In this thesis was a model developed, in order to improve deficiencies in existing literature regarding the layout problem and to give companies a comprehensible user-friendly procedure on how to design competitive production processes, plant layouts and material handling systems. The model consists of six phases that can be used sequentially in order to design, evaluate, implement and maintain effective plant layouts and material handling systems. The model can also be used to examine and optimize processes. The first four phases of the model were tested successfully in a case study at Holtab AB, a medium sized manufacturing company in Tingsryd.

Intern materialhantering är ett ofta bortglömt område inom logistik, ett ämnesområde som annars i takt med den snabba och globala utvecklingen har fått ökad uppmärksamhet de senaste åren. I detta examensarbete studeras den interna materialhanteringen på Fläkt Woods ABs fabrik i Jönköping begränsat till flödet mellan godsmottagning och slutmontering. Syftet med fallstudien är att undersöka vilka problem som finns med den nuvarande interna materialhanteringen samt ge förbättringsförslag för hur den skulle kunna utvecklas för att minimera antalet produktionstopp orsakade av materialbrist. Studien har en abduktiv ansats där datainsamling genom dokumentation, observationer och intervjuer ligger till grund för en flödeskartläggning av tre produktgrupper som företaget bedömt vara mest intressanta att studera. Utifrån flödet identifieras möjliga problem och med hjälp av ett analytiskt ramverk klassificeras dessa för att urskilja de problem som leder till produktionsstopp. Studien visar att dessa handlar om att komponenter av någon anledning är felaktiga/skadade, lagras in/plockas på ett felaktigt sätt eller att det sker felaktigheter vid godsmottagning med avseende på registrering och sortering. Genomförda litteraturstudier ligger till grund för ett teoretiskt ramverk innehållande principer som bör tas i beaktning vid arbetet med intern materialhantering. Ramverket är en utgångspunkt för de förbättringsförslag som tas fram för att lösa de problem som bedöms orsaka produktionsstopp. Övergripande sett hamnar förbättrings­­förslagen inom tre skilda områden. Det första området berör problem orsakade av mänskliga faktorer vilka kan minimeras genom ökad motivation, produktkunskap och helhets­förståelse. Område nummer två täcker fysisk förflyttning av material samt registrering av detta i affärssystemet vilket bör ske på ett standardiserat och mer säkert sätt. Det tredje området innefattar ett behov av utökad mätning och uppföljning av de problem som uppstår i flödet för att få ökad kontroll över vad som sker. Studenterna rekommenderar företaget att, förutom att implementera föreslagna förbättringar, också studera det teoretiska ramverket för att kunna tillämpa detta på ytterligare problem som studien har identifierat men som ligger utanför studiens omfång. / Internal material handling is an area within logistics that receive little attention. Logistics on the other hand has received increased attention in recent years due to the fast and global growth of markets. The aim for this report is to study the internal material handling at Fläkt Woods AB’s factory in Jönköping, Sweden. The study is limited to include activities from receiving goods until the start of final assembly. The purpose with this case study is to identify potential problem within the current setup of the internal material handling system and provide suggestions for improvements in order to minimize downtime in production caused by lack of material. Based on an abductive approach, the data collection performed via documents, observations and interviews lays the foundation for the compilation of a number of flowcharts. These flowcharts describe the flow for three separate product groups which the company previously has identified as most interesting to map. With the flowcharts as a starting point potential problems are identified and, with the use of an own-composed analytical framework, also classified in order to sort out problems that are likely to cause downtime in production. The study states that these problems originate from damaged/defective components, incorrect storing/picking or occur due to errors when recording and sorting newly arrived goods. Literature studies are the basis for a theoretical framework containing a number of principles that should be taken into consideration when handling material internally. This framework is the base on which the presented suggestions for improvements rely. The suggestions can be divided into three separate areas. Problems caused by human factors can be minimized by increased motivation, increased knowledge and a more comprehensive view within the workforce. All kinds of physical movement along with registration in the ERP-system should be conducted in a more standardized and secure way. A need of increased measuring and monitoring has also become evident in order to increase control over different types of undesirable events. Beside implementing the proposed suggestions for improvement the students also advice the company to study the theoretical framework in order to be able to apply it on other problems. This study identifies quite a few other problems, but due to the scope of the study they are not further analyzed.

