Celebrating 60 years of materials handling
Sixty years ago this month, the first issue of this magazine was published. Here we look at what has happened in materials handling since May 1946
By Staff -- Modern Materials Handling, 5/1/2006
|
The 60th anniversary edition is sponsored by: >>>>>>>> |
|
|---|
The U.S. military made incredible advances in materials handling techniques during World War II. At the end of the war, the staff of the Naval Ordinance Materials Handling Laboratory founded a civilian company known as Materials Handling Laboratories. The goal was to promote the advancement of materials handling practices in U.S. industry. Laboratory director Norman Cahners converted the Navy's materials handling newsletter, The Palletizer, to a magazine suitable for an industrial audience. Cahners published his first issue of The Palletizer in May 1946, exactly 60 years ago. Six months later, he changed the name of the publication to Modern Materials Handling.
Materials handling takes on new importance
Stacking bricks onto pallets, bundling lumber with steel bands and moving unit loads with a fork truck were considered advanced materials handling methods when The Palletizer debuted in 1946.
During the remainder of the decade, materials handling became an established industry, with professional societies, an annual trade show and accepted industry standards. Materials handling became increasingly mechanized with conveyor belts, monorail tracks, powered hoists, lift trucks and powered hand trucks becoming common sights in factories and warehouses.
Click here to view the 1940s timeline
The golden age of mechanization
The mechanization that began in the 1940s took hold during the boom years of the 1950s, as factories rolled out consumer goods and retailers sped them to America's kitchens and living rooms.
During the decade, emphasis turned from simply increasing capacity to doing so efficiently and cost-effectively. By the late '50s, factories and warehouses included such ultramodern devices as driverless tractors, sorters with photoelectric eyes, and electronic brains for tracking inventory.
Click here to view the 1950s timeline
Automation and systems take hold
Automation entered the lexicon in the 1950s and truly entered the warehouse in the 1960s. Much of this progress was made possible by computers. Thanks to semiconductor technology, computers became small and sophisticated enough in the '60s for such tasks as inventory control, billing, routing, and package and equipment design.
The '60s was also the decade of systems. Managers, including those in materials handling, stopped focusing simply on point-solutions and began thinking in terms of interconnected systems.
Click here to view the 1960s timeline
It's all about computer control
Computers continued to advance in the 1970s: mainframes gave way to minicomputers, which gave way to microcomputers. Computers did more than just keep track of inventory in the '70s—they also directed picking and controlled equipment. Achieving greater centralized control was a major theme of the decade and was accomplished through advances in programmable controllers, information systems and automatic identification.
Safety was another unmistakable theme of the '70s. Congress created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in 1970, triggering a decade-long preoccupation with OSHA regulations, fines and inspections.
Click here to view the 1970s timeline
Integration makes just-in-time happen
Systems were the topic of conversation in the 1960s, and "systems integration" was the buzz phrase of the 1980s. Computer networks and improvements in automatic identification made company-wide integration possible. Companies managed that integration using practices such as distribution resource planning (DRP) and computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM). The most influential practice of the decade was just-in-time (JIT), which slashed inventories in an attempt to raise productivity and keep up with Japan. By the late '80s, personal computers and robots were also popular features of warehouses and factories.
Click here to view the 1980s timeline
Fast, flexible and eco-friendly
Just in time (JIT) and total quality management (TQM) practices popularized during the 1980s—continued to influence materials handling in the early 1990s. Ergonomic and environmental concerns were also common themes. In the late '90s, industry focused on fast, flexible handling systems, cooperation among supply-chain partners as well as the growing power of the Internet.
Click here to view the 1990s timeline
New millennium for materials handling
Today's materials handling goal is to serve demanding customers quickly and accurately, whether those customers are retailers ordering unit loads of floor-ready goods or individual consumers buying customized products online.
The power to collect data wirelessly and to share that data over the Internet is increasing visibility in the supply chain, allowing manufacturers, distributors and customers to "see" materials at every phase of the handling process.
Click here to view the 2000s timeline
Click here to view the Modern 60th Anniversary Video-Logs.
Modern's editorial director, Gary Forger, speaks with various industry experts about what they see coming down the road in materials handling. These short clips take a look at the industry, distributors and dealers, higher education, advanced handling, information systems and more.
Click here to view Modern's other Video-Logs.
View All Blogs
