01 October 2005
Duncan Abbott

Today many manufacturers have come to realise that ergonomics plays a valuable part in their daily operations. The packaging industry, for example, is being put more and more to the test by the segmentation of consumers into smaller target groups requiring varying forms and sizes of containers. This has resulted in an increase in the need for faster, safer and more adaptable work systems.

It, therefore, should come as no surprise that there is an increasing number of manufacturers in the shipping and packaging industry which use ergonomically designed equipment to increase the levels of both safety and efficiency throughout their supply chain.

Ergonomics is the applied science that can be used to improve the design of jobs, workplaces and equipment to eliminate or minimise excessive reaching, bending, twisting, lifting, pinching, pushing, forcing and squeezing actions by workers, along with awkward postures and manual repetitive motions. In shipping and packaging operations all of these ergonomic issues exist extensively.

The packaging process

Many manufacturers at the start of the packaging process use case erectors and sealers and tamper-proof security tape at the other end of the process. Using stretch wrappers as a robust method by which to secure cases on a palletiser has become a common practice because it increases safety and reduces potential damage from accidental slippage. Thus ergonomic improvements in the work process can be measured in cost savings.

But cost is not the only impetus to improve the packaging process, the fact that over 1.1 million people in Britain suffer from work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), including those caused by manual handling, should be reason enough. MSDs account for around half of all work-related ill health and have resulted in an estimated 12.3 million working days lost in 2002/2003. The key manpower loss in the packaging industry can result in delays in shipping and an increase in the workload of fellow workers, particularly in lean manufacturing industries.

Types of equipment

Case erectors are machines that construct cases and seal their bottoms, which reduces a worker's time and effort spent on this operation. As a result, case production efficiency can be improved, which is particularly noted in the latest models that have adopted ergonomic principles of design and safety. This eliminates the chance of repetitive injuries.

Case sealers follow case erectors in the packaging process. The sealers automatically apply tamper-evident security tape to packages in order to secure the contents against pilferage, while preventing repetitive use injury due to hand taping.

A labelling system can provide additional security to the carton by printing bar codes which include specific information regarding the package's contents. A brief electronic scan at the destination can then detect whether the carton has been breached as there will be a description of the contents, along with the weight of the shipped carton, on the scanner's read-out. This also serves as an alert to those charged with manual handling, so that they are aware if they are encountering a heavy weight which, if unknown, could result in a handling injury.

Automatic labelling systems also provide financial security to the manufacturer and the receiver by accurately accounting for what is being shipped, and what should be received. An important aspect of labelling in the UK is CHIP the Chemicals (Hazard, Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations. (Please see the panel on page 20.)

Palletisers are automated lifting devices that are used to load stacked and sealed cases onto pallets for shipment. They are automated and designed to eliminate injuries that can be caused by lifting heavy boxes onto awaiting pallets. Nowadays, many palletisers offer moderate to high product in-feed options, which allow management the ability to speed up the process of pallet loading.

New cardboard pallets are a safer and cheaper alternative to traditional wooden pallets. The cardboard pallets weigh less than twenty pounds compared to wooden pallets that can weigh nearly seventy pounds. As such the cardboard pallets substantially reduce the risk of injury that can occur when lifting because of the ease in which they can be constructed and dismantled allowing for easy storage, as well as reducing the potential hazard of high and unstable wooden pallet stacks toppling over.

At the end of the packaging process are stretch wrappers. These are machines that ensure that loaded pallets are wrapped as securely as is possible. The pallet is put onto a spinning turntable at the end of the packaging line, where both the pallet and its loads are bound tightly in stretch film, which ensures that loads are correctly balanced. This, in turn, can ensure that if the contents of the pallet shift then employees will not be put at risk.

Although packaging equipment can substantially reduce the hazards that can cause injury to employees, it would be wise to supplement your purchase and implementation of ergonomic equipment with an ergonomic programme that has been designed to reduce injury to workers by identifying ergonomic risk factors. (The factors are defined as any imbalance between the worker and the work environment that results in extra demands on the worker.) The programme is essential for preventing ergonomic-related injuries and illnesses. Actions include ergonomic design changes in tools and products, changes in process and work environment, as well as addressing the training needs of all parties to identify their prevention responsibilities and develop the necessary skills and knowledge to implement corrections. Examples of such actions are manual handling, safe use of tools and the operation of machinery.

Keep risks under control

Management should check that any new equipment suppliers have considered sound ergonomic principles in their design. The Provision And Use Of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (SI 1998 No 2306 as amended by SI 2002 no 2174) require employers to ensure that work equipment is suitable for the purpose and that it does not pose any health and safety risk.