Aim: More and more organizations worldwide want to develop products for global markets. At the same time, they need to make their products available in the global market to be competitive. One of today's trends to solve this problem of making products in the global market is by involving logistics to manage complex distribution requirements. Organizations have developed strategic alliances with companies all over the world to manage their logistics operations network. (www.chrobinson.com). My research was aimed at understanding the coordination of logistics activities at the terminal.   Method: I based my study on a combination of descriptive and exploratory type. As regards descriptive I presented my data collected in a descriptive analysis. Also I used the exploratory research to know exactly the implementation of logistics activities at Schenker's terminal and also to observe the activities, conduct interviews and administer questionnaires.   Result & Conclusions: The major results of my findings revealed that the existing management procedure of the outbound logistics system at Schenker terminal which involves material handling, transportation, distribution, cross-docking, customer service and information systems could not be seen as lean and agile. This is because of the existence of many problems faced by the terminal such as congestion, flows inefficiencies, excess scrap, too much manual documentation,  delays in deliveries, damages, poor customer service, return goods, idle equipment (forklift and trucks) and personal and high cost of operations.   Suggestions for future research: The study is limited in the sense that it does not include the whole supply chain; the terminal is just a part in the supply chain and whatever problems that are encountered are not experienced in the whole supply chain. This could lead to a broader basis of a future research project.

In recent years increasing growth rate of all industrial fields generated an emerging energy demand and consequent environmental problems worldwide. Defining environmental profiles of products and systems using environmental tools, such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), is a critical issue for sustainable mining. In order to tackle the increasing environmental challenges and air emissions induced by surface coal mining, alternative material handling options are needed to be evaluated. This research study aims to provide a robust LCA model in selection of the alternative material haulage systems as a decision support system. The main objectives of this thesis study are: i) contributing to the national archived data by gathering data about haulage systems from an open pit coal mine, ii) constructing life cycle inventory from the acquired environmental data, iii) performing life cycle assessment of both material haulage systems in an open pit coal mine according to their environmental burdens, iv) conducting uncertainty assessment, and v) suggesting improvement in stages where emissions are critical. In order to accomplish these objectives, comparative LCA from cradle-to-grave was carried out in SIMAPRO 7.3 to determine life cycle environmental impacts of off-highway mining trucks and belt conveyors in coal transportation. Climate change and acidification were selected as major impact categories considered to be major concerns in mining industry. The results of this study revealed that off-highway trucks had 1.9 times greater impact on acidification category than belt conveyors, on the other hand, belt conveyors had 1.6 times greater impact on climate change. NOx emissions caused 96 percent of the acidification impact. CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion led to 95 percent of the climate change effect. The obtained results also indicated that the highest impact on all selected impact categories were generated from the utilization stage of the trucks operated by diesel oil and utilization of belt conveyor systems operated by electricity. The main novelty of this study is that it is one of the first LCA studies in the Turkish mining industry where considerable amount of emissions occur due to material handling. This study also advances the current knowledge about environmentally critical processes in material handling systems and places recommendations for both alternatives aiming better decision making. The results of the study are expected to provide a decision support system for the mining industry.

