Workplace Ergonomics and Caster Technology Blog
MHI has just released a video and infographic about manual materials handling ergonomics. MHI is the nation’s largest material handling, logistics and supply chain association. MHI offers education, networking and solution sourcing for members, their customers and the industry as a whole through programming and events.
On the infographic, MHI notes:
Ergonomics is more than a buzzword today - it is a movement. Nationally, our demographics confirm we are aging and in deteriorating physical shape. This impacts the workplace, and good employers must think of their businesses in terms of ergonomics. EASE is the group within MHI focused solely on making work easier for people by improving the work environment.
Get the MHI MMH Ergonomics Infographic Now!
Manufacturing/Distribution Plant Case Study – Increased Productivity & Employee Satisfaction with Ergonomic Casters.
The client's overall focus was to improve workplace ergonomics. The management team choose to take steps to implement proactive ergonomics. There was concern over the risk of musculoskeletal injuries. Of particular concern was the assembly facility. They had documented that approximately 40-50% of injuries in the assembly plant resulted from musculoskeletal injuries. In addition, the goal was to also implement ergonomic solutions which would also increase efficiency and productivity.The client tested 3 different casters from 3 different vendors. Darcor's ergonomic casters reduced push pull forces significantly and received tremendous positive feedback from operators.
The client tested 3 different casters from 3 different vendors. Darcor's ergonomic casters reduced push pull forces significantly and received tremendous positive feedback from operators.
The switch to Darcor ergonomic caster resulted in significantly reductions in push/pull forces across the board.
Workers in manufacturing environments are prone to injury, especially musculoskeletal disorders. This is known as cumulative trauma disorder (CTD) and is prevalent in the manufacturing industry due to the type of day-to-day tasks completed by employees including: Repetitive actions, Awkward postures, High forces, and Exposure […]
we are often asked many questions about casters. The Darcor team recently presented a ErgoExpo Webinar and we got some great questions.
Our team is always happy to respond to questions about casters, and we do on a daily basis. We thought that we’d pull together a list of the best caster questions and answers to share including caster topics like:
• Environmental considerations,
• Locking functionality,
• Caster inspection and maintenance,
• Number of casters,
• Positioning of casters,
• Caster material,
• Swivelling casters, and more.
The 2019 Applied Ergo Conference (AEC) is set to run March 25 – 28, 2019 at the Hyatt Regency in New Orleans, Louisiana. This year is the 22nd annual event. As always, the Darcor team is excited to take part.
The Applied Ergonomics Society (AES) is a worldwide resource for ergonomics professions dedicated to improving workplace performance, quality, sustainability and employee availability. AES supports the Annual Applied Ergonomics Conference and Expo, a conference where attendees gather from around the world to share best practices with other professionals in ergonomics, healthcare, safety, human resources and risk management.
Darcor has been proud to be part of the ergonomics advancement and has developed free downloads for ergonomists and management teams seeking to reduce injuries through implementing workplace ergonomics best practices including the Guide to Workplace Ergonomics, which specifically focuses on overexertion injuries that occur in the workplace, and the Economics of Ergonomics, which helps organizations truly understand the financial risks associated with workplace overexertion injuries and how to assess and reduce that risk by implementing proactive ergonomics programs.
As AEC 2019 approaches, we've put together a list of the must-see workshops and speakers - check them out!
The Institute of Caster & Wheel Manufacturers (ICWM) and MHI have just released a free download that provides a quick snapshot of casters. The download highlights what a caster is, types of caster wheel materials, caster types, benefits of casters, history of casters, interesting facts about casters, and resources and caster testing and design standards links. Get the ICWM / MHI Casters Download Now!
When we talk about pushing and pulling as potential causes of manual material handling (MMH) injuries, we tend to focus on low-back injuries. This is not without good reason; back injuries and back pain are both prevalent and expensive. Shoulders and knees are also at risk of workplace injuries due to poorly designed carts. Although less frequent, shoulder and knee workplace injuries can cost companies the same or more than back injuries.
An increasing portion of manual material handling involves pushing and pulling. Yohann Printer and Tom Albin will discuss designing carts to keep manual operating forces within safe, recommended limits to reduce risk of injury and to facilitate operational efficiency. They will also cover a new clarification of the ISO 11228-2 force measurement protocol, which is intended to facilitate direct comparison of cart design factors’ effect on operating forces.
Cart design factors to be covered will include visibility, handle height, operating forces, caster selection and caster placement. Finally, you’ll hear case studies of the effectiveness of employing good ergonomics in cart design.
Webinar takeaways
• Illustrate how cart design impacts back and shoulder injury risk during MMH tasks
• Use task analysis to understand MMH task requirements
• Optimize cart designs for both the task and the user
• Gain practical guidelines for cart design
Register now for this free webinar!
Cumulative stress to the spine plays a key role in assessing risk of occupational back injuries. Back pain and back injuries cost companies in the US more than 100 billion US dollars per year, in terms of both treatment costs and in lower productivity. An effective ergonomics program that identifies and reduces all Manual Materials Handling (MMH) risk factors is a key component of any effort targeted at reducing the cost of injuries.
Recently experts have suggested that, as employers recognize and reduce the risks associated with lifting, attention in MMH work has shifted towards reducing the risk associated with pushing and pulling activities. Key to the analysis of push and pull forces has been the determination of maximum acceptable forces, which have been determined by either psychophysical methods or biomechanical methods.
The Darcor team just came back from another exciting year at The National Ergonomics Conference & ErgoExpo which was held in late August 2018 in Las Vegas. As always, there were some great presentations and products to see.
Ergonomists visiting the Darcor booth remarked that they were excited to see a booth focused on ergonomic products specific to industrial environments.
At the Darcor booth, we introduced visitors to our new caster system coming out in the latter half of 2018. It is a positional lock system for casters which allows the operator to engage the lock without bending. The new system features a foot pedal mounted at bottom of cart and is spring-loaded. The pedals can be mounted anywhere on the cart, so it can be positioned in a customized manner to reduce the amount of walking around the cart to find the locking system. The system reduces the need for frequent and repetitive bending, which can be an ergonomic risk.
