From The Ergoweb® Learning Center

Stretch wrap

Dan MacLeod, CPE, MA, MPH
Bending  BroomSolution
Problem: Bending for manual stretch wrap Low-cost solution: Homemade broom handle

Principles affected

Related pages

Workstations

Background

Manual wrapping typically involves bending while walking. Automatic wrappers are common and eliminate the manual bending issues, but require sufficient shipping volume to justify.

“Shrink wrap” is similar, but is applied loosely and heated to fit tightly. However, the terms are often used interchangeably in the workplace.

Objectives

Improve lower back posture.

Issues and Options

Manual holder

LongHandle
Long-handled manual holder (www.stretchwrapsupply.com)

Conventional manual dispensers have short handles, which reduce the amount of bending compared to holding the roll directly, but still require bending. The long-handled dispenser shown above (and the homemade version at the top of the page) further reduce bending.

Walk around

O Walkaround2
Walk around dispensers (right www.vestilmfg.com)

An intermediate option between manual dispensers and automatic systems is the walk around style.

Semi-automatic wrappers

AutoWrap
Semi-automatic wrapper (www.vestilmfg.com)

An internet search for stretch wrap yields multiple vendors for automatic systems.