AUTOMATED HANDLING - THE MISSING LINK.

Materials handling accounts for between 30 and 70% of production costs in UK manufacturing companies. A report on this whole subject, entitled Advanced Handling Systems - Exploiting the Opportunities, was published recently by the National Economic Development Office (NEDO) on behalf of the Mechanical Handling Economic Development Committee. The report says that the scope for improving handling efficiency in industry is enormous. The difficulties that arise in materials handling are often seen as isolated problems of stock control or production scheduling, rather than as symptoms of poor materials flow management. This article discusses the need for integration in materials flow management, intelligent conveyors, and related subjects.