Chapter 8 (page 74 And Drawing Alex).docx

Chapter 8 MATERIAL HANDLING One of the most common sources of accidents which leads to injury is in the handling of materials from one section of the firm to another. Handling involves packaging, crafting, sorting, loading, unloading, transporting, piling, arranging and others. In any one of these processes, there is direct contact between the materials involved and workmen. As such these individuals are exposed to risk of varied types of mishaps and injury, which may lead to either partial or complete disability of valuable workers. Improving Safety Conditions. The choice and introduction of the correct handling methods can make a substantial contribution to increased safety and improvement of working condition. Most materials and containers can be potentially dangerous because of such things as burrs and sharp edges causing cuts; heavy articles, the lifting of which cause muscular strain and the dropping of containers resulting in bruises. In spite stringent precautions, containers and products may be temporarily stored in gangways, providing hazards to passing employees. The use of mechanical handling equipment prevents direct contact between materials and workmen and, therefore, substantially reduces these hazards. One such effect of mechanical handling equipment is the improvement of operator morale. Any piece of equipment increases the status of the job, even if only to a very small degree. The novelty effect of the appliance will help in reducing the boredom of the job. The labouring job takes on new interest with the introduction of a forklift truck. Concentration required in the manipulation of the vehicle contrast sharply with the purely muscular work previously involved. The attendant improvement of worker morale alone serves to reduce accident and injuries among workers. MATERIALS HANDLING EQUIPMENT There are different kinds and types of handling equipment that can be placed under three major categories.

1. Conveyors The first major class of materials handling equipment consists of conveyors. A conveyor is a device which moves materials in either a vertical or horizontal direction between two fixed points. And the movement can take place either continuously or intermittently. Two of distinguishing characteristics of conveyors are that; (1) They create a relatively fixed route. Making it possible to connect two work stations by materials handling equipment which is capable of moving materials only between two fixed points. (2) If they are the fixed type, they occupy space continuously. As a result they must be installed in location in which they will not interfere with the flow of other traffic. Examples of different types of conveyors are as follows: 1. Roller conveyor 2. Belt conveyor 3. Wheel conveyor 4. Trolley conveyor 5. Slat conveyor 6. Apron conveyor