Ergonomic Studies of Material Handling Systems & Equipment

The definition of ergonomics is the applied science of equipment design, as for the workplace, intended to maximize productivity by reducing operator fatigue and discomfort. Safety and efficiency are the two most important factors in ergonomics to consider when designing your facility layout. The easier a job is to do, the more efficient a worker will be thus gaining productivity. With that said, the safer a job is, productivity will increase due to less time off for injury.

Once the general operation and design goals are well understood, our engineers will work with your design team to go through several iterations and optimize your facility's layout. Several criteria are considered before the design begins. Profiling the current movement of product and projecting material flow are very important constraints in the ergonomic design process. Often multiple types of material handling technologies are considered based on their price performance ratios. Our ergonomic designs are normally scalable so that, as business conditions change, we can quickly adapt with additional capacity.

There are some key points to consider when designing for ergonomics. First, back injuries are the most common injuries in a warehouse facility and account for nearly 20% of workplace injuries. There are several signs of potentially harmful lifting activity to prevent non-ergonomic conditions.

Load is greater than 50 lbs.
Duration of lifting, especially more than 2 hours of lifting per day
Frequency of lifts, especially more than one lift per minute
Horizontal Location (H) is greater than 25”
Initial or Final Elevation of Lift (V) is not equal to 30”
Vertical Distance traveled is greater than 70”
Asymmetric Angle (A) is greater than 135 degrees.
Coupling of hands to object being lifted

Each of these indicators - load limitation, horizontal location, initial or final elevation of lift, vertical distance traveled, and asymmetric angle - could lead to exceeding recommended limits on lifting and should be considered in your ergonomic design.