<p>Logistics plays a crucial role in companies’ ability to sustain competitive on the market. Time is regarded as one of the important metric in terms of logistics, since time influences the lead time of the products, which results in the vital advantage of speed. The recent business environment forces Kinnarps Production AB, a manufacturer of furniture, to optimize their inventory material flow in a way of increasing their capability and capacity to load more distribution containers with goods daily. The present circumstances of the material flow are associated with number of negative factors. An automated guided vehicle (AGV) system is operating and handling the distribution of goods. Wrong sequence of activities, long transportations, high transportation delays, waiting time, varying numbers of AGVs, wastes, bottlenecks are among the important issues to be considered.</p><p>The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the material flow in Kinnarps Production AB’s inventory seven and to improve the AGV system activities within.</p><p>Concepts associated with identifying waste were used by separating value-adding activities from the non-value added ones. The usage of ideal reference systems techniques were the base for identifying problems. Concrete literature regarding AGV’s design system was applied in establishing different statements about the material flow and identification of problems. Different methods and techniques were used in approaching the research, but most above others is the case study approach. Numerous amounts of secondary data have been employed in verifying the collection of other data carried out by primary data collection as well as verifying the qualitative and quantitative analysis.</p><p>A mapping of the current system was established with respect to orders, times and distances. Numbers of congestion points were identified, non-value adding activities were eliminated or decreased, rearrangement of sequencing of different activities was considered and different pallets arrangement system was established. A stochastic model was used in identifying the AGV’s time variables in the system and estimating appropriate amount of AGVs within the inventory.</p><p>All the findings from different calculations and estimations were associated with Kinnarps Production’s future increased demand. Different issues and considerations were analyzed and appropriate suggestions were given for elimination of the negative factors in the inventory or their decrease. Among the most influencing results was the proper amount of AGVs in the inventory area, pallets rearrangement, different stocking policy, rearrangement in the sequence of activities, increase of the buffer for pallets used for loading containers, new conveyor system for the incoming goods in the inventory, transportation layout changes resulting in blocking free routines, separate control system, decrease of the effect of stoppages. All these findings are considered to optimize the material flow and increase the system capacity contributing to an increase of the daily containers outgoing from Kinnarps Production AB.</p>

<p>In this thesis was a model developed, in order to improve deficiencies in existing literature regarding the layout problem and to give companies a comprehensible user-friendly procedure on how to design competitive production processes, plant layouts and material handling systems. The model consists of six phases that can be used sequentially in order to design, evaluate, implement and maintain effective plant layouts and material handling systems. The model can also be used to examine and optimize processes. The first four phases of the model were tested successfully in a case study at Holtab AB, a medium sized manufacturing company in Tingsryd.</p>

In today’s world, simulation and optimization are playing a vital role in reducing the time, cost and preserving resources. In manufacturing industries, there are ample amount of problems that go on with the expansion of the industry. In such cases, to tackle these problems simulation can be helpful to check whether any change in the current situation makes any effect on the current efficiency of the overall plant. In the presented case study, a solution to the problem of internal and external logistics has been designed by using simulation and optimization to improve part of a material flow of an organization. Basically, the organization whose major production is established in the south of Sweden deals with the manufacturing and assembly of equipment. Before the dispatch, all of them go to the painting section which is the expansion of the present shop floor. However, the design and analysis of the material handling system to feed the new painting line which is going to be established by the organization is the aim of this case study. While achieving this aim the literature regarding the discrete event simulation, Lean and Simulation-Based optimization related to the material handling system has been done. Furthermore, the appropriate material handling systems along with the different scenarios were suggested to reduce the cost and the lead times between the production line and the new painting line. To support this process a methodology combining simulation, optimization and lean production has been implemented under the framework of the design and creation research strategy. In the Kaizen workshop organized at a company with managers and stakeholders, the designed scenarios were presented and after some discussion one of them was chosen and the selected scenario was designed and optimized. Moreover, the Simulation-Based multi-objective optimization has been helpful for the optimization of the designed model proposed as a final solution.

