrete manufacturers generally rely on multiple technologies, including:
These technologies are used individually or combined to create sophisticated systems that move, place and stage products.
While moving parts may seem like a simple task, implementation requires careful planning, especially concerning one major pitfall: losing part orientation.
In discrete manufacturing, for example, if the required orientation of a part is not maintained throughout the material handling process, the next station will struggle to process it. This is why there is a widely accepted rule of thumb in automation: “Don’t let go of it until you’re done.” As soon as you let go of a part, you risk losing its necessary orientation.
If orientation is lost, the next station is forced to employ complex solutions to reorient the part:
Because Automated Material Handling is such a broad concept, it is crucial during the initial planning phase to know what specific sub-category your project falls under. This is necessary because the scale and requirements vary dramatically.
For instance, material handling could involve:
Identifying your specific automation “lane” is key to finding the right solution and partner. Identify your lane based on the primary focus:
This lane uses automated storage and retrieval systems, automated guided vehicles, automated mobile robots, product sorters, product bundlers and many other technologies to process super-high-volumes. It is typically associated with fulfillment centers operated by major companies like Amazon, Walmart and FedEx. Companies that specialize in this lane often deal with high-speed sorting and movement of diverse boxes, bags and other packages.
This lane involves material handling used to move specific components around, get them into the right position, put them into packaging, or take them in and out of machines.
This lane applies heavily to batch processing and component manufacturing. For example, a task might involve sorting specific components (like cell phone covers by SKU) into lines for subsequent packaging. While it is still material handling, the complexity lies in precision handling and sorting specific parts, rather than the super high-volume conveyance of standard boxes.
Automated Material Handling is essential for achieving key operational goals of speed, lean manufacturing and worker safety. While the fundamental task is simple—moving parts—successful implementation requires careful planning, particularly to ensure that part orientation is maintained throughout the process. Because Automated Material Handling is such a broad field, selecting the right automation partner depends entirely on knowing the specific subcategory of need, whether that is high-volume warehouse sorting or focused component batch processing.
Understanding these distinctions helps ensure that your automation investment is targeted correctly, transforming material movement from a cost center into a core element of your production success.
Automated Material Handling acts like the smooth highway system of a factory, making sure every product, regardless of size or weight, travels safely and efficiently to its destination without unnecessary detours or slowdowns.
Adaptive Innovations provides state-of-the-art industrial automation and robotics solutions, including automated packaging and palletizing solutions designed to improve efficiency. If you need help introducing (or improving) Automated Material Handling at your plant or shop floor, check out our packaging and palletizing automation solutions, or let’s talk.
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