Title: Measuring performance of material handling systems: a conveyor system analysis

Authors: Malini Natarajarathinam, Midhun Somy, Michael D. Johnson

Addresses: Department of Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution, MS 3367, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA. ' Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, MS 3367, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA. ' Department of Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution, MS 3367, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA

Abstract: Operational efficiency of systems is generally measured by key performance indicators (KPIs). A complete set of KPIs for material handling systems are not readily available. The lack of KPIs makes it harder to assess efficiency and track progress in systems. We develop a list of KPIs to measure the efficiency of a material handling system and specifically discuss the case of a conveyor system. Also, considering a single KPI and ignoring others will lead to a myopic approach to improvement. To combat such a shortfall, we propose a simple weighted approach to obtain a wholesome assessment of a system with KPIs.

Keywords: materials handling systems; key performance indicators; KPIs; conveyor systems; performance measurement; benchmarking; operational efficiency.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBPSCM.2011.041377

International Journal of Business Performance and Supply Chain Modelling, 2011 Vol.3 No.2, pp.167 - 180

Received: 28 Oct 2010
Accepted: 02 Apr 2011
Published online: 30 Sep 2014 *

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