The target of thesis is to analyze handling equipment and device for realization of loading operations in agriculture and provide proposals and principles for optimal usage of applied handling equipment and device. The characteristics and clasifications of materials in agriculture, loading operations and transportation, listing of applied handling equipment and device for realization of such processes are stated in literary survey of this work. Next part of the work focuses on selection of modern handling equipment, device and producers ( domestic and international) available at current market and defines factors influencing the prefered choice to use particular handling equipment and device for loading processes on farms and in other agricultural environment. A part of the analysis is data and information acquisition of particular farm and review of loading processes in agriculture connected to applicable handling equipment and device, furthermore, currently used handling equipment and device with proposal to optimalization.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:18:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2134.pdf: 6972689 bytes, checksum: 9585b0c3ed9c5691b7b4e49bea7a6eb7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-11-27 / Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais / Despite the large tendency to task automation, manual material handling (MMH) is still performed in occupational settings. This activity has been widely studied but the focus has been kept on the low back. Besides the lower back, the incidence of musculoskeletal disorders also on upper limb, among workers who perform MMH, shows that there is a need to achieve a better understanding on the interaction between this segment and physical risk factors in the workplace. Besides physical factors, the musculoskeletal load during the MMH seems to be also influenced by the workers experience. In order to contribute with information on the effects of workplace factors on the upper limb behavior during MMH, two studies were developed. The objective of the first study was to evaluate the effects of height of the target surface and load mass on the muscular activity and movements during MMH performed by experienced and inexperienced subjects. Both muscular activity and movements were influenced by the variation of the load mass and height of the target surface. However, there was any difference for the comparison between experienced and inexperienced subjects. This fact was probably related to the homogeneity of the grip used by the subjects to carry out the handling, which has probably an association with the design of the box used in the experiment. In order to better understand the characteristics of the grip used by the subjects to perform the task, another study was conduced. The objectives were (1) to evaluate how experienced and inexperienced subjects would grasp a box when all sides were free to be approached; (2) to describe grip force and wrist movements according to each kind of hand grip, attempting to different heights of the destination surface; (3) to check for safe range of motion recorded for wrist movements in all conditions. Wrist movements and grip force were recorded during the task. Experienced and inexperienced subjects grasped the box by placing their hands on the lateral side and fingers on bottom side. This pattern was observed in all assessed conditions. It seems that when the box allows the free access to the bottom side, both experienced and inexperienced subjects prefer to use that side to position their hands/fingers. Data on movements and grip force has suggested that this grip can provide biomechanical advantage and should be available in occupational settings. In general, the results have shown that physical factors, like height of target surface and load mass, are determinants on the musculoskeletal load. Considering the demand required from the upper limbs, the high surface (around shoulder level) seems to produce higher risk to the development of disorders on this segment. To provide a better understanding on the upper limbs load, studies considering different layouts, as well as asymmetrical tasks and real occupational settings should be conduced. / Apesar da grande tendência à automação de tarefas, o manuseio de carga ainda é amplamente realizado em ambientes ocupacionais. Esta atividade tem sido bastante estudada, com o foco sendo quase sempre mantido na coluna lombar. O acometimento do membro superior de sujeitos que realizam tarefas de manuseio indica a necessidade de melhor entendimento a respeito da interação deste segmento com os fatores de risco físicos do ambiente de trabalho. Além dos fatores físicos, a sobrecarga musculoesquelética durante o manuseio parece ser também influenciada pela experiência dos trabalhadores. Para contribuir com o entendimento dos efeitos dos fatores do ambiente de trabalho no comportamento do membro superior durante o manuseio de cargas, dois estudos foram desenvolvidos. O primeiro estudo teve como objetivo avaliar o efeito da altura da superfície-alvo e massa da carga na atividade muscular e postura do segmento durante manuseio de carga, realizado por sujeitos experientes e inexperientes. Tanto a atividade muscular quanto os movimentos do ombro foram afetados pela variação da massa da carga e da altura da superfície-alvo. No entanto, não houve diferença para a comparação entre indivíduos experientes e inexperientes. Este fato foi associado à homogeneidade no tipo de preensão adotada pelos sujeitos para a realização da tarefa, o que foi atribuído ao desenho da caixa utilizada. Para melhor entender as características da preensão adotada por sujeitos experientes e inexperientes no manuseio de uma caixa que permite livre acesso às faces para posicionamento das mãos, o segundo estudo foi conduzido. Os objetivos foram (1) avaliar como sujeitos experientes e inexperientes manuseariam uma caixa quando todas as superfícies desta estavam livres para o contato; (2) descrever a força de preensão e movimentos do punho de acordo com a preensão realizada, considerando diferentes alturas de superfície-alvo; (3) avaliar as amplitudes de movimento do punho registradas de acordo com a amplitude de movimento segura proposta pela literatura. Movimentos do punho e força de preensão foram registrados durante a atividade. Sujeitos experientes e inexperientes pegaram a caixa a partir do posicionamento das mãos na face lateral e dedos na face inferior, em todas as condições avaliadas. Parece que quando a caixa permite livre acesso à face inferior, todos os sujeitos, independentemente do nível de experiência, preferem posicionar as mãos nesta superfície. Os dados de postura e força sugerem que este tipo de pega possa ser biomecanicamente mais vantajoso para o sistema musculoesquelético e deveria estar disponível nos manuseios. De maneira geral, os resultados dos estudos indicam que fatores físicos do ambiente de trabalho, como altura da superfíciealvo e massa da caixa manuseada, são determinantes da carga final imposta ao sistema musculoesquelético. Considerando a demanda imposta ao membro superior, a superfície alta (em torno da altura do ombro) parece fornecer maior risco para o desenvolvimento de lesão neste segmento. Para melhor entendimento da carga imposta ao membro superior, estudos envolvendo diferentes layouts, assim como manuseios assimétricos e ambientes ocupacionais reais devem ser conduzidos.

