Order picking tips from the National Ergonomics Conference

Ergonomics consultant suggests practices and products that ease back and shoulder strain for warehouse workers.

-- Modern Materials Handling, 12/7/2006

Picking cases from pallet racking can be back-breaking work. Slide-out racks, vacuum lifts and other high-end solutions make picking easier, but the high cost of these products makes them impractical for many companies, says Rachel Michael, an ergonomics consultant with Marsh Risk Consulting.

If highly engineered ergonomic equipment isn’t in the budget, says Michael, companies can still minimize back and shoulder strain for their workers.

One solution, she says, is to determine the best picking method for each product in the warehouse and then train employees to use the right method. The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) suggests some products should be picked layer by layer, while others are best picked using a stair-step or pyramid technique. (OSHA’s eTool Web site provides descriptions of each method.)

“We encourage our clients to put a picture by every slot as to how order picking should be done,” says Michael. Picking properly can reduce injury and product damage as well as improve housekeeping, she says.

Michael discussed these ideas during a workshop on the ergonomics of warehouse order picking at a recent National Ergonomics Conference in Las Vegas. She also encouraged attendees to consider the following ergonomic practices:

• Storing fast-moving and heavy items in easy-to-reach locations
• Using pull hooks to reduce reaching
• Labeling products with their weights
• Identifying heavy products by placing them in different colored bins
• Stretchwrapping automatically rather than manually
• Using work positioners and turntables to make palletizing easier