How materials are transported throughout a production system can affect not only a company’s lean implementation but also on product quality itself. In many industries the material handling system helps ensure that part damage—cosmetic or functional—doesn’t occur while a part or subassembly makes its way through the production process. If you’ve ever seen parts or kit trays move along a conveyor, jostling against other parts or the conveyor structure itself, you understand the issue.

In this article, we’ll look at the three functional areas of material handling—material protection, flow, and presentation—and how technology can ensure that parts move safely and efficiently through the process. We’ll also consider how a holistic approach to material handling, one that encompasses the process from kitting to the shipping dock, is better than a cobbled-together system that doesn’t consider the entire product production process.

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