Kurs: Ämnesfördjupande arbete i logistik, 2FE25E, VT 2018  Uppsatsens titel: E-handelns påverkan på materialhanteringsprocessen - En fallstudie på Södra Wood Interiör i Kallinge  Författare: Linnéa Bosson, Emma Mogensen och Jacob Vikenadler  Handledare: Petra Andersson  Examinator: Hana Hulthén  Bakgrund och problemdiskussion: E-handeln har vuxit mycket under de senaste åren. E-handeln inom byggvarubranschen är något som inte slagit igenom än men är idag påväg uppåt. Därför bör företag som verkar inom byggbranschen förbereda sig på denna förändring. Södra Wood Interiör i Kallinge står just nu inför denna förberedelse, där ett flöde av både slutkund- och bulkorders ska kombineras på ett lönsamt och effektivt sätt. Syfte: Syftet är att identifiera förbättringar hos SWI:s centrallager, när det kommer till företagets nuvarande materialhanteringsprocess, inför en fortsatt ökning av e-handel inom byggvarubranschen.  Metod: Uppsatsen är av kvalitativ art och har utförts genom en fallstudie. Uppsatsen behandlas utifrån ett hermeneutiskt synsätt och har ett deduktivt angreppssätt.  Slutsats: Ett ökat flöde av e-handel resulterar i att antalet och storleken på orders förändras. Om SWI väljer att haka på trenden med e-handel och möjliggöra sådana lösningar för sina kunder kommer de få ett ökat flöde av så kallade slutkundorders. Detta leder i sin tur till att SWI måste kombinera ett stort flöde av slutkund- och bulkorders i samma lager. I dagsläget är det troligt att en sådan kombination skulle innebära att materialhanteringsprocessen blir mindre effektiv. I analysen presenteras sedan olika förbättringsförslag som tagits fram för att SWI ska kunna möta den ineffiktivitet som följer av att slutkundorderflödet ökar. Förbättringsförslagen är en egen lagerdel som behandlar slutkundorders i SWI:s befintliga lager och ytterligare ett centrallager på annan plats. / Background: E-commerce has grown during the last years. E-commerce in the construction industry on the other hand has not grown as much, but it is heading upwards. Therefore companies working in the construction industry should prepare for this change. Södra Wood Interiör in Kallinge is currently planning and preparing for this change, where a flow of both retail orders and bulk orders should be combined in a profitable and efficient manner.  Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify improvements at SWI:s main warehouse, when it comes to the companies material handling process, facing a continued increase in e-commerce in the construction industry.  Method: The essay is of qualitative nature and has been performed by a case study. The essay has been processed in a hermeneutical approach and performed with a deductive approach.  Conclusion: An increased flow of e-commerce results in a change in quantity and size of orders. If SWI choose to follow the trend and enable such solutions for their customers SWI will get an increased flow of so called retail orders. This in turn leads to that SWI have to combine a large flow of retail orders and bulk orders in the same warehouse. In the current situation it is likely that such a combination implies that the material handling process becomes less efficient. The analysis presents various improvements proposed to enable SWI to meet the inefficiency that comes from the increase in retail orders. The improvements suggest a separate warehouse that deals with the retail orders in SWI:s existing warehouse and additional warehouse located elsewhere.