Effective material handling plays a key role in cutting costs. Well-organized material handling can cut production cost by optimizing product transfer paths, decreasing the damage rate and by increasing the utilization of storage space. This report presents the development of an analysis system for StoraEnso Hylte’s paper reel database. The system extracts and classifies key points from the database which are related to material handling; like attributes related to the product (paper reel), forklift truck information and storage cell utilization. The analysis based on paper reels includes the damage rate and transfer paths of paper reels. A mathematical model is also presented, which tells us that the probability of damage per transport is more important than the number of transports for paper reels handling. The effect of decreasing non-optimal transportation (optimize the path) is very small.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1984.

During field observations of professional movers, it was noticed that some experienced movers carried loads posterior to their pelvis. The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to assess the biomechanical differences between hand-held load carriage anterior (AC) and posterior (PC) to the pelvis; and, (2) to determine if an assistive load carriage device could reduce muscle effort while carrying loads either anterior or posterior to the pelvis. In the first laboratory study, an electromyographic (EMG) analysis was conducted while participants carried a load on a treadmill using AC and PC techniques. The subjects conducted three trials of AC and PC techniques while EMG data were being collected. All trial data were normalized to their respective iMVE values. An amplitude probability distribution function (APDF) was used to compare EMG amplitudes between carrying techniques. Results indicated that PC reduced EMG activity of the erector spinae (>50% reduction), trapezius, and anterior deltoid (p<0.05) as well as increasing EMG activity in the posterior deltoid (p<0.05). Eighty percent of the subjects reported that the PC method felt awkward. Due to its awkwardness, many individuals may not use the PC technique; thus, the second purpose of the study was to design an assistive movers’ pack to aid in AC and PC techniques and make the PC method easier to perform. In the second study, subjects were asked to walk unloaded while EMG was recorded. The subjects then performed the AC and PC methods with and without the assistive device. All EMG signals were normalized to unloaded gait followed by EMG APDF analyses. Findings from the first study were confirmed, in that PC, compared to AC significantly reduced erector spinae activity (p<0.05) and focused shoulder activity to the posterior deltoid. Secondly, the assistive device effectively reduced flexor digitorum activity (>40% reduction, p<0.03) and anterior deltoid activity (>75% reduction, p=0.5) in both AC and PC. Erector spinae EMG remained similar to their respective unassisted conditions. The assistive load carriage device may be an effective ergonomic tool in both AC and PC techniques. Subjective surveys indicate that the assistive device decreased the awkwardness in performing the PC technique. / Thesis (Master, Kinesiology & Health Studies) -- Queen's University, 2008-09-29 16:58:19.305

Background: The automotive industry accounts for a large part of the European economic structure. Due to both economical and environmental impacts, the industry has undergone substantial changes and companies have to increase their efficiency to stay competitive. An improvement-area, which can be directly influenced by the company is the internal material handling. A new technology that potentially supports the internal material handling process is the radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, which is perceived as a fruitful successor of the common barcoding technology. Even though the RFID technology shows multiple benefits over the barcoding technology, many companies are still reluctant to the application of the new method. The authors therefore strive to provide a deeper understanding of the following two research questions:   RQ 1: To what extent and how is RFID currently applied in the internal material handling process in the investigated automotive companies? RQ 2: For what reasons did the investigated automotive companies decide to apply or not apply RFID technologies to support their internal material handling process?   Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to show through a multiple case study to what extent and how RFID technology is currently applied to support the internal material handling process in a number of companies in the automotive sector, both original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers. Thereupon the main reasons for or against the application of RFID in these companies are examined.   Method: This thesis adopts a positivistic perspective and a deductive approach. It is designed as a qualitative multiple case study carried out in four different companies with five different plants in the automotive industry. Empirical data was gathered through interviews. The analysis is based on primary as well as secondary data.   Conclusions: Throughout the course of the study it became apparent that the RFID technology is on the radar of all investigated companies. Only Scania Zwolle, Volvo Skövde and Bosch Homburg apply the technology and see concrete benefits in the usage of RFID above barcoding. The extent of application here differs from a large scale to a small scale. The three companies name benefits such as an improved automatic tracking &amp; tracing system with improved real-time data quality and a reduction in costs, which is mainly achieved through a reduction of manual labour. Additionally they face benefits, which are business-specific such as the possibility for automatic alerts throughout the internal material handling process at Scania Zwolle, the need for a ‘silent’ successor over barcoding at Volvo Skövde and a supporting tool for their lean management program at Bosch Homburg. VDL Nedcar Born and Scania Oskarshamn in turn name concrete reasons for not applying the technology. VDL Nedcar Born is undergoing substantial changes in their production facility which currently has priority and Scania Oskarshamn does not see benefits that outweigh the high costs for the RFID technology.

