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| Small investment in roll handling can save thousands |
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| Tuesday, 17 October 2006 | |
 Ergonomic roll handling equipment is extremely useful in manufacturing facilities of all kinds. It relieves the operator from having to lift and maneuver heavy materials and prevents injuries. Manual handling of materials results in a large number of back claims by employees from a wide range of occupations and prevention is the key to reducing the number of claims. The best way an employer can do this is to evaluate the situation and find a product which will alleviate the operator’s amount of manual labor. Avoiding preventable injuries is the name of the game when it comes to ergonomic handling equipment and a small investment in safety can be money well spent to prevent injuries. Besides the pain and suffering caused by an injury, the company must absorb the cost of workers compensation, lost productivity and possibly hiring a replacement. These costs can quickly run into the thousands of dollars. “Sprains and strains, most often involving the back, accounted for 43 percent of injuries and illnesses resulting in days away from work in 2003.” (US Department of Labor News, March 30, 2005). The employers could have saved a great deal of money if these misfortunes were prevented by purchasing a piece of material handling equipment which would have lightened the load for the operator. Most employers do not realize how much an injury will cost them. The National Safety Council tracks injury costs on virtually every kind of occupational injury. Their figures include medical treatment, indemnity, and loss of productivity. The average cost per claim in 2001-2002 (latest figures) was $15,8651 and the average total incurred cost per claim for injuries to the lower back was $17,7381. The average cost of one injury is more than the cost of the basic material handling equipment which manufacturing companies have developed. The most common scenario for material handling equipment is in roll handling applications. Rolls of material usually come in on pallets and must be moved in order to get them onto the machinery or vice versa. If the company does not have a piece of equipment to do this, then the operator is required to figure out a way to handle the roll without hurting themselves. This is not an easy task with roll weights in the hundreds or thousands of pounds. Material handling manufacturers have come up with different solutions to prevent the inevitable injury. Roll handling equipment can be used with either a hoist or can be floor based portable units. More often the equipment will grab the roll by the inner core and grip into it for maneuvering in different directions. There are many companies who specializes in making material and roll handling equipment for rolls like Schlumpf, Inc. , Automatic Handling International and Dalmec just to name a few. |
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 29 May 2007 ) |