Material handling
The range of systems is broad — the challenges are common

Our current survey polls MRO Today readers on which material handling systems are in a typical plant, how often they need work, and how soon they are slated for replacement. The maintenance managers who responded gave us a solid picture of what’s out there in material handling land — and how often it breaks down.

What have you got?
Our survey broke material handling systems into 13 types. Used in 83 percent of respondents’ facilities, fork lifts and pallet trucks are the most commonly used type out there. Coming in second. hoists and winches are in place in 70 percent of facilities polled.

Scissor lifts and tables, roller conveyors and packaging, loading and palletizing equipment round out the top five. Not surprisingly, less than 5 percent of readers who responded employ ATVs in their plants.

Let me rephrase that
As in every survey, once you have collected all the answers, you discover questions you should have asked differently. Equipment replacement is a case in point. We restricted respondents to one dominant response to this question, but some of you noted on your faxed-in forms that you will take the most economical option, whether it be to procure new, remanufactured or rental systems.

As a result, the 65 percent of respondents who say they plan to buy new replacement equipment (65.2 percent) as opposed to remanufactured (30.4 percent) or rented (4.4 percent) may not be as clear cut as those answers would indicate. However, less than four percent of all respondents marked their surveys this way.

Present state maintenance
Most see material handling equipment as quite reliable. Just over 52 percent of you say you rarely have to perform any unscheduled maintenance on your systems, but not everyone is so lucky. Nearly 17.5 percent of you must do weekly unscheduled maintenance on your material handling systems. A further 26 percent must do it monthly.

The most frequently performed maintenance operation, at 83 percent, is lubrication. This is followed by replacing worn belts and hose (61 percent); seals and bearings (56 percent); and pumps and motors (48 percent).

Purchasing authority
Despite the fact that 43 percent of respondents were not with their company when their existing material handling systems were put in place, 57 percent of respondents are now personally authorized to purchase replacement parts. Moreover, 70 percent of respondents are involved in the specification and purchase of new systems for their facilities.

Who you gonna call — and when?
Respondents are more clear cut on their sources for replacement. A solid 70 percent prefer working with local distributors. The remaining 30 percent split evenly between buying direct or renting.

Things got more interesting when we turned to when you plan to replace equipment. A total of 26 percent of you plan to replace one or more systems within one year; another 31 percent plan replacement within two years.

However, run-to-failure remains a major procurement model — nearly 44 percent replace equipment “only when it dies.” Awww.

The money question
As for budgets, run-to-fail often holds sway here as well. Over 52 percent of you say you must demonstrate need before any system upgrades are approved.

What types of material handling equipment do you have and maintain in your plant?

This article appeared in the December 2007/January 2008 issue of MRO Today magazine. Copyright 2007.

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