The process analysis provides a good way for identification (stock-taking) of the weak points in the firms in these days, when the waste is restricted, continual improvement is required and the crisis is one of the most frequent word in use. If such point was already found it is necessary to apply efficient remedial measure to provide against financial or information leakage. This master’s thesis is about Materials handling risk analysis.

The main objective of this work is to design and calculation of handling means for transporting the Bell helicopter between landing area and the storage place. The first part is a literature search with a general overview of producers who are preoccupied with producing the same or similar equipment. Below is an analysis of the applicable mechanisms for handling the helicopter in terms of structure and a summary of some manufacturers. In the second part the design, calculations, technical and design documentation.

Master of Science

This thesis report will show the process and result of the bachelor thesis “Next generation of handles for stackers and powered pallet trucks,” done in collaboration with Toyota Material Handling Manufacturing Sweden.  This project aims to develop ergonomic and intuitive solutions where the focus lies on the interaction between the driver and the truck, how the different functions are controlled, and the needs of the future truck driver. The project follows the principle of the design process with an analysis phase, a creative phase, and a presentation phase. In the analysis phase, the product’s positive and negative parts have been analyzed through user testing, interviews, and driving tests; these tests have laid the foundation for the final concept. During the creative phase, brainstorming and discussion rounds were executed with supervisors and colleagues at TMHMS, resulting in a concept proposal. The concept was then brought to life with a clay model, a first 3D print, and finally, a finished 3D-printed model. The new concept forms new ways to interact with the truck, making the truck driver’s day easier and exploring new ways to use the handle.

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WSMDs) are an important health concern in the workplace.  Accurately quantifying the level of physical exposures (i.e., kinematics and kinetics) is essential for risk assessments, developing and/or testing interventions, and improving estimates of exposure-response relationships.  Such exposures ideally should be quantified in situ, while workers interact with the actual work environment to complete their tasks.  However, in practice, relatively crude and/or time-consuming methods are often used, including self-reports, observational methods, and simple instrumentation, since directly assessing physical exposures is challenging in the workplace, and typically resource prohibitive. Inertial motion capture (IMC) and in-shoe pressure measurement (IPM) systems are emerging wearable technologies, and they can, respectively, facilitate monitoring of body kinematics and external forces on the body in the workplace.  Thus, this research examined the potential of such technologies in exposure assessments, and evaluated them in comparison to mature laboratory systems (i.e., optical motion capture system and force platform) or direct observation.  Performance of an IMC system was evaluated during several manual material handling (MMH) tasks, in terms of estimated body kinematics and kinetics at selected body parts.  A practical issue, regarding calibrating the IPM system in the field, was addressed by defining an ad hoc global coordinate system using a force platform.  Several regression models were developed for estimating center-of-pressure location and ground reaction forces.  Given that outputs from the IMC and the IPM systems are numerically fine-grained, but generally lack contextual information about a given job, task classification approaches were explored to automatically identify task types and their time proportions in a job. Overall, the outcomes from these studies demonstrated the potential of the IMC and the IPM systems for measuring physical exposures in the workplace.  However, estimation of physical exposures using these systems requires further improvements in some cases.  This research provided groundwork for future rapid and direct assessments of physical exposures in the workplace, and which needs to be expanded and validated in future efforts. / Ph. D.

Many variations of conveyor, facility, and trailer designs are available to aid the human operator in manual materials handling (MMH). This thesis describes an investigation to determine which of four different designs used in trailer MMH place the least physical stress on the human operator when unloading materials. Each trailer MMH design was evaluated by the criteria of biomechanical loading, working posture, physiological measure, and subjective rating of exertion. These four methods were used to generate four dependent measures: L5/S1 Compression Force, OWAS Action Category, mean heart rate, and Borg CR-10 RPE. While no single assessment method provided a clear means for quantifying level differences in physical stress among MMH conditions, the methods employed furnished insight into which techniques and protocols might be useful in studying similar working situations. Based on relative sensitivity, ease of application, and administrative and equipment costs, the OWAS method was recommended as an assessment method useful for evaluating similar MMH work. The summary results of the four methods provided information to meet the experimental goals of this research and allowed conclusions to be drawn for the major areas of interest. Specifically, statistically significant differences were found between the Drop-frame - Floor Rollers condition and all other conditions in the SSPM - Placement analysis, between the Flat-floor - Power and the Drop-frame - Suspended Rollers conditions in the OWAS - Acquisition analysis, and between the Drop-frame - Suspended Rollers and the Drop-frame - Floor Rollers conditions in the OWAS - Placement analysis. / Master of Science