Best Ergonomic Equipment & Safety Tips for Warehouse Workers
Warehouse employees frequently lift heavy items, perform repetitive tasks, push and pull loads, and bend and reach in unusual positions. Often, the nature of their jobs leads to work-related injuries. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that warehouse employees experience almost twice the amount of injuries in comparison to workers within the general population. These accidents cost the warehouse industry a considerable amount of money each year and can negatively affect productivity.
Ergonomics can improve the safety and efficiency of your warehouse. Proper ergonomic equipment ensures that your employees work in optimal body positions and can even keep injuries from occurring in the first place. But what exactly is ergonomics? And what kind of ergonomic equipment do you need to prevent warehouse worker injury and improve warehouse productivity? Let’s take a closer look.
What is Warehouse Ergonomic Equipment?
Ergonomics is the study of the way jobs are done within a specific workplace. It also involves designing jobs and tasks that fit your workers (rather than forcing their bodies to fit the job). Warehouse ergonomic equipment enables your employees to work in a “neutral position,” meaning that they won’t need to reach too far above, below, or away from their bodies.
When you have a solid understanding of your workplace operations, you can make changes to better suit the needs of your workers. For example, in every warehouse, there are high-volume items that tend to move more quickly than others. The 80/20 rule states that 20 percent of your products get picked 80 percent of the time. Therefore, concentrating your ergonomic efforts around your highest moving products can elicit beneficial results. To get jobs done safely and effectively, OSHA’s ergonomics standards and guidelines suggest using tilt and lift tables, as well as other ergonomic material handling systems.
Types of Ergonomic Material Handling Equipment for Warehouses
A-Lined Handling Systems offers a variety of ergonomic lifting equipment that can keep your employees safe and encourage a productive environment, including
- Backsaver Lifts – These adjustable lifts have a variety of uses, from order picking and machine feeding to work positioning and pallet loading. A-Lined offers two different types of Backsaver Lifts: Backsaver Lite Lifts (with holding capacities of up to 1,500 lbs.) and Backsaver Standard Lifts (which can hold up to 6,000 lbs.). These hydraulic worktables can be fully customized based on your budget and needs.
- Portable Lifts – Ensure your employees stay safe wherever they go with one of our Portable Lifters and Transporters. We offer a variety of budget-friendly options that are lightweight, durable, and completely transportable. Our Portable Lifters and Transporters are ideal for a wide array of jobs, including lifting, assembling, stacking, and more.
- Tilters – Many back injuries result from workers reaching into deep containers, as this movement is unnatural and causes a lot of strain. However, you can reduce this common injury by investing in a Container Tilter. These mechanisms improve safety and productivity by positioning containers so that the products inside are easily accessible. A-Lined Handling Systems offers both stationary and portable Container Tilters, with options that can hold up to 6,000 lbs.
The right ergonomic lifting equipment can drastically reduce the number of warehouse injuries per year. For more information about the best warehouse equipment for your company, contact A-Lined Handling Systems today.