MATERIALS HANDLING R. W. WESSON Carbide & Carbon Chemicals Co., Charleston 3, W. Vu.
D
URING the year 1954, the word “automation” was often cited as the keynote of the second industrial revolution. Editorial comment boosted this feeling to a point whe1 e many people now rrroneously consider it to be the birth of a new science. Whether it be a n e v science or an old one, the year 1955 finds industiial management in the embarrassing position of being on the defensive when discussing the effect that automatic machines have on labor. Industry, in general, has been led to believe that the automatic factory is already with us but the time has come to re-evaluate this claim of overmechanization. $n outstanding method of performing this task is outlined in a recent artirle by James R. Bright ( 1 5 ) ,in which he presents a series of charts to aid management in determining the degree of automation in effect a t the present time and the amount that could profitably be added. Owing somewhat to this trend toward complete mechanization, the materials handling industry is faced with a period of rapid growth in the demand for its products and therefore finds itself in an era of technological struggle to attain a, higher degree of pcrfection in design and application of materials handling equipment. This desire for perfection in design is probably most evident in development of industrial lift trucks. The most dramatic of these is the IIyster Mononiast (81). In offering this basic design change, the IIyster Co. has replaced the conventional uprights with a single mast. Concerning the strength and rigidity of this type assembly, it can be said that the hlonomast has been designed with two box-type sections sliding one within the other. This single mast offers an operator an almost unobstructed view of both forks and load. Other advantages claimed by the manufacturer include faster approach and more accurate placing of the load. Both of these factors are of primary importance for pallet rack operation. Ilyster is at present offcring this innovation on its 3000- and 4000-pound-capacity lift trucks, with the added advantage that conventional model trucks can be converted. Various hydraulic attachments ail1 also become available as manufacturers make the necessary attaching modifications. There is evidence of more interest in the use of liquid-petroleum gases as truck and tractor fuel. Many of the major lift truck manufacturers are now marketing LP-gas conversion kits and a t least one claims Underwriters’ approval (11). Thr principal advantages of this type of fuel are 10%.engine maintenance and lark of exhaust fumes. The various claims of low maintenance merely add to the three-cornered argument already in progress between manufacturers of electric, gasoline, and Diesel-powered vehicles. At the present time, many users are testing these various systems but evidence that most manufacturers offer t x o or more types merely adds emphasis to the fact that in selecting an industrial lift truck, the potential user must suit the vehicle to the job. I n order to approach a goal of universality, the 1955 field of industrial truck attachments is both wide and versatile. A drumhandling device is among the new attachments developed by Iron Works, Inc. (24). The device can be mounted in a very short time and will lift and convey six drums a t one time. An-
March 1956
other development is the “depalletizer” attachment (48)which can pick up a load and rotate it 180 degrees t o switch it from one pallet to another. This device has its principal use a t pallet interchange points in ports and tcrrninals. Of recent iiiterest t o the paper industiy is the (‘rotating roil clamp’’ ( 1 2 ) which is designed to handle rolls up to 60 inches in diameter and weighing 6000 pounds. This device will permit warehouse stacking four high but n-as primarily designed to permit easy entrance and exit from railroad cars. 3 In the field of tractor-trailer design, the Guide-0-Matic (4) electronic guidance system goes a step beyond previous remote control systems for tractors, in that it eliminates the walking operator, The unattended vehicle is guided on a specified route by means of radio signals transmitted via a single nire which can be strung just below the ceiling or installed in the floor. Radio signals are transmitted to control elrments mounted on the tractor which follow the path of the guide wire a t a constant speed. The tractor can be dispatched to any preselected point on the system by an operator located a t a central control panel. Such a system adds flexibility to the established principle of infloor type tractor trains in that routing of the vehicle can be changed easily by adjusting the guidance device or moving the ceiling mire. The principle employed by this manufacturer is being experimentally adapted to fork trucks and cranes. Should this research be successful, the materials handling industry will be one step nearer its goal of an automatic warehouse. Because of the recent upsurge in interest in equipment replacement programs, the llaterials Handling Laboratories, Xnc. (25), has published a report containing the latest thinking on the organization and operation of such programs. This report places particular emphasis on thr relation to materials handling and shows how this theory is put to work in five major companies.
