A methodology for the selection of Material Handling Equipement in manufacturing systems

International audienceMastering the Material Handling System in manufacturing is a crucial issue. According to (Hellmann et al., 2019), the costs of Material Handling activities range from 15% to 70% of total manufacturing costs depending on the kind of production. This paper discusses the selection of Material Handling Equipment for manufacturing plants. The selection of such equipment and their level of automation plays a significant role in the success of a material handling system definition, which influences the manufacturing performances. Through an analysis of the literature and field studies conducted with industrial companies, a selection methodology and a consistent list of criteria are proposed. A multi-criteria decision technique based on AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) is proposed to realize the selection. The proposition is implemented in a demonstrator software tool and illustrated on a simple example