Warehouse employees are the meat and potatoes of manufacturing. In Fremont, California, there exists all of the following: manufacturing, electronics, medical device production, as well as automotive suppliers, and distribution facilities operate. These all work in a lean manufacturing environment and their workers lift, carry, bend, push, pull, scan, package, and transport products every day repetitively. These activities are what keeps profits coming in, however, they also create risks of musculoskeletal disorders if workstations, equipment, and job tasks are not designed with ergonomics in mind and below the capabilities of their workforce.

Ergonomics will most likely cost a company some money, but it helps fit workstations to the workforce. In doing this, employees will not have to make efforts to adapt to a poorly designed workstation and be subject to repetitive physical demands. Rather the employer can focus on ergonomic principles that modifying the work environment to reduce unnecessary stress on the worker body and this will improve efficiency and productivity altogether.

For manufacturing facilities in Fremont, investing in workplace ergonomics is more than a safety initiative. Well-designed ergonomic programs can improve employee comfort, reduce repetitive motion injuries, increase productivity, lower workers' compensation costs, decrease absenteeism, and improve employee retention.

This article explores some of the ergonomics to employ in a warehouse environment. This is coming from the perspective of manufacturing operations commonly found in Fremont. It covers some practical solutions for receiving, storage, picking, assembly support, shipping, packaging, inventory management, and material handling while emphasizing repetitive strain injury (RSI) or musculoskeletal disorder (MSD).

Warehouse work merges the two ergonomic risks factors which are force and repetition. Employees might perform hundreds to thousands of of the same motions during their daily shift. If workstations are not properly designed, these repetitive tasks can contribute to a cumulative related disorder first showing signs with discomfort and fatigue.

Common warehouse activities include:

• Manual material handling
• Order picking
• Palletizing
• Cart pushing
• Forklift operation
• Inventory scanning
• Packaging
• Loading and unloading trailers
• Labeling
• Stretch wrapping

Each task can be looked at by an ergonomic specialist for improvement on required awkward postures, high force, repetition, and duration on the worker. Manufacturing warehouses frequently expose employees to more than one ergonomic risk factor which can have exponential total risk of ergonomic injury development. Since workers are likely to repeat hand and arm movements hundreds of times each hour. High force tasks such as heavy lifting, or moving loaded carts increase forces on the body including soft tissue and joints. Employees may exceed shoulder height when working or have to bend at the waist, or even twist while lifting. Also, standing in one workstation for long time without movement can contribute to muscle fatigue of the lower extremities.

Many Fremont manufacturers operate high-mix and low-volume production environment which requires warehouse personnel to support multiple product lines. This means that workers must transition between various parts of the line such as receiving, assembly, quality control, and possibly shipping throughout their shift.

Just some examples include:

• Electronic component
• Medical equipment
• Precision manufacturing
• Semiconductor support
• Robotics component

Because tasks change frequently, ergonomic programs should evaluate the entire workflow rather than just a single problematic workstation.

Material Handling Equipment

Mechanical assistance can significantly reduce physical demands in warehouse environments. Some examples include: electric pallet jacks, powered carts, scissor lift tables, adjustable conveyors, vacuum lifting devices, lift-assist manipulators and hydraulic pallet positioners. Selecting the appropriate equipment depends on the product size, weight, workflow, and available floor space. Discuss your options with an ergonomic specialist with Ergobility.

Successful ergonomics programs extend beyond equipment purchases. Training supervisors to recognize ergonomic concerns are part of an effective ergonomics program.