Ergonomic tools and equipment are a great way to start working towards workplace improvements and decrease stress and strain on human workers. That’s the best way to achieve high-efficiency and safety on your assembly line.
Luckily, many different ergonomic tools can be introduced along the assembly line to ensure workers’ movements remain within a safe, ergonomic window. We’re here to walk you through some of the must-have tools to convert your assembly line into a safe and worker-friendly area.
Torque Arms for Electric or Pneumatic Tools
An ergonomic workstation aims to ensure the least amount of unnatural or awkward movements. To avoid these movements, assembly line workstations should be equipped with electric or pneumatic tools.
Electric or pneumatic tools tend to jerk when they are started and reach final torque. Repetitive jerks to the wrists and hands can add up throughout multiple shifts, and these unnatural movements can cause strain, discomfort, and pain. A torque reaction arm aims to prevent this by providing freedom of movement and stopping any negative reactionary forces .
Lift Tables
Powered lift tables are an excellent way to help workers avoid several musculoskeletal disorders while still maintaining the desired productivity levels.
A powered lift table works by ensuring that assembly line workers remain close to their work as possible by adjusting as the line operates through the shift. The adjustable lift table’s distance and height can provide a certain level of control for operators. It allows them to adjust the distance between the load and their back, shoulder, or elbow as the pivot point to decrease the force required to move the load.
Operators require minimum movement while working in various positions, and lift tables prevent workers from lifting anything that exceeds their body’s capacity. Many assembly line operators rotate and work in shifts, and the powered lift tables can be appropriately adjusted to match each operator’s individual needs.
Gliding and Telescopic Torque Reaction Arms
Torque screwdrivers are essential tools to ensure that fasteners are installed at an appropriate torque. However, similar to electric and pneumatic tools, using these torque screwdrivers repeatedly can be stressful on the joints. In these situations, gliding and telescoping torque reaction arms are used to take the weight of the tools off of their operators while allowing them to maintain control.
Handling Units
Multi-stage container handling units allow easy access to parts in the production process. They’re used to help place heavy containers for production or loading without the need for any manual lifting or positioning.
Handling units are excellent ergonomic tools because they play a significant role in preparing heavy containers. It makes them available in easy-to-reach positions for workers so that they minimize their reaching distance. It also decreases the need for bending motions and the horizontal lifting distance, reducing lumbar stress and spinal disc compression force by bringing boxes closer to the actual work.
Anti-Fatigue Mats
Standing for extended periods can be hard on the feet and ankles, and standing on hard concrete floors is not necessarily comfortable. Anti-fatigue mats provide cushioning to help decrease any pressure exerted on the joints of the lower body.
Screw Presenters
The idea of shuffling through many bins to find the right fastener is a concept of the past. Screw presenters position the fasteners required for assembly at a fixed pick-up point and “present” them one at a time. Screw presenters greatly simplify the assembly process, save time, reduce the chances of errors, and avoid unnecessary strain from sorting through fasteners.
Ergonomic Tools for Your Assembly Line
As employers, it’s important to ensure that all workers feel safe and secure in their work stations and are comfortable completing their work. Employers should aim to assess workstations proactively and include ergonomic tools and all parts within an ergonomic reaching distance.
To keep workers strain and pain-free, limit the amount of movement they have to do, and ensure that their work doesn’t require any awkward motions, such as bending or twisting.
If you want to learn more about the best ergonomic tools for your production line, call Delta Regis Tools at 1-888-733-3142 contact us here.
