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Products vary in weight — potentially up to 100 pounds — and are shipped to the warehouse in a
variety of containers,
including boxes, bags, and cans. The shape, weight, and/or
material of the package can greatly affect the stress that a grocery
warehouse employee experiences.
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Potential
Hazard:
- In cold or freezer warehouses many boxes are excessively
heavy (Fig. 1), they may weigh as much as 100
pounds. Manually lifting loads in this weight range
places great stress on the employee's muscles. Back
injuries, such as muscle strain and disc injury, can
occur when repeatedly lifting heavy objects.
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Fig. 1:
Heavy Boxes.
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Possible
Solutions:
- Work with suppliers to provide product in
smaller, lighter containers (Fig. 2).
- Improve access to
heaviest items. Employees should be able to access
these items without bending at the waist, pulling the
elbows away from body while reaching, or twisting.
Redesigning storage racks and transport devices can greatly improve the
employee's ability to maintain
these neutral postures.
- Provide handhold cutouts or handles on
all heavy products.
- Work with suppliers to ensure that container integrity
will be adequate so the box, bag, or bucket will not
accidentally break, rip, or pull apart during lifting
operations.
- Load pallets with lighter product in the center and
heavier on the outer edges to ensure easier access and lifting
of the heavier items (Fig. 3).
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Fig. 2:
Some suppliers
are willing to modify weight of packages.
Fig. 3:
Heavier packages on
outside.
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Potential
Hazard:
- Many packages do not have handles
or handle cut-outs (Fig. 4). This makes heavy cases
difficult to grasp and/or retrieve. This can also force employees to
use awkward postures when lifting product. Without
hand cut-outs or handles,
employees must press on the sides of boxes, slip
fingers under the lips of products, or grasp the loose material of bags to
gain control. These techniques place strain on
the hands and
shoulders.
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Fig. 4:
Boxes without handles are difficult to grasp.
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Possible Solution:
- Encourage suppliers to provide product in stable
boxes with hand hold cut-outs or handles (Fig. 5). This is especially
important for product that is extremely heavy.
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Fig. 5:
Examples of handhold
devices.
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Potential
Hazard:
- Many cases are now packaged in plastic
rather than cardboard (Fig. 6). Plastic from
one package may stick to another package. The added
resistance of the plastic can create
additional stress to the hands, arms,
shoulders, and back. Selectors often pull cases
toward their body
to gain better lifting advantage. Forces required to
pull the cases with these restrictions may
actually be greater than the weight of the
case.
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Fig. 6:
Plastic wrapped cases.
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Possible Solutions:
- Work with suppliers to get a slip sheet between the
layers (Fig. 7). This will decrease the force needed to slide
product toward the employee.
- Treat these cases as if they are heavy loads and
provide additional head room and space
on the side of stacks for access.
- Have suppliers wrap only the sides and tops of
cases, leaving the cardboard bottom exposed to
facilitate sliding.
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Fig. 7:
Product slides easier with a slip sheet between
layers.
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Potential
Hazards:
- Wooden Pallets weigh between 40 and 70 pounds and may be lifted several times during a work
shift (Fig. 8). This repeated lifting can cause stress to the lower
back.
- Splinters from handling the wood are
also a hazard to the worker.
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Fig. 8:
Workers bend to lift pallets several times during a shift.
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Possible Solutions:
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Request that suppliers provide product on
lighter, plastic pallets (Fig. 9). The employees of
both the warehouse company and supplier will
benefit from the reduction in weight.
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Plastic pallets easily nest together to
reduce the space of stacking. They also
eliminate splinters and uneven surfaces that
employees may step on when walking over
pallets.
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Provide a pallet dispenser to reduce handling of pallets (Fig.
10). This device allows Selectors to drive their pallet jack
to the dispenser. An empty pallet is then automatically loaded onto the forks without manual lifting.
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Fig. 9:
Plastic pallets weigh between 20 to 30 lbs.
Fig. 10:
Pallet dispenser.
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Potential
Hazards:
- After a load has been built, it is generally wrapped with
plastic to maintain its integrity
during transit. Employees may be injured when
performing this task manually. They must bend at
the waist to wrap the
bottom of the pallets while supporting the plastic
dispenser (Fig. 11).
- Employees often stick their
fingers into the open end of the tubes to stream off the wrap. This increases the risk of cuts to the
fingers.
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Fig. 11:
Employee wrapping pallet.
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Possible Solutions:
- Use an automatic plastic wrapping machine
with palletized product sitting on a turntable (Fig. 12).
This ensures the employee will not have to bend at the
waist to wrap the pallet.
- If manual wrapping must be performed, use rolls
that weigh as little as possible to minimize the
lifting hazard. A handle (Fig. 13) will prevent employees from
placing their fingers into the tube, thus decreasing the risk of
cuts.
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Fig. 12:
Wrapping
machine.
Fig: 13:
Manual Wrapper.
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Potential
Hazards:
- Boxes are usually cut open using a razor
knife. If the knife is too small (Fig. 14), employees may use
a pinch grip, which can stress
the tendons of the hands.
- The use of in-line knives (i.e., handles are
in-line with the cutting blade) can cause the employee
to twist the wrist while exerting finger force,
increasing the risk of tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome.
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Fig. 14:
This is NOT an ergonomically correct knife.
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Possible
Solution:
- Use ergonomic razor-knives that require less
wrist bending, and have substantial handles
that require less finger force for control (Fig. 15).
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Fig. 15:
Ergonomically correct knives.
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