MANUAL HANDLING - 28.08.2014

Taking the strain out of order picking

Hot spot

The HSE has identified that the physical demands being placed on those working in warehouses is increasing dramatically. The primary reason for this is that staff are being put under pressure to meet stringent targets - sometimes as high as 1,000 “picks” per hour. These pressures, it has been found, lead to an increased chance of injury. With this in mind, the HSE commissioned the Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL) to look at the risks to staff working in such an environment (see The next step ).

The legal position

Although this is not official guidance, it does represent the most in-depth examination of the sector to date. As it has been completed by the HSE’s own experts, you can be sure that inspectors will refer to the findings when they’re visiting premises.

Tip. Remember, if your staff are picking items it’s worth checking that your arrangements are roughly in-line with the recommendations. If they’re miles apart, you may struggle to convince an inspector that you have done enough to ensure the health and safety of your staff.

Customer satisfaction

The researchers identified that it had become the norm to fulfil customer orders within 24 hours. As a result, distribution centres were seeking ways of improving all aspects of their operations.

It was found that as firms introduced efficiencies to increase the rate of retrieval or routing, this also increased the work rate of each order picker. One of the reasons was that improvements such as automation often cut down on travel time. By doing so, the overall amount of manual work per hour increased. Similarly, speeding up administrative tasks also tended to reduce variety in the job.

Solutions

Tip 1. The report states that: “High volume picking and packing should be done predominantly by mechanical means.” This means that machinery such as forklift trucks should be used to retrieve bulk quantities. Unless your operation is on a very small scale, your risk assessments should identify that you have at least considered mechanising some, if not all, of the process. If it’s not practical, or far too expensive, you should identify this. Fortunately, the HSE doesn’t expect businesses to have unlimited budgets.

Tip 2. When improvements are introduced make sure that your risk assessments are reviewed. For intensive, repetitive, work it’s advisable to have an ergonomics assessment (see The next step ).

Tip 3. Pay particular attention to the design of the workstations and storage arrangements. The best working zone is between shoulder and knee height and does not involve over-reaching.

Tip 4. Don’t set over-ambitious targets or work rates as this could lead to more sick leave and injury claims. Also be wary of allowing excessive overtime.

For a copy of the report and further information on ergonomics assessments, visit http://tipsandadvice-healthandsafety.co.uk/download (HS 12.22.06).