DC Velocity - April 2010

or even permanent injury, Ampuja warns. An ergonomics specialist can help you get things right, but there are com-mon-sense steps you can take on your own.

For example, to reduce the risk of back injuries, make sure the materials in your packing stations are stored at the appropriate height. If your workers have to turn, twist, bend, or reach to get at supplies, consider extending or reconfiguring the packing station. If your packers have to build pallets, try using a scissor lift to raise or lower the pallet so they are always working at the same height.

Rotating packers to different types of work so they’re not doing the same repetitive motions every day is helpful, as is providing training on how to avoid repetitive motion injuries, Ampuja says. It’s also important to have adequate lighting for workers to read effectively and perhaps a padded floor mat to ease back and leg strain. Consider what the packer does after the box is packed: Does he or she have to carry the box—which may now be at maximum weight—more than a few paces, lift it high, or place it down low? If so, consider using carts or conveyors to move boxes to the shipping area.

One often overlooked aspect of packing station design is the need to accommodate workers of all sizes. It’s common to see packing stations that are comfortable for tall men but are physically challenging for their shorter counterparts.

“It’s important to set it up for the average height of your workers, not for the height of the person who’s designing the station,” Foote cautions. She encourages companies to adopt “flexibility within reason”—using tables and dispensers that allow packers to adjust heights and angles as needed.

Teach them right

As important as it may be, good packing station design can only go so far toward optimizing operations. The other part of the equation is training packers to do their jobs properly.

As an example of how one company went about it, Ampuja cites the case of a shipper that developed an in-house training film. Project managers interviewed packers at the company’s DCs about what worked and what didn’t, and developed a script based on their findings. The result was a film starring one of the company’s most experienced packers, who talked about what he does and demonstrated “dos and don’ts.” The film was used not only to train new hires but also as a refresher on best practices.

As for what else companies can do to uncover inefficiencies in their packing operations, Ampuja offers this suggestion: “Go out and try to do that job yourself. You’ll see where the issues are immediately.” ;