Task Prior to Abatement (Description)
Ergonomic case study for warehouse carrying.
Pick-up load: The worker bends at the waist to pick up a heavy load from a pallet located on the floor.
Carry load: The worker carries the load approximately 15 feet and places it on a conveyor.
Repeat activity: Employee walks back to the pallet and repeats the lifting/carrying task.
Ergonomic Risk Factor (Force)
Lifting is required to move the load from the floor level pallet to the waist level workstation.
Carrying is required to move the load from the pallet to the workstation.
The shape of the load makes it difficult to grasp in a stable manner.
Ergonomic Risk Factor (Posture)
Bending at the waist is required to pick-up the load.
Bending/reaching is required to pick-up the load when the item is at a distance from the worker’s body at the start of the lift.
Ergonomic Solution (Engineering Controls)
An electric hoist was installed which lifted and carried the load from the pallet to the conveyor.
Comments
Further improvement could be made by placing the pallet higher and closer to the conveyor destination.
