Background
When reviewing statistics from the previous year, the Safety Manager at an aluminum castings company in the northwest saw something he couldn’t ignore. “Of all the injuries and complaints we had, 47% of them were the result of poor ergonomics,” he said. “We wanted to take a big bite out of our injuries, so improving ergonomics was our primary target going into the New Year.”
The Problem
One of the first work cells targeted was the sand mold loading area, where the molds typically weigh about 50 pounds. The workers of this cell, which included shorter female employees, complained that the existing process was slow, cumbersome, and left them with fatigue and back pain.
The Solution
While looking for a lifting solution, the company saw a demonstration of Gorbel’s Easy Arm. “It’s exactly what we needed,” he said. “We wanted something that was easier to use and the articulating arm gives us that. We also wanted the weightless (float mode) feature so our operators could move loads with their hands directly on the piece.”