A framework for selection of material handling equipment in manufacturing and logistics facilities

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assist facility design practitioners, industrial managers, and expert systems (ES) developers identify important issues to consider and actions to follow in the selection of material handling (MH) equipment, overcome limitations of existing equipment selection approaches, and design complete MH systems.Design/methodology/approach – A framework that specifies the steps that have to be taken in the selection of MH equipment is suggested. It identifies categories of equipment based on all handling‐related functions performed in a facility, which allows consideration of various categories of equipment, and selects equipment classes and types from among candidates based on user requirements and objectives.Findings – The suggested framework is capable of producing a wide range of equipment that performs various functions in a facility, and satisfies requirements and objectives without the need for using large data bases. Applying it requires cooperation of facility mana...

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