 |
| Overhead material handling |
Define material handling system
The means used for transporting work (like fabrics, cuttings, bundles, finished garments and general items) from one place to another, storing materials and protecting material from damage, are called material handling system. It may be an equipment, device or procedures. For better material handling, equipment are engineered according work place design.
As said above there are different type materials handling systems based on process requirement. Whether it is a new setup or an existing setup, factories have many options for choosing one out of available material handling. Common material handling systems found garment manufacturing units are listed here.
1. Material handling equipment for cutting department
Trolleys: For transporting fabric from fabric store to cutting section. Forklifts are also used for this purpose.
 |
| Rack |
2. Material handling equipment for stitching department
Garment stitching department does stitching of garments from fabric (cuttings). Different types of line layout for stitching line are found in the garment industry. Based on the production line layout, material handling system is designed. In stitching department material handling system is needed for transporting bundles from one workstation to next workstation, and for storing WIP.
Centre table: Centre table is the most common material handling system used in the production line (progressive bundle system and single piece production system). A bench (2-1.5 ft wide) is placed in between two rows of machines. See following images.
 |
| conventional stitching line centre table |
 |
| Conventional centre table (two tier) |
Trolleys: Cutting bundles are stacked on trolley and the trolley is moved in the line. Some factories found it difficult to assess WIP in the line by using trolley system. These trolleys are useful for trouser manufacturing. See image
 |
| Trolley for bundles |
Overhead production system (unit production system): Many production units use overhead rail and hanger for transporting material. Factories found it is easy to track WIP on the UPS system. Some factories experience issue in line balancing. Different types of overhead hanger system are available. Example of manual hanger system and computerized hanger systems are shown in following images.
Manual hanger system:
 |
| Manual hanger system |
Semiautomatic hanger system:
 |
| Semiautomatic hanger system |
Computerized hanger system:
|
|
|
Computerised Overhead material handling
|
Also See: 3 different automatic overhead systems for apparel manufacturing.
3. Material handling equipment for finishing department:
In the finishing department, garments are pressed, checked, folded and packed. In finishing section garment pieces move number of workstations before pieces are packed into the polybag. Common material handling equipment found in the finishing section includes –
Trolleys: Transporting garments from one workstation to another workstation.
 |
| Trolleys |
Hangers and stand: Sometimes garments are not folded and shipped in full length in hangers. Pressed garments are hanged on hangers and stored in a stand.
 |
| Hanger stand used in garment pressing section |
Hope you find this article helpful.
Leave a Reply