Tips for ergonomic order picking

By Staff -- Modern Materials Handling, 1/1/2007

Picking cases from pallet racking can be backbreaking work. Slide-out racks, vacuum lifts and similar solutions make picking easier, but the 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 suggests some products should be picked layer by layer, while others are best picked using a stair-step or pyramid technique. (Descriptions of each method are available at OSHA.)

"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, while also reducing product damage and improving housekeeping, she says.

Michael discussed these ideas during a workshop on the ergonomics of warehouse order picking at the recent National Ergonomics Conference in Las Vegas. She also suggested 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 colored bins
• Stretch wrapping automatically rather than manually
• Using levelers and turntables to make palletizing easier.