Use of these postures and repeated actions presents a hazard to the shoulder, upper arm and low back. Reduce the size of the pallet by half or hinge it in the middle which will permit quicker pallet removal thus enabling rapid advancement of backstock which will maintain supplies within acceptable reach distances. Lower the height of the upper conveyor to a point where elevated lifts are not necessary. Raise the height of the roller conveyor used to bring pallets to the employee such that torso flexion can be minimized. Not only will these changes reduce the hazard to the pickers but they should also reduce the hazard to those employees loading the pallets.
Loaders also experience a problem with inadequate access.
The trailers are supposed to be stacked to points several feet above the employees head which forces them to throw boxes up to the higher stacking points when loading from a conveyor or to lift tall stacks of boxes when loading from a pallet. These procedures present a hazard to the shoulder and upper arm. Develop a height adjustable conveyor which has a platform, for employees to stand on, attached to the front such that they can raise or lower the height of the conveyor and platform to facilitate loading at ergonomically safe levels. The platform should be attached such that employees can remove items from the conveyor at about waist height and stack them without lifting the hands above shoulder height. Develop a double decker system for the trailers such that all loading can be performed from ergonomically neutral positions.