General duties under these regulations include: "In selecting work equipment, every employer shall have regard to the working conditions and to the risks to the health and safety of persons which exist in the premises or undertaking in which that work equipment is to be used and additional risk posed by the use of that work equipment." Standards relevant to machinery safeguards are BS EN 953: 1994 (design and construction) and BS EN 294: 1994 (safe distances).

A facility's health and safety can be improved if a successful ergonomic programme is implemented. This will require the following elements.

• Management leadership - assign responsibility for ergonomics to designated managers, to communicate policies and practices to employees.
• Employee participation - employees should be made aware of ergonomics requirements and ways to report MSD symptoms and hazards.
• MSD management - talk to employees carrying out tasks suspected of causing MSDs, and observe employees performing those tasks to uncover risk factors.
• Job-hazard reduction measures - if a task is found to cause MSDs, the employers must control or reduce the risk.
• For a programme to succeed it must be backed by a management monitoring and review process, which can take the form of regular self-report questionnaires.

Increase productivity safely

Those forward-thinking companies that have taken on the integrated packaging systems have found that the new work system has improved both the workers' wellbeing and the organisation's productivity. This is because the systems are streamlined and less likely to break down and have substantially reduced breakage of produce, resulting in increased profit.

---

CHIP: Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations 2002

CHIP is the UK enacting legislation for the classification and labelling of dangerous substances and preparations, currently issued as CHIP 3, to mirror the latest EU Directives that came into effect July 2002.

CHIP is concerned with correct labelling of chemicals and with the communication of hazards when chemicals are supplied. There is a legal responsibility for suppliers of chemicals to provide certain minimum standards of information to their customers and those receiving chemicals from European suppliers, who can demand this information.

CHIP implements several European Community (EC) Directives, whose purpose is to make sure that people are properly informed about the dangers of chemicals at work and in the home. They also aim to improve the single market by requiring all suppliers of dangerous chemicals to provide the same standard of information to their customers. CHIP requires suppliers of dangerous chemicals to decide what types of danger their products present (known as "classification"), package them suitably, and provide information for their customers in the form of warning labels and safety data sheets.

Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) and labelling for supply are the most significant parts  of CHIP. In addition, these regulations cover types of packaging and advertising for dangerous chemicals, as well as providing legislation for the restriction of supply of certain dangerous chemicals.

---

Case study: IP/Shorewood Packaging

IP/Shorewood Packaging, a US company and a participant in the Occupational Safety and Health Authority's Voluntary Protection Programs, was concerned with the potential for back injuries associated with the frequent bending that was required to move corrugated cases or carton blanks during the manufacture of folding cartons.

A firm of ergonomists was called in by IP/Shorewood Packaging to carry out an ergonomic survey. The findings were discussed and it was decided that powered-scissor lift pallet positioners with attached turntables represented the best solution. The new equipment, once installed, enabled employees to work primarily at waist level. As workers fill a pallet, the top of the positioner can be adjusted so that the working height remains at an optimum level. This eliminates severe bending, over-reaching, and other awkward motions.

As a result of this ergonomic intervention productivity was measured and it was found that it had increased. The workers who were employed as carton packers, machine feeders, and sheet inspectors no longer needed to bend, stoop, walk, or reach to load pallets or inspect printed sheets. The net result was the workers can now load a pallet more easily, in less time, and with less fatigue. Workforce morale has increased as well.

Source: Voluntary Protection Programs, www.osha.gov

---

Case study: Lexmark

At Lexmark, parts were being shipped in corrugated packaging. The packaging created dust on the parts and it didn't protect the parts as well as they had liked, which caused assembly problems. As a result the company had to invest extra time and money to dispose of the expendable packaging, and employees had the non-value-added work of physically opening the boxes, creating a potential for lacerations.

A solution was generated by Linpak Materials Handling where 5000 containers are now in use handling about 60 different parts from plastic and metal structural components to electronics hardware. The containers are delivered directly to the assembly line on a roller conveyer. The operator works from the container, removing the parts as needed for assembly operations. A net result is a safer, cleaner working environment.

Lexmark has found that switching from corrugated cardboard boxes to high-density polyethylene reusable containers has resulted in less damage to parts and a cleaner environment. In addition, the containers have helped reduce operating costs and provided a return on investment of 6 to 9 months. The containers also allowed Lexmark to maintain their strong commitment to environmentally responsible manufacturing operations.

Source: Linpak Materials Handling case studies, Lexmark

---

Categories:
Ergonomics, Retail and distribution, Article, Work equipment