Technical Papers

Warehouse Workers
Behind the gleaming aisles of consumer goods is a world of forklifts, slippery floors, and accidents waiting to happen. By Michelle Holcenberg

Workplace Injuries & 2010 NJAJ Meadowlands Seminar Guide By by Wayne D'Angelo

Material Handling: Give Me a Lift Lifting heavy or bulky objects, such as parts bins and subassemblies, is one of the most hazardous tasks facing assemblers on the plant floor. Fortunately, a wide variety of scissor lifts, tilt tables and other ergonomic devices can improve productivity and minimize the risk of back injury.

By Austin Weber of Assembly Magazine

Integrated Lean Thinking & Ergonomics: Utilizing Material Handling Assist Device Solutions for a Productive Workplace This White Paper, commissioned by the Ergonomic Assist Systems and Equipment Council (EASE) Council and the Lift Manufacturers Product Section (LMPS)of MHIA, was written by two experts on lean and ergonomic issues from the South Dakota School of Mines. The Paper emphasizes the importance of integrating lean and ergonomic concepts with material handling equipment solutions. It provides specific situations in which companies have used material handling equipment to improve and support their lean initiatives while enhancing employee work environments with ergonomic solutions and ultimately improving the throughput process.

Ergonomic Principles from LMPS Courtesy of The Lift Manufacturers Product Section (LMPS)

Exploring The Myth Behind Stretching Programs While stretching alone does not appear to be the most effective mechanism for managing work-related musculoskeletal disorders, it does take a step in the right direction to increase awareness concerning the benefits of movement, circulation, and posture.

Industrial Ergonomics Backgrounder Prepared by the Ergonomic Assist Systems and Equipment Council (EASE) Product Council of the Material Handling Industry Of America. This document gives a general overview and basic understanding of "ergonomics", typical ergonomic injuries, the impact of those injuries on your business and your employees, and solutions. It also discusses training for your workers, available ergonomic assist equipment and what the payoff of establishing effective ergonomic procedures can be to your company.

What's New In Ergonomic Assist Devices? Jim Galante of Southworth Products Corporation describes in detail the many ergonomic problems and their solutions due to new ergonomic assist devices.

Ergonomics: Maximizing The Human Resource 1986 Logistex Forum
May 6-8, 1986
Brian E. McNamara
Southworth Products Corp
Every business in industrial America has trembled with the self-doubts which result from the staggering amounts of evidence which conclude that our domestic productivity has not kept pace with foreign competition. In a reaction to this growing concern, an extraordinary amount of attention has been focused on the fields of automation and robotics. Managements have and will continue to invest millions of dollars to renovate plants, control inventories and automate operations. These programs are not only worthwhile but also an absolute necessity if our companies are to remain competitive contributors in the marketplace. However almost completely lost in this race to automate is the need to enhance the efficiency of the workers who populate our factories and warehouse.

Ergonomics and Material Handling: A Taskoriented Assessment of Needs And Solutions Material Handling Applications Using the Lumbar Motion Monitor ProMat 99 Forum
Richard S. Wyatt PH.D., P.E., CPE
Aon Ergonomic Services
Huntsville, Alabama
As a material handling professional, you are confronted with discovering, evaluating, and implementing improved material handling strategies. Heres a tool that can be used to evaluatethe dynamic motion in a job and its resultant injury risk. This tool, The Lumbar Motion Monitor (LMM), allows you to more accurately predict the onset and severity of back injuries. The LMM can also assist in creating and documenting an improved risk reduction strategy.

Ergonomics and Total Quality Management at L.L. Bean Edward F. Rooney
Manager, Employee Health Management
L.L. Bean, Inc.
Freeport, Maine 04003
Abstract
Like many companies in the mid to late 1980s, L. L. Bean experienced an increase in cumulative trauma disorders, predominantly of the upper extremities and back. As we focused on reducing these injuries/illnesses through an emphasis on ergonomics and other programs (e.g. worksite stretch, physical therapy, education/training, rehabilitation), we also shifted to total quality management as a way of doing business. Many systems internal to L. L. Bean were effected, including job design, performance appraisals, pay, scheduling, and management emphasis, as well as new focus on and accountabilities for health and safety in the productionareas. Through this macroergonomic approach we were able to reduce lost-time injuries by (-61%) and (-94%) in our distribution and manufacturing divisions, respectively, from 1988 to 1993.