On the Analysis of Component Handling Technology

Component handling represents a high proportion of manufacturing costs in industry. It is concerned with all functions which cause material flow at and in the range of manufacturing workplaces. Based on an investigation of the component handling situation in New Zealand's manufacturing industry, the paper briefly deals with the methodology developed for this purpose, and presents the major results of the industry investigation. Depending on individual sections, New Zealand's manufacturing industry can be classified as situated on the “borderline” between a high and a low technology country, covering a wide range of technological development. However, the procedures and methods developed here, are equally applicable in any industrial country, and particularly in those sectors where products and production quantities are similar to those existing in New Zealand, where batch production predominates.