Theory a n d Training The College-Industry Committee on Materials Handling Education ( 1 6 ) recently announced the availahility of a new educational film, “Powered Industrial Trucks.” This film is devoted to instruction in the basic types of and uses for powered industrial vehicles. Under the direction of Byron il’. Saunders (37), the CICMHE has also been active in the collection of, captioning, and breaking into equipment and function classifications over 600 action slides of many types of materials handling equipment. The work of this comniittee has heen largely instrumental in promoting materials handling education and is considered by many to be the best clearing house for information on this suhject. I n March of this year, a milestone in materials handling education was passed when Michigan State granted the first B.S. dcgrce in packaged technology (9). This is the only 4-year college course leading to such a degree. In addition to studying mathematics, engineering, business, and the humanities, the students enrolled in this course study all phascs of packaging
INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
547
UNIT OPERATIONS REVIEW
.,
Techniques of automatic bottling adapted to the canning industry
tion Guide (SO) is recommended as a primary infor mation source. This publication places particular emphasis on the newest types of equipment, modifications, and accessories and is probably one of the most complete materials handling references ever published. Recently there has been a tremendous outgrowth of organized courses in materials handling. Some of these have been in the form of night courses a t colleges and univer,ities and others have consisted of forums and seminars. The author has found an e\cellent one to be the annual Lake Placid Materials Handling Conference ( 2 ) . The training provided by this conference proved to be concentrated information on all phases of materials handling taught by some of the top men in the field. The conference n-as conducted in a completely informal manner, u hich nas conducive to the process of learning.
Warehousing
COURTESY HYSTER CO.
Monomast lift truck servicing a pallet storage rack
sales, production, testing, development, design, and rcsrwch. K i t h the packaging industry fast approaching the ten tdlion dollar a year mark, it is encouraging to note that a srientific approach is now available to work on 6he niultitude of prolilems inherent in t,his field. For t.hose interested in some of the basic fundamentals of the science of materials handling, the Materials Handling Inst#itut,e (28) has made available additions to it,s original “1,ibrary of Know-IIow.” The first of these new booklets consists of series of general rules on methods, plant layout, equipment, working conditions, and the training of personnel. The second booklet in this series discusses materials handling as a function, or activity, and its relationships wdh other established functions. The third and last booklet of this series discusses the organization of a materials handling activity. Study of this series cannot be too highly recommended, because a great deal of thought has gone into the development of these booklets and they should go a long ivay t,oward promoting a hetter understanding of a long neglect,ed industry. I n the field of recommended reading, engineers in tmherhcniical industry will be particularly interested in reprints 1,. the .4hZE:RICAN C i m n x i c A L SociEw of articles on the transportation, packaging, and labeling of chemicals ( 2 6 ) . These articles encompass the areas of chemical transportation economics, tank transportation, drums and cylinders, plastic containers, aerosols, and labeling of hazardous chemicals. For engineers in search of usable data to help i n solving the ever present’ problem of specifying materials handling equipment, the 1955 Equipment Selec-
548
The year 1955 has seen the outgrowth of a new high in large volume warehousing. This trend is best e\eniplified by a discussion of three new food processing centers. The first and probably the one with the largest potential is the Calumet %mehouse located in Chicago, Ill. According to Irving Footlik, materials handling consultant for this project ( I 6 ) , this vast system of coordinated warehouses v ill provide break-up and redirtribution points for manufacturers and growers and a central ordering and pickup center for local distributors. When conipleted, this project will consist of a series of buildings each 1000 feet long and 250 feet wide and so arranged that it will be possiblr to process 60 railroad cars a day. The entire system d l bc serviced by fork lift trucks operating on a pin wheel stacking system m-hich eliminates all side aisles in the building. The construction principles are unique in that these buildings have been designed primarily to obtain maximum space utilization. This has been accomplished by locating all overhead obstructions in the main aisles. T o reduce the original investment a cantilever principle of roof beam design was employed which permits larger bay spacing and a t the s3me time reduces the number of strucatural members required. This warehouse can also claim another first in that it represents the only operation of this type to lease pallets on a large 8Cak (33). All pallets are leased to the warehouse from a local supplier and while all responsibility for maintenance remains with the warehouse, cost of the pallets does not require capital investment and lease costs are charged off against operating expense. The leasing of pallets came about as a direct result of the success of previous rental programs ronducted by Calumet for fork lift trucks and other materials handling equipment. The second in this series of large volume warehouses was recently placed in operation by the Penn Fruit Co in Philadelphia ( S I ) . This new distribution center has two outstanding fentures. The first is represented by an electronic computcr system which assists in reducing the order picking time for some 4400 different stock items. The second noteworthy feature is the manner in which produce is stored---that is, fast moving items, regardless of classification, are stored close to the shipping dock instead of being stored in groups and by types. This is contrary to normal practice in a food warehouse, but represents a principle advocated by the United States Navy. This system is apt]) named “popularity storage” and it places emphasis on the positioning of material by rate of turnover. According to the originator of this system (7), the term “popularity storage” includcs the grouping of material categories by size, the designing of stocl,
INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
Vol. 48, No. 3
MATERIALS HANDLING location systems, development of storage aids, and selection of niaterials handling equipment. The third wwehouse referred to above is located a t the H. J. IIeinz Co.’s Pittsburgh plant and is operated nith 17 automatically controlled conveyors, four pallet-loading machines, and 33 fork tit trurks, all tied together into a fully mechanized operation ( I S ) . The unique feature of this warehouse is not the amount of handling equipment employed but the method of coordinating and controlling this equipment. Sornial operation of this system requires the constant attention of only a few men r i t h the principal element of control centered a t a push-button panel hoard. Operation of this control panel, together x
