Easy and safe picking so the belt keeps on moving

The company ranks among the world‘s largest engine factories with one engine coming off the production line every twelve seconds. At peak times, the company produces up to 5,500 engines on a daily basis. In recent years, the company has developed ergonomic workplaces in its production areas. This involved installing electric overhead conveyors on its assembly lines, which can be adjusted to the different body sizes of the employes. In this way, the factory ensures better health and performance of its employes and responds to studies by the World Health Organization. These studies state that lower back problems belong to the most common causes of physical disability worldwide. It was now the task of the supplier NoBa Solution GmbH to also create an ergonomic system for the picking of engine parts in preparation for production.

The employes working in the order picking of engine parts push four to eight trolleys closely behind each other on a circular path. Next, they scan their order, take the matching parts from boxes and then load them onto specially adapted trolleys. This is a stop-and-go process where workers have to stop their trolleys briefly as they scan their order and load the matching part onto the trolley. On top of that, they have to work fast to avoid blocking the workers arriving directly from behind. NoBa Solution GmbH examined this process closely and analyzed the work processes using an app. The state-certified safety experts discovered the following: The employes often pushed their picking trolleys with their thighs since repeating the movement required a lot of strength, even though the loaded trolleys usually only weighed around 100 kilograms. In addition, they constantly had to bend down and reach to the side to pick up the components. This resulted in two tasks for NoBa Solution GmbH: First the picking trolleys were to be equipped with an electric drive and sevond the storage levels for the motorized parts were to be automatically adjusted to the appropriate height for the respective employes. At the same time, occupational safety needed to be the top priority. So NoBa Solution GmbH decided to use the existing order picking trolleys to grant its customer‘s employes the opportunity to operate as usual.