Brian Roberts, CSP, CIE, RRE Director Ergonomics January 16, 2014 Manual Material Handling Trends and Solutions Brian Roberts, CSP, CIE, RRE Director,

Brian Roberts, CSP, CIE, RRE Director Ergonomics

January 16, 2014

Manual Material Handling Trends and Solutions

Brian Roberts, CSP, CIE, RREDirector, Manufacturing and Ergonomic ServicesCNA Insurance

The information, examples and suggestions presented in this material have been developed from sources believed to be reliable, but they should not be construed as legal or other professional advice. CNA accepts no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of this material and recommends the consultation with competent legal counsel and/or other professional advisors before applying this material in any particular factual situations. This material is for illustrative purposes and is not intended to constitute a contract. Please remember that only the relevant insurance policy can provide the actual terms, coverages, amounts, conditions and exclusions for an insured. All products and services may not be available in all states and may be subject to change without notice. References to the services of external third parties are provided solely for convenience and CNA disclaims any responsibility with respect thereto. CNA is a registered trademark of CNA Financial Corporation. Copyright © 2014 CNA. All rights reserved.

Manual Material Handling

Solutions

Material on the Floor

• What is the number one issue from a MMH perspective when you walk into a plant?

Everything is on the floor!

Material on the Floor

• We as safety professionals have to be able to:– See the exposure “The forest for the trees

syndrome”– Understand how this impacts the exposure.

How many times does someone bend in a year? – Communicate, articulate, and motivate our

insured’s to get/keep materials off the floor.

Solutions for Raising Material Off the Floor

Strap three to four pallets together

• Simple: Requires spare pallets and strapping. Material can then be positioned on the pallets. Another pallet can be placed on the strapped pallets.

• Minimal cost: Any size company can afford to do this. Pallets are usually on-hand

• Portable: Can be moved very easily.


• Non-adjustable table

• Adjustable lift tables with and without turntables (Electric, air, and pneumatic) (Stationary & Mobile)

• Spring Loaded Lifts

• Flush (zero-level) Floor Lifts


• Tilters (Combination of lift & tilt) or just lift or tilt.

• Portable Tilters

• Roll On Level Loader ~ Lowers to the floor so pallets can be rolled on with a hand pallet jack


• Stack Box Feeder Positioner ~ for Workstations

• Portable Lift (Push by hand and foot pedal activated)

Transporting - Materials

• Very high forces can be encountered when transporting materials from one location to another when completed manually. Forces can be measured using the force gauge and correlated to data in the Snook Tables.

• Upper limits of horizontal force:• Initial: 50 pounds• Sustained: < 40 pounds• Emergency stop within 3 feet: 80 pounds of force

Transporting - Materials

• Whenever possible we should use mechanical devices to move the material.

• We do understand that many of our accounts must do it manually. If so;

• Emphasis should be on the design of carts

to reduce forces.

Solutions - Transporting Materials - Mechanically

Mechanical Devices:• Battery operated Tuggers for moving carts,

hospital beds, trash bins, wire carts, linen carts, food bins, paper rolls, boats, shopping carts

• A tugger can be used to push just about anything that can be manually pushed.


• Propane or Gas Powered Lift Trucks

• Battery Operated Pallet Jacks (walkers)

• Battery Operated Pallet jack (ride-on)


• Battery Operated lift trucks.

• Battery Operated Stackers.

• Battery Operated Stair Climbers.

Solutions - Transporting - Manually

• Carts ~ All types shapes and sizes (3, 4, 6 wheel)

• Carts with turntables

• Hand Trucks ~Two Wheelers

• Hand Trucks ~Four Wheel Convertible

• Hand Pallet Trucks

Solutions - Transporting - Manually

• Mobile Work Positioners – Small lift table on wheels ~ Foot Pump

• Mobile stackers ~ for drums, boxes, rolled material etc..

Design Guidelines for Manual Hand Carts

• Two, three, or four wheel hand carts should not be loaded with more than 500 pounds of material including the cart.

• If the load exceeds 500 pounds, powered truck should be considered.

• Cart tasks performed less than 200 times a day are suitable for manual operations.

• For materials regularly transported more than 100 feet, use of powered truck should be considered


Wheels & Casters:• Diameter – Increasing the wheel diameter

generally decreases the force to initially move the cart.

• Minimum size wheel that should be used is 6 inches.

• Composition – A harder caster or tire decreases the force necessary to move the cart.


• A wider tread increases the wheels rolling resistance with the floor, which increases the force needed to move the cart.

• A narrow wheel should not be used outdoors; a wider pneumatic wheel should be used.


• Roller bearings should be used versus straight axels to reduce force.

• If swivel casters are used, the operator should always push from the swivel end.

• Handles can be used vertically or horizontally ~ Vertical can accommodate various size individuals.

• Handle height should range from 36 to 44 inches.


• Preferred heights for the cart shelves should be between 20 and 45 inches.

• Heights of less than 14 inches and greater than 50 should be avoided if possible.

• Maximum height of a cart should be 55 inches

Transferring - Materials

• Twisting of the Torso• Forward Torso Flexion • Lateral Torso Flexion• Reaching Behind the Torso

• Adduction• Abduction• Overhead Reaching

When transferring materials from a conveyor to a pallet, pallet to a conveyor, workstation to workstation, etc.. there are numerous risk factors present:

Transferring - Materials

Transferring materials typically include:

• Boxes • Sacks• Cases• Wood • Metal – sheet, roll, angle etc..• Drums – plastic & metal• Sub assembled or assembled parts• Just about any type of product manufactured,

assembled etc..

Solutions for Transferring Materials

• Roller Ball tables

• Air Tables

• Stainless Steel Tables (Highly Polished)

• Flexible/Expandable Conveyors

• Regular Conveyors (Powered & Non Powered)


• Portable Conveyors

• Telescoping Conveyors

• Slides

• Chutes


• Hoisting Systems ~ including (powered & non-powered) jib, bridge, gantry, stationary, and portable cranes, chain hoists (manual & powered), wire rope hoists (manual & powered)

• Vacuum Lifts ~ for drums, sacks, crates, glass etc..

• Mechanical Articulating Manipulators ~ attachments for drums, metal, slings, magnets etc..

Websites

• General:

Global Industrial (carts, dollies, hoisting equipment)

http://www.globalindustrial.com

Grainger (carts, dollies, hoisting equipment)

http://www.grainger.com

Websites

• General

C&H (carts, dollies, hoisting equipment)http://www.chdist.com

Ted Thorsenwww.tedthorsen.com

Websites

• Lift Tables: http://www.southworth.com http://www.bishamon.com

http://www.vestilmfg.com

Websites

• Powered Industrial Trucks: www.nissanforklift.com www.toyotaforklift.com www.mit-lift.com

Websites

• Powered Pallet Jacks:

www.pallettruck.com

www.gilmorekramer.com

Websites

• Vacuum Lifting Devices: http://www.vacuhoist.com http://www.anver.com http://www.ergonomiclifting.com

Websites

• Retrofit kits for making tables height adjustable:

Movotec – www.suspa-inc.com Monarch Hydraulics Inc. – www.dynalift.com

QUESTIONS?

Documents

Brian Roberts, CSP, CIE, RRE Director Ergonomics January 16, 2014 Manual Material Handling Trends and Solutions Brian Roberts, CSP, CIE, RRE Director,